Search results for "Mechanism"
showing 10 items of 1835 documents
New Gold(I) Organometallic Compounds with Biological Activity in Cancer Cells
2014
N-Heterocyclic carbene gold(I) complexes bearing a fluorescent coumarin ligand were synthesized and characterized by various techniques. The compounds were examined for their antiproliferative effects in normal and tumor cells in vitro; they demonstrated moderate activity and a certain degree of selectivity. The compounds were also shown to efficiently inhibit the selenoenzyme thioredoxin reductase (TrxR), whereas they were poorly effective towards the glutathione reductase (GR) and glutathione peroxidase enzymes. Notably, {3-[(7-methoxy-2-oxo-2H-chromen-4-yl) methyl]-1-methylimidazol-2-ylidene}(tetra-O-acetyl-1-thio-beta-D-glucopyranosido) gold(I) (3) showed a pronounced inhibition of TrxR…
Three-dimensional analysis of load transfer micro-mechanisms in fibre/matrix composites
2009
International audience; This study gives a detailed analysis of load distributions around fibre breaks in a composite. In contrast to other studies reported in the literature, the analysis considers different configurations of composite damage from the failure of a few to the failure of many fibres. The model considers three types of matrix behaviours (elastic, elastic–plastic and viscoelastic) with or without debonding at the broken fibre/matrix interface. In this way, the usual limitations of the finite element approach are overcome so as to take into account the number and interactions of broken fibres whilst maintaining an evaluation of the various fields (stresses in particular).
Serine- and Threonine/Valine-Dependent Activation of PDK and Tor Orthologs Converge on Sch9 to Promote Aging
2014
Dietary restriction extends longevity in organisms ranging from bacteria to mice and protects primates from a variety of diseases, but the contribution of each dietary component to aging is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that glucose and specific amino acids promote stress sensitization and aging through the differential activation of the Ras/cAMP/PKA, PKH1/2 and Tor/S6K pathways. Whereas glucose sensitized cells through a Ras-dependent mechanism, threonine and valine promoted cellular sensitization and aging primarily by activating the Tor/S6K pathway and serine promoted sensitization via PDK1 orthologs Pkh1/2. Serine, threonine and valine activated a signaling network in which Sch…
Effects of cyclooxygenase-1/cyclooxygenase-2 inhibition on leukocyte/endothelial cell interactions in the rat mesentery.
2002
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) inhibit cyclooxygenase activity and cause gastrointestinal damage in part by promoting leukocyte accumulation in the mucosa. Our aim was to evaluate the effects of selective blockade of the isoenzymes cyclooxygenase-1 and cyclooxygenase-2 on leukocyte adhesion in vivo. Leukocyte/endothelial cell interactions were examined in rat mesenteric venules before and after treatment with indomethacin, SC-560 (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-1-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-trifluoromethylpyrazole, cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitor), DFP (5,5-dimethyl-3-(2-propoxy)-4-(4-methanesulfonyl)-2(5H)-furanone, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor), or SC-560 plus DFP (20 mg/kg, i.v. each). Indomethacin i…
Robust dynamical pattern formation from a multifunctional minimal genetic circuit.
2010
Abstract Background A practical problem during the analysis of natural networks is their complexity, thus the use of synthetic circuits would allow to unveil the natural mechanisms of operation. Autocatalytic gene regulatory networks play an important role in shaping the development of multicellular organisms, whereas oscillatory circuits are used to control gene expression under variable environments such as the light-dark cycle. Results We propose a new mechanism to generate developmental patterns and oscillations using a minimal number of genes. For this, we design a synthetic gene circuit with an antagonistic self-regulation to study the spatio-temporal control of protein expression. He…
Biologically inspired information processing and synchronization in ensembles of non-identical threshold-potential nanostructures.
2013
Nanotechnology produces basic structures that show a significant variability in their individual physical properties. This experimental fact may constitute a serious limitation for most applications requiring nominally identical building blocks. On the other hand, biological diversity is found in most natural systems. We show that reliable information processing can be achieved with heterogeneous groups of non-identical nanostructures by using some conceptual schemes characteristic of biological networks (diversity, frequency-based signal processing, rate and rank order coding, and synchronization). To this end, we simulate the integrated response of an ensemble of single-electron transisto…
Analysing the Spanish smoke-free legislation of 2006: a new method to quantify its impact using a dynamic model.
2011
Background: There are many models that study aspects of smoking habits: the influence of price, tax, relapse time, and the effects of prohibition. There are also studies examining the effects of the Spanish smoke-free law. We wanted to build a model able to separate the effect of the law from the pre-law evolution of smoking habits. Methods: Using data from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Social Policy, we developed a dynamic model of tobacco use. The model projects the evolution over time of the number of non-smokers, smokers and ex-smokers before 2006. Then, we compared the predictions of the model with data for the years after the law came into force, 2006 and 2009. Results: We show t…
Effects of hydrazyl group containing drugs on leucocyte functions: an immunoregulatory model for the hydralazine-induced lupus-like syndrome.
1985
Isoniazid (INH) and hydralazine (HYD) are transglutaminase (TGase, E.C.2.3.2.13.) substrates containing catalytically recruitable hydrazyl groups. Since they can be expected to inhibit TGase-mediated cell functions by competing with physiological substrates, their effect upon allogeneically and lectin-induced proliferation of mononucleocytes and upon zymosan-induced chemiluminescence of phagocytes was studied. Both compounds inhibited chemiluminescence in a dose-dependent manner. ID50 of HYD was consistently below 20 microM, while that of INH was above 120 microM. Proliferation of immunocompetent cells was suppressed by HYD with an ID50 of 60 microM, INH was inhibitory only above 5000 micro…
Photocatalytic degradation of acid blue 80 in aqueous solutions containing TiO2 suspensions.
2001
The photocatalytic degradation of the anthraquinonic dye Acid Blue 80 in aqueous solutions containing TiO2 dispersions has been investigated. The process has been monitored by following either the disappearance of the dye (via HPLC) and the formation of its end-products (via IC, GC, and TOC analysis). Although a relatively fast decolorization of the solutions has been observed, the mineralization is slower, and the presence of residual organic compounds was evidenced even after long term irradiation, confirming the relevant stability of anthraquinone derivatives. The identification of various unstable intermedi ates formed after low irradiation times was performed by HPLC-MS, allowing us to…
Lipid and fatty acid variations inCiona intestinalis ovary after tri-n-butyltin(IV)chloride exposure
2005
Reduction of total lipids (TL) content and significant variations of triglyceride (TG) and phospholipid (PL) fractions were observed as a consequence of exposure of Ciona intestinalis ovaries to tributyltin chloride (TBTCL) solutions. In particular, an evident TG decrease and a PL increase were observed, which probably provoked an increment in membrane fluidity, because of the high concentration of long chain fatty acids and, as a consequence, PL. This could be a cell adaptive standing mechanism towards the pollutants, as observed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Also the increase in the content of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), important in the synthesis of compounds such as prostagla…