Search results for "Effects"
showing 10 items of 2634 documents
Management of side effects of immune checkpoint blockade by anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies in metastatic melanoma
2016
CTLA-4 and PD-1 are potential targets for tumor-induced downregulation of lymphocytic immune responses. Immune checkpoint-modifying monoclonal antibodies oppose these effects, inducing T cell-mediated immune responses to various tumors including melanoma. Both anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1 antibodies modify the interaction between tumor, antigen-presenting cells, and T lymphocytes. With respect to overall survival, clinical studies have shown a major benefit for the anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab as well as the two anti-PD-1 antibodies nivolumab and pembrolizumab. Following approval of ipilimumab in 2011, the latter two achieved market authorization in the summer of 2015. Immune responses thus…
Variants associated with HHIP expression have sex-differential effects on lung function
2021
Background: Lung function is highly heritable and differs between the sexes throughout life. However, little is known about sex-differential genetic effects on lung function. We aimed to conduct the first genome-wide genotype-by-sex interaction study on lung function to identify genetic effects that differ between males and females. Methods: We tested for interactions between 7,745,864 variants and sex on spirometry-based measures of lung function in UK Biobank (N=303,612), and sought replication in 75,696 independent individuals from the SpiroMeta consortium. Results: Five independent single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showed genome-wide significant (P<5x10-8) interactions with sex …
Minimization of dynamic effects in the evolution of dihydrofolate reductase
2015
Protein isotope labeling is a powerful technique to probe functionally important motions in enzyme catalysis and can be applied to investigate the conformational dynamics of proteins.
Diastereoselectivity of 5-Methyluridine Osmylation Is Inverted inside an RNA Chain
2016
In this study, we investigated the reaction of the osmium tetroxide-bipyridine complex with pyrimidines in RNA. This reagent, which reacts with the diastereotopic 5-6 double bond, thus leading to the formation of two diastereomers, was used in the past to label thymidine and 5-methylcytosine in DNA. In light of the growing interest in post-transcriptional RNA modifications, we addressed the question of whether this reagent could be used for labeling of the naturally occurring RNA modifications 5-methylcytosine and 5-methyluridine. On nucleoside level, 5-methylcytosine and 5-methyluridine revealed a 5- and 12-fold preference, respectively, over their nonmethylated equivalents. Performing the…
A method for structure prediction of metal-ligand interfaces of hybrid nanoparticles
2019
Hybrid metal nanoparticles, consisting of a nano-crystalline metal core and a protecting shell of organic ligand molecules, have applications in diverse areas such as biolabeling, catalysis, nanomedicine, and solar energy. Despite a rapidly growing database of experimentally determined atom-precise nanoparticle structures and their properties, there has been no successful, systematic way to predict the atomistic structure of the metal-ligand interface. Here, we devise and validate a general method to predict the structure of the metal-ligand interface of ligand-stabilized gold and silver nanoparticles, based on information about local chemical environments of atoms in experimental data. In …
Comparative study of the production of soluble factors in human placenta-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells grown in adherent conditions or as ag…
2019
Abstract Different approaches have been studied in both preclinical and clinical settings to develop cell-based therapies and/or engineered cell-based therapies to better integrate grafts with the host. In these techniques, much attention is addressed to the use of adult stem cells such as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), but identifying and obtaining sufficient numbers of therapeutic cells, and the right route of administration, is often a challenge. In this study, we tested the feasibility of encapsulating human amnion-derived MSCs (hAMSCs) in a semipermeable and biocompatible fiber as a new approach for regenerative medicine. Our data showed that hAMSCs aggregated in the device constitutes…
Biological activity and toxicity of plant nutraceuticals: an overview
2021
Plant nutraceuticals have currently been receiving international attention due to their potentially health-promoting effects when consumed as part of a varied diet, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-proliferative properties. These beneficial effects have been attributed to the presence of bioactive compounds naturally occurring in food or produced de novo through metabolic pathways. However, taken into account that nutraceuticals could be concentrated forms of the food or plants, it is probable to find undesirable substances utilized in crop protection, such as pesticides, and other contaminants (e.g. mycotoxins), which could be concentrated during the extraction process. H…
Association of interleukin-6 rs1800796 polymorphism with reduced cognitive performance in healthy older adults
2019
© 2018 Elsevier B.V. With increasing life expectancy, age-associated cognitive impairment is an escalating problem worldwide. Inflammation is one of the features that characterises cognitive decline and can stimulate neurodegeneration. Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine frequently associated with a pro-inflammatory phenotype and increased levels have been associated with the pathogenesis of dementia. The rs1800796 polymorphism in the promoter region of IL-6 gene was previously shown to influence IL-6 expression and therefore we hypothesised this gene polymorphism would be associated with IL-6 plasma levels and cognitive performance of older adults. The present study investigated the associa…
Maristem stem cells of marine/aquatic invertebrates: from basic research to innovative applications
2018
The “stem cells” discipline represents one of the most dynamic areas in biomedicine. While adult marine/aquatic invertebrate stem cell (MISC) biology is of prime research and medical interest, studies on stem cells from organisms outside the classical vertebrate (e.g., human, mouse, and zebrafish) and invertebrate (e.g., Drosophila, Caenorhabditis) models have not been pursued vigorously. Marine/aquatic invertebrates constitute the largest biodiversity and the widest phylogenetic radiation on Earth, from morphologically simple organisms (e.g., sponges, cnidarians), to the more complex mollusks, crustaceans, echinoderms, and protochordates. These organisms contain a kaleidoscope of MISC-type…
Acetaldehyde as the first hit of addictive behaviour
2016
Unhealthy alcohol use is common in the Western society, which puts risk of health consequences, causing multiple behavioural injuries. Increasing evidence focuses on acetaldehyde, the first metabolite of ethanol, as the mediator of the several behavioural actions of alcohol, including its rewarding and motivational effects. In particular, acetaldehyde induces dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens modulating primary alcohol rewarding effect, drug seeking, and relapse behaviour. Recent behavioural studies point at acetaldehyde as a drug of abuse since its oral self-administration is induced and maintained in an operant/conflict paradigm. These findings provide further evidence on the role…