Search results for "Endocrine System"
showing 10 items of 1530 documents
Genetically engineered V79 Chinese hamster cells metabolically activate the cytostatic drugs cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide.
1990
V79 cells, genetically engineered to express active cytochromes P450IIB1 and P450IA1, were used to study the cytotoxicity and mutagenicity of cyclophosphamide and ifosfamide. Cyclophosphamide, tested up to a concentration of 2 mM, was not cytotoxic in V79 nor in the P450IA1-expressing V79-derived cell line XEM2. Pronounced cytotoxicity was, however, observed in the P450IIB1-expressing V79-derived cell line SD1. Induction of gene mutations (acquisition of 6-thioguanine resistance) was observed in SD1 cells as well, but the effects were weak. Ifosfamide was inactive in V79 cells, but was cytotoxic in SD1 cells. Ifosfamide mustard, an active metabolite of ifosfamide, was equally cytotoxic and …
Nuclear calcium signaling by inositol trisphosphate in GH3 pituitary cells
2008
It has been proposed that nuclear and cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]N and [Ca2+]C) may be regulated independently. We address here the issue of whether inositol trisphosphate (IP3) can, bypassing changes of [Ca2+]C, produce direct release of Ca2+ into the nucleoplasm. We have used targeted aequorins to selectively measure and compare the changes in [Ca2+]C and [Ca2+]N induced by IP3 in GH3 pituitary cells. Heparin, an IP3 inhibitor that does not permeate the nuclear pores, abolished the [Ca2+]C peaks but inhibited only partly the [Ca2+]N peaks. The permeant inhibitor 2-aminoethoxy-diphenyl-borate (2-APB) blocked both responses. Removal of ATP also inhibited more strongly the [Ca2+]C than [Ca2+]N pe…
Development of an in vitro neuroblastoma 3D model and its application for sterigmatocystin-induced cytotoxicity testing
2021
Abstract Given the increasing importance of establishing better risk assessments for mycotoxins, novel in vitro tools for the evaluation of their toxicity are mandatory. In this study, an in vitro 3D spheroid model from SH-SY5Y cells, a human neuroblastoma cell line, was developed, optimized and characterized to test the cytotoxic effects caused by the mycotoxin sterigmatocystin (STE). STE induced a concentration- and time-dependent cell viability decrease in spheroids. Spheroids displayed cell disaggregation after STE exposure, increasing in a dose-dependent manner and over time. STE also induced apoptosis as confirmed by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. Following the decrease…
Possible Editing of Alu Transcripts in Blood Cells of Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (sCJD)
2011
Editing of RNA molecules gained major interest when coding mRNA was analyzed. A small, noncoding, Alu DNA element transcript that may act as regulatory RNA in cells was examined in this study. Alu DNA element transcription was determined in buffy coat from healthy humans and human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) cases. In addition, non-sCJD controls, mostly dementia cases and Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases, were included. The Alu cDNA sequences were aligned to genomic Alu DNA elements by database search. A comparison of best aligned Alu DNA sequences with our RNA/cDNA clones revealed editing by deamination by ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) and APOBEC (apolipoprotein B ed…
Identification of a Functional Homolog of the Yeast Copper Homeostasis Gene ATX1 from Arabidopsis1
1998
Abstract A cDNA clone encoding a homolog of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) gene Anti-oxidant 1(ATX1) has been identified from Arabidopsis. This gene, referred to as CopperCHaperone(CCH), encodes a protein that is 36% identical to the amino acid sequence of ATX1 and has a 48-amino acid extension at the C-terminal end, which is absent from ATX1 homologs identified in animals. ATX1-deficient yeast (atx1) displayed a loss of high-affinity iron uptake. Expression of CCH in the atx1 strain restored high-affinity iron uptake, demonstrating thatCCH is a functional homolog of ATX1. When overexpressed in yeast lacking the superoxide dismutase geneSOD1, both ATX1 and CCHprotected the cell from t…
Origin of Insulin Receptor-Like Tyrosine Kinases in Marine Sponges
1999
One autapomorphic character restricted to all Metazoa including Porifera [sponges] is the existence of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In this study we screened for molecules from one subfamily within the superfamily of the insulin receptors. The subfamily includes the insulin receptors (InsR), the insulin-like growth factor I receptors, and the InsR-related receptors--all found in vertebrates--as well as the InsR-homolog from Drosophila melanogaster. cDNAs encoding putative InsRs were isolated from the hexactinellid sponge Aphrocallistes vastus, the demosponge Suberites domuncula, and the calcareous sponge Sycon raphanus. Phylogenetic analyses of the catalytic domains of th…
Evidence that water transmits Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 infections to eels
1995
Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is classically considered an obligate eel pathogen. However, it has recently been associated with one human septicemic case. In this paper, the opportunistic behavior of this pathogen is discussed. The bacterium can survive alone in brackish water or attached to eel surfaces for at least 14 days. It is able to spread through water and infect healthy eels by using skin as a portal of entry. These results suggest that water and infected eels may act as reservoirs of infection. A capsule seems to be essential for waterborne infectivity, which would explain why cells recovered from naturally diseased eels give rise to pure cultures of opaque colonies. The spread of t…
Carbohydrate-Based Nanocarriers Exhibiting Specific Cell Targeting with Minimum Influence from the Protein Corona.
2015
Whenever nanoparticles encounter biological fluids like blood, proteins adsorb on their surface and form a so-called protein corona. Although its importance is widely accepted, information on the influence of surface functionalization of nanocarriers on the protein corona is still sparse, especially concerning how the functionalization of PEGylated nanocarriers with targeting agents will affect protein corona formation and how the protein corona may in turn influence the targeting effect. Herein, hydroxyethyl starch nanocarriers (HES-NCs) were prepared, PEGylated, and modified on the outer PEG layer with mannose to target dendritic cells (DCs). Their interaction with human plasma was then s…
Electrophysiology of the Mammalian Pineal Gland: Evidence for Rhythmical and Non-Rhythmical Elements and for Magnetic Influence on Electrical Activity
1982
Although the mammalian pineal gland has been extensively studied by biochemical, pharmacological and morphological techniques, the precise nature of the intrinsic cells, the pinealocytes, was unknown for a long time. Biochemically the pinealocyte has been shown to be an endocrine cell synthesizing melatonin and other hormones. In view of the importance of the mammalian pineal as a neurotransducer, and of the limited usefulness of the methods mentioned, an attempt was made to characterize the cells electro-physiologically.
Removal of bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate from reject water in a nitrogen-removing sequencing batch reactor.
2003
Reject water from sewage sludge processing may contain high concentrations of nutrients and organic pollutants and cause internal pollution load at a sewage treatment plant (STP) if circulated to the headworks of an STP. In the present study removal of nitrogen and bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) from reject water was studied in two sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) with different aerobic/anoxic periods during a 6-h total cycle period. Ammonia-nitrogen (NH(4)-N) was almost totally removed in both reactors, apparently by nitrification throughout the run, while denitrification declined with decreasing SCOD in the influent resulting in an increase in the effluent nitrate-nitrogen (NO(3)-N) …