Search results for "Lula"
showing 10 items of 7309 documents
3d collagen hydrogel promotes in vitro langerhans islets vascularization through ad-mvfs angiogenic activity
2021
Adipose derived microvascular fragments (ad-MVFs) consist of effective vascularization units able to reassemble into efficient microvascular networks. Because of their content in stem cells and related angiogenic activity, ad-MVFs represent an interesting tool for applications in regenerative medicine. Here we show that gentle dissociation of rat adipose tissue provides a mixture of ad-MVFs with a length distribution ranging from 33–955 μm that are able to maintain their original morphology. The isolated units of ad-MVFs that resulted were able to activate transcriptional switching toward angiogenesis, forming tubes, branches, and entire capillary networks when cultured in 3D collagen type-…
Negatively Charged Gangliosides Promote Membrane Association of Amphipathic Neurotransmitters
2018
Lipophilic neurotransmitters (NTs) such as dopamine are chemical messengers enabling neurotransmission by adhering onto the extracellular surface of the post-synaptic membrane in a synapse, followed by binding to their receptors. Previous studies have shown that the strength of the NT-membrane association is dependent on the lipid composition of the membrane. Negatively charged lipids such as phosphatidylserine, phosphatidylglycerol, and phosphatidic acid have been indicated to promote NT-membrane binding, however these anionic lipids reside almost exclusively in the intracellular leaflet of the post-synaptic membrane instead of the extracellular leaflet facing the synaptic cleft. Meanwhile…
Effects of Ranolazine on Astrocytes and Neurons in Primary Culture.
2016
Ranolazine (Rn) is an antianginal agent used for the treatment of chronic angina pectoris when angina is not adequately controlled by other drugs. Rn also acts in the central nervous system and it has been proposed for the treatment of pain and epileptic disorders. Under the hypothesis that ranolazine could act as a neuroprotective drug, we studied its effects on astrocytes and neurons in primary culture. We incubated rat astrocytes and neurons in primary cultures for 24 hours with Rn (10-7, 10-6 and 10-5 M). Cell viability and proliferation were measured using trypan blue exclusion assay, MTT conversion assay and LDH release assay. Apoptosis was determined by Caspase 3 activity assay. The …
Mild exacerbation of obesity- and age-dependent liver disease progression by senolytic cocktail dasatinib + quercetin.
2021
Abstract Background Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly prevalent and represents a growing challenge in terms of prevention and treatment. A minority of affected patients develops inflammation, subsequently fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC is a leading cause of cancer-related death. An increased number of senescent cells correlate with age-related tissue degeneration during NAFLD-induced HCC. Senolytics are promising agents that target selectively senescent cells. Previous studies showed that whereas a combination of the senolytic drugs dasatinib and quercetin (D + Q) reduced NAFLD in mice, D + Q lacked efficacy in removing doxorubicin-induced…
p38α regulates actin cytoskeleton and cytokinesis in hepatocytes during development and aging.
2017
[Background]: Hepatocyte poliploidization is an age-dependent process, being cytokinesis failure the main mechanism of polyploid hepatocyte formation. Our aim was to study the role of p38α MAPK in the regulation of actin cytoskeleton and cytokinesis in hepatocytes during development and aging. [Methods]: Wild type and p38α liver-specific knock out mice at different ages (after weaning, adults and old) were used. [Results]: We show that p38α MAPK deficiency induces actin disassembly upon aging and also cytokinesis failure leading to enhanced binucleation. Although the steady state levels of cyclin D1 in wild type and p38α knock out old livers remained unaffected, cyclin B1- a marker for G2/M…
Oleoylethanolamide restores alcohol-induced inhibition of neuronal proliferation and microglial activity in striatum
2019
Previous findings demonstrate a homeostatic role for oleoylethanolamide (OEA) signaling in the ethanol-related neuroinflammation and behavior. However, extensive research is still required in order to unveil the effects of OEA on a number of neurobiological functions such as adult neurogenesis, cell survival and resident neuroimmunity that become notably altered by alcohol. Daily consumption of ethanol (10%) for 2 weeks (6.3& #x202F;± 1.1 g/kg/day during last 5 days) caused hypolocomotor activity in rats. This effect appears to rely on central signaling mechanisms given that alcohol increased the OEA levels, the gene expression of OEA-synthesizing enzyme Nape-pld and the number of PPARα-imm…
A role for TASK2 channels in the human immunological synapse.
2020
The immunological synapse is a transient junction that occurs when the plasma membrane of a T cell comes in close contact with an APC after recognizing a peptide from the antigen-MHC. The interaction starts when CRAC channels embedded in the T cell membrane open, flowing calcium ions into the cell. To counterbalance the ion influx and subsequent depolarization, Kv 1.3 and KCa3.1 channels are recruited to the immunological synapse, increasing the extracellular K+ concentration. These processes are crucial as they initiate gene expression that drives T cell activation and proliferation. The T cell-specific function of the K2P channel family member TASK2 channels and their role in autoimmune p…
NUPR1, a new target in liver cancer: implication in controlling cell growth, migration, invasion and sorafenib resistance
2016
AbstractSorafenib, an oral multikinase inhibitor, is the only approved agent for the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, its benefits are modest, and as its mechanisms of action remain elusive, a better understanding of its anticancer effects is needed. Based on our previous study results, we investigated here the implication of the nuclear protein 1 (NUPR1) in HCC and its role in sorafenib treatment. NUPR1 is a stress-inducible protein that is overexpressed in various malignancies, but its role in HCC is not yet fully understood. We found that NUPR1 expression was significantly higher in primary human HCC samples than in the normal liver. Knockdown of NUPR1 signi…
Exome-wide somatic mutation characterization of small bowel adenocarcinoma
2018
Small bowel adenocarcinoma (SBA) is an aggressive disease with limited treatment options. Despite previous studies, its molecular genetic background has remained somewhat elusive. To comprehensively characterize the mutational landscape of this tumor type, and to identify possible targets of treatment, we conducted the first large exome sequencing study on a population-based set of SBA samples from all three small bowel segments. Archival tissue from 106 primary tumors with appropriate clinical information were available for exome sequencing from a patient series consisting of a majority of confirmed SBA cases diagnosed in Finland between the years 2003–2011. Paired-end exome sequencing was…
Galectin-3 is a marker of favorable prognosis and a biologically relevant molecule in neuroblastic tumors
2014
Childhood neuroblastic tumors are characterized by heterogeneous clinical courses, ranging from benign ganglioneuroma (GN) to highly lethal neuroblastoma (NB). Although a refined prognostic evaluation and risk stratification of each tumor patient is becoming increasingly essential to personalize treatment options, currently only few biomolecular markers (essentially MYCN amplification, chromosome 11q status and DNA ploidy) are validated for this purpose in neuroblastic tumors. Here we report that Galectin-3 (Gal-3), a β-galactoside-binding lectin involved in multiple biological functions that has already acquired diagnostic relevance in specific clinical settings, is variably expressed in m…