Search results for "DOC"
showing 10 items of 14105 documents
Honey and obesity-related dysfunctions: a summary on health benefits
2020
Honey is a natural product, containing flavonoids and phenolic acids, appreciated for its therapeutic abilities since ancient times. Although the bioactive potential is linked to the composition, that is variable depending on mainly the botanical origin, honey has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, honey, administered alone or in combination with conventional therapy, might result useful in the management of chronic diseases that are commonly associated with oxidative stress and inflammation state. Obesity is a metabolic disorder characterized by visceral adiposity. The adipose tissue becomes hypertrophic and undergoes hyperplasia, resulting in a hypoxic environment, o…
In silico identification of small molecules as new cdc25 inhibitors through the correlation between chemosensitivity and protein expression pattern
2021
The cell division cycle 25 (Cdc25) protein family plays a crucial role in controlling cell proliferation, making it an excellent target for cancer therapy. In this work, a set of small molecules were identified as Cdc25 modulators by applying a mixed ligand-structure-based approach and taking advantage of the correlation between the chemosensitivity of selected structures and the protein expression pattern of the proposed target. In the first step of the in silico protocol, a set of molecules acting as Cdc25 inhibitors were identified through a new ligand-based protocol and the evaluation of a large database of molecular structures. Subsequently, induced-fit docking (IFD) studies allowed us…
Effects of 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine on the liver of high fat diet fed rats
2016
Experimental studies have highlighted that the administration of 3,5-diiodo-L-thyronine (T2) to rats fed diets rich in lipids induces a decrease of cholesterol and triglycerides plasma levels and body weight (BW) without inducing liver steatosis. On the basis of these observations we carried out some experimental <em>in vivo</em> studies to assess the effects of multiple high doses of T2 on the pituitary thyroid axis of rats fed diet rich in lipids. Fifteen male Wistar rats were divided into three groups of five animals each. The first group (N group) received standard diet, the second group was fed with a high fat diet (HFD group), while the third group (HFDT2 group) was additi…
Clinical and hormonal characteristics in heterozygote carriers of congenital adrenal hyperplasia
2020
Abstract Non-classical congenital adrenal hyperplasia (NC-CAH) includes a group of genetic disorders due to a broad class of CYP21A2 variants identifying a disease-causing ‘C’ genotype. The heterozygous carriers of CYP21 mutations are at increased risk of developing clinically evident hyperandrogenism, even though clinical and laboratory characteristics are still underestimated. With the aim of obtaining a more accurate delineation of the phenotype of heterozygous carrier of CAH, we analyzed clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics in a cohort of Sicilian subjects. Fifty-seven females with biallelic and monoallelic CYP21A2 variants classifying NC-CAH (24) and heterozygous carrier…
From genetics to epigenetics to unravel the etiology of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.
2020
Scoliosis is defined as the three-dimensional (3D) structural deformity of the spine with a radiological lateral Cobb angle (a measure of spinal curvature) of ≥10° that can be caused by congenital, developmental or degenerative problems. However, those cases whose etiology is still unknown, and affect healthy children and adolescents during growth, are the commonest form of spinal deformity, known as adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). In AIS management, early diagnosis and the accurate prediction of curve progression are most important because they can decrease negative long-term effects of AIS treatment, such as unnecessary bracing, frequent exposure to radiation, as well as saving the…
Donor age and long-term culture do not negatively influence the stem potential of limbal fibroblast-like stem cells
2016
AbstractBackgroundIn regenerative medicine the maintenance of stem cell properties is of crucial importance. Ageing is considered a cause of reduced stemness capability. The limbus is a stem niche of easy access and harbors two stem cell populations: epithelial stem cells and fibroblast-like stem cells. Our aim was to investigate whether donor age and/or long-term culture have any influence on stem cell marker expression and the profiles in the fibroblast-like stem cell population.MethodsFibroblast-like stem cells were isolated and digested from 25 limbus samples of normal human corneo-scleral rings and long-term cultures were obtained. SSEA4 expression and sphere-forming capability were ev…
The analysis of estrogen receptor-α positive breast cancer stem-like cells unveils a high expression of the serpin proteinase inhibitor PI-9: Possibl…
2016
Abstract Breast cancer stem cells seem to play important roles in breast tumor recurrence and endocrine therapy resistance, although the underlying mechanisms have not been well established. Moreover, in some tumor systems the immunosurveillance failure against cancer cells has been related to the presence of the granzyme B inhibitor PI-9. This study explored the status of PI-9 in tumorspheres isolated from estrogen receptor-α positive (ERα+) breast cancer MCF7 cells. Studies were performed in tertiary tumorspheres which possess high levels of stemness markers (Nanog, Oct3/4 and Sox2) and self-renewal ability. The exposure to estrogens (17-β estradiol and genistein) increased the number and…
NANOG Plays a Hierarchical Role in the Transcription Network Regulating the Pluripotency and Plasticity of Adipose Tissue-Derived Stem Cells
2017
The stromal vascular cell fraction (SVF) of visceral and subcutaneous adipose tissue (VAT and SAT) has increasingly come into focus in stem cell research, since these compartments represent a rich source of multipotent adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs). ASCs exhibit a self-renewal potential and differentiation capacity. Our aim was to study the different expression of the embryonic stem cell markers NANOG (homeobox protein NANOG), SOX2 (SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 2) and OCT4 (octamer-binding transcription factor 4) and to evaluate if there exists a hierarchal role in this network in ASCs derived from both SAT and VAT. ASCs were isolated from SAT and VAT biopsies of 72 consenting pat…
Molecular docking-based virtual drug screening revealing an oxofluorenyl benzamide and a bromonaphthalene sulfonamido hydroxybenzoic acid as HDAC6 in…
2020
HDAC6 is a crucial epigenetic modifier that plays a vital role in tumor progression and carcinogenesis due to its multiple biological functions. It is a unique member of class-II HDAC enzymes. It possesses two catalytic domains, which function independently of the overall enzyme activity. Up to date, there are only a few selective HDAC6 inhibitors with anti-cancer activity. In this study, 175,204 ligands obtained from the ZINC15 and OTAVAchemical databases were used for virtual drug screening against HDAC6. Molecular docking studies were performed for 100 selected compounds. Furthermore, the top 10 compounds obtained from docking were tested for their efficacy to inhibit the function of HDA…
The role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease caused by social isolation and loneliness
2020
Loneliness and social isolation are common sources of chronic stress in modern society. Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that loneliness and social isolation increase mortality risk as much as smoking or alcohol consumption and more than physical inactivity or obesity. Loneliness in human is associated with higher blood pressure whereas enhanced atherosclerosis is observed in animal models of social isolation. Loneliness and social isolation lead to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, enhanced sympathetic nerve activity, impaired parasympathetic function and a proinflammatory immune response. These mechanisms have been implicated in the development o…