Search results for "JUNCTION"

Caspase-3 contributes to ZO-1 and Cl-5 tight-junction disruption in rapid anoxic neurovascular unit damage.

2011

BACKGROUND: Tight-junction (TJ) protein degradation is a decisive step in hypoxic blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown in stroke. In this study we elucidated the impact of acute cerebral ischemia on TJ protein arrangement and the role of the apoptotic effector protease caspase-3 in this context. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We used an in vitro model of the neurovascular unit and the guinea pig whole brain preparation to analyze with immunohistochemical methods the BBB properties and neurovascular integrity. In both methodological approaches we observed rapid TJ protein disruptions after 30 min of oxygen and glucose deprivation or middle cerebral artery occlusion, which were accompanied by…

Side-specific effects by cadmium exposure: Apical and basolateral treatment in a coculture model of the blood–air barrier

2010

Cadmium (Cd{sup 2+}) is a widespread environmental pollutant, which is associated with a wide variety of cytotoxic and metabolic effects. Recent studies showed that intoxication with the heavy metal most importantly targets the integrity of the epithelial barrier. In our study, the lung epithelial cell line, NCI H441, was cultured with the endothelial cell line, ISO-HAS-1, as a bilayer on a 24-well HTS-Transwell (registered) filter plate. This coculture model was exposed to various concentrations of CdCl{sub 2}. The transepithelial electrical resistance decreased on the apical side only after treatment with high Cd{sup 2+} concentrations after 48 h. By contrast, a breakdown of TER to less t…

Neurons and ECM regulate occludin localization in brain endothelial cells

2000

We report that extracellular matrix and neurons modulate the expression of occludin, one of the main components of tight junctions, by rat brain endothelial cells (RBE4.B). Of the three extracellular matrix proteins which we tested (collagen I, collagen IV, and laminin), collagen IV stimulated at the best the expression of occludin mRNA. The corresponding protein, however, was not synthesized. Significant amounts of occludin accumulated only when RBE4.B cells were cultured on collagen IV-coated inserts, in the presence of cortical neurons, plated on laminin-coated companion wells. Finally, occludin segregated at the cell periphery, only when endothelial cells were co- cultured with neurons …

Electron Microscopic Contrast of the Cytoskeleton and Junctional Complexes of Intestinal Epithelial Cells by Ethanolic Phosphotungstic Acid

2000

After glutaraldehyde fixation and treatment with ethanolic phosphotungstic acid (E-PTA) before plastic embedding, sections of rat large intestine showed a characteristic electron contrasting pattern in epithelial cells. The axis of microvilli, terminal web, a thin band below the luminal plasma membrane, centrioles and junctional complexes (tight junctions, adherens junctions, and desmosomes) appeared highly contrasted. In addition to protein components of microfilaments and intermediate filaments, proteins from the junctional complexes could also be implicated in the contrasting reaction with E-PTA. Mitochondrial membranes, chromatin masses, and nucleoli of enterocytes showed considerable e…

The Formal Redox Potential of the Ti(IV, III) Couple at 25 °C in 1 M HCl 2 M NaCl Medium

2007

The formal redox potential of the Ti(IV, III) couple has been determined at 25 degrees C in 1 M HCl, 2 M NaCl aqueous medium, by emf measurements of a junction-free cell with glass and mercury electrodes. Ti(III) and Ti(IV) concentrations were changed by controlled electrolysis. The mean value of the searched formal potential, in a large range of total titanium concentration, is 9 +/- 1 mV against the molar hydrogen electrode in the same ionic medium.

Development, Differentiation, and Diversity of Innate Lymphoid Cells

2014

Recent years have witnessed the discovery of an unprecedented complexity in innate lymphocyte lineages, now collectively referred to as innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). ILCs are preferentially located at barrier surfaces and are important for protection against pathogens and for the maintenance of organ homeostasis. Inappropriate activation of ILCs has been linked to the pathogenesis of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders. Recent evidence suggests that ILCs can be grouped into two separate lineages, cytotoxic ILCs represented by conventional natural killer (cNK) cells and cytokine-producing helper-like ILCs (i.e., ILC1s, ILC2s, ILC3s). We will focus here on current work in humans and mice th…

Noisy dynamics in long and short Josephson junctions

The study of nonlinear dynamics in long Josephson junctions and the features of a particular kind of junction realized using a graphene layer, are the main topics of this research work. The superconducting state of a Josephson junction is a metastable state, and the switching to the resistive state is directly related to characteristic macroscopic quantities, such as the current the voltage across the junction, and the magnetic field through it. Noise sources can affect the mean lifetime of this superconducting metastable state, so that noise induced effects on the transient dynamics of these systems should be taken into account. The long Josephson junctions are investigated in the sine-Gor…

Magnetically excited breather modes in an overlap-geometry Josephson tunnel junction

2022

A scheme for the controlled generation of single traveling sine- Gordon breathers in a long Josephson junction is described. In the presence of dissipation, a direct current source, and thermal fluctuations, the theoretical analysis shows that, through the nonlinear supratransmission effect, tailored magnetic pulses at the junction’s edge can effectively yield breather modes only.

Deep stratosphere-to-troposphere transport (STT) over SE Europe: a complex case study captured by enhanced <sup>7</sup>Be…

2005

Abstract. In this study we present a complex case study of a Stratosphere-to-Troposphere Transport (STT) event down to the surface of a low topography region in Northern Greece, during the second fortnight of March 2000. During this event our surface station at Livadi (23°15 E/40°32 N, 850 m a.s.l.), was influenced by very different synoptic systems developing over Eastern Europe, N. America and the N. Atlantic, the last one evolving to a cut-off low over France/Spain. This is the first study, to our knowledge, that presents a down to the surface STT event in the eastern Mediterranean. The intrusion is primarily captured with the use of the cosmogenic radionuclide 7Be, which increased to 9.…

A tungsten oxide–lutetium bisphthalocyanine n–p–n heterojunction: from nanomaterials to a new transducer for chemo-sensing

2019

We report on a new hybrid heterojunction gas-sensitive device by combining a molecular material with a metal oxide. WO3 was synthesised via an aerosol-assisted chemical vapour deposition technique from a tungsten hexacarbonyl precursor. Onto an inorganic film, LuPc2 was vacuum evaporated. The morphology of the WO3–LuPc2 hybrid films is dominated by the morphological features of the tungsten oxide film, as shown by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Raman spectroscopy of the device confirms the presence of both materials. The non-linear I–V characteristics demonstrate the existence of an energy barrier at the interface between the inorganic and molecular materials. The…