Search results for "Pathway"
showing 10 items of 1685 documents
Data from: Ecological impact assessments of alien species in Norway
2020
Due to globalisation, trade and transport, the spread of alien species is increasing dramatically. Some alien species become ecologically harmful by threatening native biota. This can lead to irreversible changes in local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, and, ultimately, to biotic homogenisation. We risk-assessed all alien plants, animals, fungi and algae, within certain delimitations, that are known to reproduce in Norway. Mainland Norway and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard plus Jan Mayen were treated as separate assessment areas. Assessments followed the Generic Ecological Impact Assessment of Alien Species (GEIAA) protocol, which uses a fully quantitative set of criteria. A tot…
SYSCILIA, “A systems biology approach to dissect cilia function and its disruption in human genetic disease”
2012
Primary cilia are basically signaling hubs, harboring amongst others the noncanonical WNT, Hedgehog,and PDGF signaling systems, and their disruption leads to striking developmental defects. Some ciliopathy-associated proteins have recently been revealed to be physically or functionally associated in several distinct groupings, with limited connections to other crucial biological processes. Early proteomics studies have also suggested a discrete repertoire of about 1000 proteins within the organelle (i.e. <5% of the proteome) that are still in need of organisation into pathways and networks. Small, relatively isolated systems are often targeted by systems biology approaches under the assumpt…
Cancer: Clinical Background and Key Challenges
2011
This chapter is aimed at a wide audience ranging from biologists to medical students and cancer specialists. It provides a comprehensive overview of systems approaches to the pathology and treatment of cancer. In particular, it addresses diagnosis and therapy by interconnecting various aspects of cancer at both the molecular and clinical level, and contrasts the unifying features of malignancies with the daunting diversity of cancer types, stages, and evolutionary processes during treatment. The importance is emphasized of both prevention and innovative treatments in reducing the cancer burden, and of early detection as the link between these two major areas. It sets the stage for analysis …
Phenotypical and Functional Alteration of γδ T Lymphocytes in COVID-19 Patients: Reversal by Statins
2022
(1) Background: statins have been considered an attractive class of drugs in the pharmacological setting of COVID-19 due to their pleiotropic properties and their use correlates with decreased mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, it is well known that statins, which block the mevalonate pathway, affect γδ T lymphocyte activation. As γδ T cells participate in the inflammatory process of COVID-19, we have investigated the therapeutical potential of statins as a tool to inhibit γδ T cell pro-inflammatory activities; (2) Methods: we harvested peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from COVID-19 patients with mild clinical manifestatio…
Inhibition of Transcription Factors by Plant-Derived Compounds and their Implications in Inflammation and Cancer
2009
Inflammation is a general term used to describe various pathological processes with diverse causes that can include infection, trauma, or an autoimmune response. Due to its many causes, the inflammatory response involves multiple and varied mediators, including vasoactive amines, free radicals, and both lipidic and peptidic mediators. Medicinal plants and the compounds derived from them are a good source of new and specific inhibitors of the inflammatory process. The past decade has witnessed many important discoveries in this field, with new findings challenging the more traditional views of pharmacologists. Various studies, for example, have demonstrated the positive effects of plant-deri…
Activation of complement by the alternative pathway as a factor in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease.
1976
Dental plaque and a bacterium, Actinomyces viscosus, isolated from plaque that can reproduce periodontal disease in germ-free rats, are activators of complement by the alternative pathway. It is suggested that this process is involved in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory periodontal disease.
T Cells Integrate Local and Global Cues to Discriminate between Structurally Similar Antigens
2015
International audience; T lymphocytes' ability to discriminate between structurally related antigens has been attributed to the unique signaling properties of the T cell receptor. However, recent studies have suggested that the output of this discrimination process is conditioned by environmental cues. Here, we demonstrate how the IL-2 cytokine, collectively generated by strongly activated T cell clones, can induce weaker T cell clones to proliferate. We identify the PI3K pathway as being critical for integrating the antigen and cytokine responses and for controlling cell-cycle entry. We build a hybrid stochastic/deterministic computational model that accounts for such signal synergism and …
A Regulatory Mechanism Involving TBP-1/Tat-Binding Protein 1 and Akt/PKB in the Control of Cell Proliferation
2011
Abstract TBP-1 /Tat-Binding Protein 1 (also named Rpt-5, S6a or PSMC3) is a multifunctional protein, originally identified as a regulator of HIV-1-Tat mediated transcription. It is an AAA-ATPase component of the 19S regulative subunit of the proteasome and, as other members of this protein family, fulfils different cellular functions including proteolysis and transcriptional regulation. We and others reported that over expression of TBP-1 diminishes cell proliferation in different cellular contexts with mechanisms yet to be defined. Accordingly, we demonstrated that TBP-1 binds to and stabilizes the p14ARF oncosuppressor increasing its anti-oncogenic functions. However, TBP-1 restrains cell…
Polymorphisms of genes of TGF-beta pathway and susceptibility to colorectal cancer
2012
Background: Genetic background implicated in cytokine network may have a key role in the susceptibility to colorectal cancer (CRC). The TGF-β pathway is involved in several biological processes, including cell proliferation, differentiation, migration and apoptosis. Methods: rs1800471 SNP polymorphism of TGF-ß1 rs334348 and rs334349 of TGF-βR1, rs900 of TGF-β2 and rs4522809 of TGF-β2R2 were typed in a group of 82 patients affected by sporadic CRC and in 237 age- and sex-matched healthy controls, using a competitive allele specific PCR assays (KASPar), developed by KBioscience (England). Results: No significant genetic contribution has been observed for 3 of the 5 SNPs tested. Indeed, a sign…
Emerging Therapies in Immune Thrombocytopenia
2021
Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is a rare autoimmune disorder caused by peripheral platelet destruction and inappropriate bone marrow production. The management of ITP is based on the utilization of steroids, intravenous immunoglobulins, rituximab, thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RAs), immunosuppressants and splenectomy. Recent advances in the understanding of its pathogenesis have opened new fields of therapeutic interventions. The phagocytosis of platelets by splenic macrophages could be inhibited by spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) or Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors. The clearance of antiplatelet antibodies could be accelerated by blocking the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn), while n…