Search results for "CAPS"
showing 10 items of 745 documents
Enhanced baculovirus-mediated transduction of human cancer cells by tumor-homing peptides.
2006
ABSTRACT Tumor cells and vasculature offer specific targets for the selective delivery of therapeutic genes. To achieve tumor-specific gene transfer, baculovirus tropism was manipulated by viral envelope modification using baculovirus display technology. LyP-1, F3, and CGKRK tumor-homing peptides, originally identified by in vivo screening of phage display libraries, were fused to the transmembrane anchor of vesicular stomatitis virus G protein and displayed on the baculoviral surface. The fusion proteins were successfully incorporated into budded virions, which showed two- to fivefold-improved binding to human breast carcinoma (MDA-MB-435) and hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) cells. The LyP-1 pepti…
Baculovirus Display: A Multifunctional Technology for Gene Delivery and Eukaryotic Library Development
2006
For over a decade, phage display has proven to be of immense value, allowing selection of a large variety of genes with novel functions from diverse libraries. However, the folding and modification requirements of complex proteins place a severe constraint on the type of protein that can be successfully displayed using this strategy, a restriction that could be resolved by similarly engineering a eukaryotic virus for display purposes. The quite recently established eukaryotic molecular biology tool, the baculovirus display vector system (BDVS), allows combination of genotype with phenotype and thereby enables presentation of eukaryotic proteins on the viral envelope or capsid. Data have sho…
The posterior chamber phakic refractive lens (PRL): a review
2012
Implantation of phakic intraocular lenses (pIOLs) is a reversible refractive procedure, preserving the patient’s accommodative function with minimal induction of higher order aberrations compared with corneal photoablative procedures. Despite this, as an intraocular procedure, it has potential risks such as cataracts, chronic uveitis, pupil ovalization, corneal endothelial cell loss, pigmentary dispersion syndrome, pupillary block glaucoma, astigmatism, or endophthalmitis. Currently, only two models of posterior chamber pIOLs are commercially available, the implantable collammer lens (STAAR Surgical Co.) and the phakic refractive lens (PRL; Zeiss Meditec). The number of published reports on…
Margination of Fluorescent Polylactic Acid-Polyaspartamide based Nanoparticles in Microcapillaries In Vitro: the Effect of Hematocrit and Pressure.
2017
The last decade has seen the emergence of vascular-targeted drug delivery systems as a promising approach for the treatment of many diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. In this field, one of the major challenges is carrier margination propensity (i.e., particle migration from blood flow to vessel walls); indeed, binding of these particles to targeted cells and tissues is only possible if there is direct carrier–wall interaction. Here, a microfluidic system mimicking the hydrodynamic conditions of human microcirculation in vitro is used to investigate the effect of red blood cells (RBCs) on a carrier margination in relation to RBC concentration (hematocrit) and pressure drop…
Topical capsaicin application and axon reflex vasodilatation of the tongue: A videocapillaroscopic study
2006
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of topical capsaicin application on human lingual mucosa and to assess if neurogenic inflammation might have a role in the pathogenesis of lingual diseases. Thirty patients (16 males and 14 females; mean age: 41.46 +/- 11.8 years; range: 23-60) were examined in our laboratory. The neurogenic inflammation was experimentally induced in the lingual mucosa close to 1) the left margin of the tongue and 2) the right margin of the tongue after ipsilateral nerve trunk anesthesia. The characteristics of lingual microcirculation were observed using computerized videocapillaroscopic techniques. The vasodilatation was observed close to the left margin o…
Differential effects of anandamide on acetylcholine release in the guinea-pig ileum mediated via vanilloid and non-CB1 cannabinoid receptors
2001
The effects of anandamide on [3H]-acetylcholine release and muscle contraction were studied on the myenteric plexus-longitudinal muscle preparation of the guinea-pig ileum preincubated with [3H]-choline. Anandamide increased both basal [3H]-acetylcholine release (pEC50 6.3) and muscle tone (pEC50 6.3). The concentration-response curves for anandamide were shifted to the right by 1 μM capsazepine (pKB 7.5 and 7.6), and by the combined blockade of NK1 and NK3 tachykinin receptors with the antagonists CP99994 plus SR142801 (each 0.1 μM). The CB1 and CB2 receptor antagonists, SR141716A (1 μM) and SR144528 (30 nM), did not modify the facilitatory effects of anandamide. Anandamide inhibited the e…
Involvement of nitric oxide and tachykinins in the effects induced by protease-activated receptors in rat colon longitudinal muscle
2003
The aim of the present study was to verify a possible involvement of nitric oxide (NO) and of tachykinins in the contractile and relaxant effects caused by the activation of protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and PAR-2 in the longitudinal muscle of rat colon. Mechanical responses to the PAR-1 activating peptides, SFLLRN-NH2 (10 nM–10 μM) and TFLLR-NH2 (10 nM–10 μM), and to the PAR-2-activating peptide, SLIGRL-NH2 (10 nM–10 μM), were examined in vitro in the absence and in the presence of different antagonists. The relaxation induced by SFLLRN-NH2, TFLLR-NH2 and SLIGRL-NH2 was antagonised by the inhibitor of NO synthase L-Nω-nitroarginine methyl ester (300 μM), or by the inhibitor of the gu…
The cAMP Pathway Sensitizes VR1 Expressed in Oocytes from <i>Xenopus laevis</i> and in CHO Cells
2003
The vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1) is a heat-activated cation channel which also responds to capsaicin and other chemical stimuli. Protein kinase C has a stimulatory effect on VR1 activity, either alone or after activation with capsaicin. The influence of the cAMP-signaling pathway on the effects of capsaicin is controversial. To clarify this, the actions of capsaicin and the modulatory effects of forskolin, pCPT-cAMP, and isobutylmethylxanthine were studied in <i>Xenopus laevis</i> oocytes expressing rat VR1 and in CHO cells expressing human VR1. Capsaicin activated the VR1 channel and increased the intracellular calcium concentration. The effects of capsaicin were enhanced by fors…
Modulation of acetylcholine release in the guinea-pig trachea by the nitric oxide donor, S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine (SNAP)
2000
The effects of the nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitroso-N-acetyl-DL-penicillamine (SNAP) and the NO synthase inhibitor L-N(G)-nitroarginine (L-NOARG) on the electrically evoked [(3)H]-acetylcholine release were studied in an epithelium-free preparation of guinea-pig trachea that had been preincubated with [(3)H]-choline. SNAP (100 and 300 microM) caused small but significant increases of the electrically evoked [(3)H]-acetylcholine release (121+/-4% and 124+/-10% of control). Resting outflow of [(3)H]-ACh was not affected by SNAP. The increase by SNAP was abolished by the specific inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazolo[4,3-alpha]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ, 1 microM). The facili…
A cerebral nitrergic pathway modulates endotoxin-induced changes in gastric motility
2001
1 This study analyses the neural pathway involved in the modulation of gastric motor function by stress. 2 Systemic administration of low doses of endotoxin (40 m gk g 71 , i.v.) prevents the increase in gastric tone induced by 2-deoxy-D-glucose (200 mg kg 71 , i.v., 2-DG) in urethane-anaesthetized rats. 3 Functional inhibition of aAerent neurones by systemic administration of capsaicin (20+30+50 mg kg 71 , i.m.) in adult rats prevented the inhibitory eAects of endotoxin. 4 Pre-treatment with the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, N G -nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (LNAME), both i.v. (10 mg kg 71 ) and i.c. (200 mg rat 71 ), prevented the inhibitory eAects of endotoxin on gastric tone i…