Search results for "Phosphoprotein"
showing 10 items of 160 documents
Quantification of DNA in Plasma by an Automated Real-Time PCR Assay (Cytomegalovirus PCR Kit) for Surveillance of Active Cytomegalovirus Infection an…
2008
ABSTRACT The performance of a plasma real-time PCR (cytomegalovirus [CMV] PCR kit; Abbott Diagnostics) was compared with that of the antigenemia assay for the surveillance of active CMV infection in 42 allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Allo-SCT) recipients. A total of 1,156 samples were analyzed by the two assays. Concordance between the two assays was 82.2%. Plasma DNA levels correlated with the number of pp65-positive cells, particularly prior to the initiation of preemptive therapy. Fifty-seven episodes of active CMV infection were detected in 37 patients: 18 were defined solely by the PCR assay and four were defined on the basis of the antigenemia assay. Either a cutof…
Functional profile of cytomegalovirus (CMV)-specific CD8+ T cells and kinetics of NKG2C+ NK Cells associated with the resolution of CMV DNAemia in al…
2011
Immune mechanisms involved in control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in the allogeneic stem cell transplantation setting have not been fully disclosed. CMV pp65 and IE-1-specific CD8(+) T cells expressing IFN-γ, TNF-α, and CD107a, alone or in combination, and NKG2C(+) NK cells were prospectively enumerated during 13 episodes of CMV DNAemia. The expansion of monofunctional and polyfunctional CD8(+) T cells was associated with CMV DNAemia clearance. The size and functional diversity of the expanding CD8(+) T-cell population was greater in self-resolved episodes than in episodes treated with antivirals. These differences were related to the magnitude of expansion of cognate antigen IFN-γ C…
Apoptosis resistance in epithelial tumors is mediated by tumor-cell-derived interleukin-4
2008
We investigated the mechanisms involved in the resistance to cell death observed in epithelial cancers. Here, we identify that primary epithelial cancer cells from colon, breast and lung carcinomas express high levels of the antiapoptotic proteins PED, cFLIP, Bcl-xL and Bcl-2. These cancer cells produced interleukin-4 (IL-4), which amplified the expression levels of these antiapoptotic proteins and prevented cell death induced upon exposure to TRAIL or other drug agents. IL-4 blockade resulted in a significant decrease in the growth rate of epithelial cancer cells and sensitized them, both in vitro and in vivo, to apoptosis induction by TRAIL and chemotherapy via downregulation of the antia…
Search for variants of the gene-promoter and the potential phosphotyrosine encoding sequence of the insulin receptor substrate-2 gene: evaluation of …
1999
Aims/hypothesis. The aim of this study was to screen part of the putative promoter sequence in addition to 14 potential phosphotyrosine residues of human IRS-2 for genetic variability which might cause changes in protein expression or function. Furthermore, the potential impact on insulin secretion and sensitivity of a previously identified IRS-2 variant (Gly1057Asp) was analysed Methods. The screenings were carried out by the SSCP-heteroduplex technique on DNA from Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients. The impact of the Gly1057Asp variant was analysed in four glucose-tolerant Scandinavian study groups. Results. The results showed no nucleotide substitutions in the promoter seq…
SARS‐CoV‐2 N‐antigenemia in critically ill adult COVID‐19 patients: Frequency and association with inflammatory and tissue‐damage biomarkers
2021
Abstract The current study aimed at characterizing the dynamics of SARS‐CoV‐2 nucleocapsid (N) antigenemia in a cohort of critically ill adult COVID‐19 patients and assessing its potential association with plasma levels of biomarkers of clinical severity and mortality. Seventy‐three consecutive critically ill COVID‐19 patients (median age, 65 years) were recruited. Serial plasma (n = 340) specimens were collected. A lateral flow immunochromatography assay and reverse‐transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐PCR) were used for SARS‐CoV‐2 N protein detection and RNA quantitation and in plasma, respectively. Serum levels of inflammatory and tissue‐damage biomarkers in paired specimens were …
P29, an oestrogen receptor-associated protein, is down- regulated by mifepristone in first trimester human placenta and decidua
1991
P29 is an oestrogen receptor-associated protein which acts as a marker of oestrogen action in several systems. The concentration of P29 was measured in placenta and decidua from women following medical termination of pregnancy with the antiprogesterone steroid mifepristone (RU 38,486) and a prostaglandin E1 analogue, and compared with the concentration of P29 found in matched controls undergoing surgical aspiration of pregnancy. Oestrogen receptors were also measured in the same samples. Placental and decidual P29 concentrations (IU/mg protein) in patients treated with mifepristone were 9.6 (4.6-54) and 4.8 (1.3-13.3) (median and range), respectively. These values were significantly lower t…
YAP/TAZ activity in stromal cells prevents ageing by controlling cGAS-STING
2022
Ageing is intimately connected to the induction of cell senescence(1,2), but why this is so remains poorly understood. A key challenge isthe identification of pathways that normally suppress senescence, are lost during ageing and are functionally relevant to oppose ageing(3). Here we connected the structural and functional decline of ageing tissues to attenuated function of the master effectors of cellular mechanosignalling YAP and TAZ. YAP/TAZ activity declines during physiological ageing in stromal cells, and mimicking such decline through genetic inactivation of YAP/TAZ in these cells leads to accelerated ageing. Conversely, sustaining YAP function rejuvenates old cells and opposes the e…
Clostridium difficile Toxins Disrupt Epithelial Barrier Function by Altering Membrane Microdomain Localization of Tight Junction Proteins
2001
ABSTRACT The anaerobic bacterium Clostridium difficile is the etiologic agent of pseudomembranous colitis. C. difficile toxins TcdA and TcdB are UDP-glucosyltransferases that monoglucosylate and thereby inactivate the Rho family of GTPases (W. P. Ciesla, Jr., and D. A. Bobak, J. Biol. Chem. 273:16021–16026, 1998). We utilized purified reference toxins of C. difficile , TcdA-10463 (TcdA) and TcdB-10463 (TcdB), and a model intestinal epithelial cell line to characterize their influence on tight-junction (TJ) organization and hence to analyze the mechanisms by which they contribute to the enhanced paracellular permeability and disease pathophysiology of pseudomembranous colitis. The increase i…
Effects of oral niacin on endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease: Results of the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controll…
2009
High-density-lipoproteins-cholesterol (HDL-C) is invertedly related to the incidence of cardiovascular events. Recent studies suggest that HDL-C directly improves endothelial function. Nicotinic acid (niacin) effectively raises serum HDL-C. We therefore hypothesized that treatment with niacin improves endothelial dysfunction in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). One hundred seven patients with CAD were randomly assigned to double-blinded treatment for 12 weeks with extended-release (ER)-niacin 1000 mg/day (N) or placebo (C), respectively. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of the brachial artery, nitroglycerin-mediated endothelium-independent dilation (NMD) and serum lipid concentration…
Differential roles of cAMP and cGMP in megakaryocyte maturation and platelet biogenesis
2012
The cyclic nucleotides cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) regulate the activity of protein kinase A (PKA) and protein kinase G (PKG), respectively. This process helps maintain circulating platelets in a resting state. Here we studied the role of cAMP and cGMP in the regulation of megakaryocyte (MK) differentiation and platelet formation. Cultured, platelet-producing MKs were differentiated from fetal livers harvested from 13.5 days postcoital mouse embryos. MK development was accompanied by a dramatic increase in cAMP production and expression of soluble guanylate cyclase, PKG, and PKA as well as their downstream targets vasodilator-stimulated ph…