Search results for "RECEPTORS"
showing 10 items of 3254 documents
Effects of acute CPAP application on baroreflex control of heart rate during sleep in severe obstructive sleep apnea.
2006
Baroreflex control of heart rate during sleep (baroreflex sensitivity; BRS) has been shown to be depressed in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), and improved after treatment with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Whether CPAP also acutely affects BRS during sleep in uncomplicated severe OSA is still debatable. Blood pressure was monitored during nocturnal polysomnography in 18 patients at baseline and during first-time CPAP application. Spontaneous BRS was analysed by the sequence method, and estimated as the mean sequence slope. CPAP did not acutely affect mean blood pressure or heart rate but decreased cardiovascular variability during sleep. Mean BRS increased slightly during CPAP…
Oral and Vaginal Epithelial Cell Lines Bind and Transfer Cell-Free Infectious HIV-1 to Permissive Cells but Are Not Productively Infected
2014
The majority of HIV-1 infections worldwide are acquired via mucosal surfaces. However, unlike the vaginal mucosa, the issue of whether the oral mucosa can act as a portal of entry for HIV-1 infection remains controversial. To address potential differences with regard to the fate of HIV-1 after exposure to oral and vaginal epithelium, we utilized two epithelial cell lines representative of buccal (TR146) and pharyngeal (FaDu) sites of the oral cavity and compared them with a cell line derived from vaginal epithelium (A431) in order to determine (i) HIV-1 receptor gene and protein expression, (ii) whether HIV-1 genome integration into epithelial cells occurs, (iii) whether productive viral in…
Siderophore-mediated iron acquisition mechanisms in Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2
1996
Vibrio vulnificus biotype 2 is a primary pathogen for eels and, as has recently been suggested, an opportunistic pathogen for humans. In this study we have investigated the ability of V. vulnificus biotype 2 to obtain iron by siderophore-mediated mechanisms and evaluated the importance of free iron in vibriosis. The virulence degree for eels was dependent on iron availability from host fluids, as was revealed by a reduction in the 50% lethal dose for iron-overloaded eels. This biotype produced both phenolate- and hydroxamate-type siderophores of an unknown nature and two new outer membrane proteins of around 84 and 72 kDa in response to iron starvation. No alterations in lipopolysaccharide …
Systematic screening for mutations in the human serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) receptor gene: Identification of two naturally occurring receptor variants and …
1996
A statistically significant association between a silent mutation (102T/C) in the serotonin-2A (5-HT2A) receptor gene and schizophrenia has recently been reported in a sample of Japanese patients and healthy controls. This finding suggests that genetic predisposition to schizophrenia may be affected by a functional 5-HT2A receptor variant that is in linkage disequilibrium with 102T/C. In the present study, we have sought to identify genetic variation in the 5-HT2A receptor gene by screening genomic DNA samples from 91 unrelated subjects comprising 45 patients with schizophrenia and 46 healthy controls by using single-strand conformation analysis. We have identified four nucleotide sequence …
Increased frequencies of CD11b+CD33+CD14+HLA-DRlowmyeloid-derived suppressor cells are an early event in melanoma patients
2014
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) are a heterogeneous cell population characterized by immunosuppressive activity. Elevated levels of MDSC in peripheral blood are found in inflammatory diseases as well as in malignant tumors where they are supposed to be major contributors to mechanisms of tumor-associated tolerance. We investigated the frequency and function of MDSC in peripheral blood of melanoma patients and observed an accumulation of CD11b(+) CD33(+) CD14(+) HLA-DR(low) MDSC in all stages of disease (I-IV), including early stage I patients. Disease progression and enhanced tumor burden did not result in a further increase in frequencies or change in phenotype of MDSC. By investig…
Small RNA‐binding protein RapZ mediates cell envelope precursor sensing and signaling in Escherichia coli
2019
Abstract The RNA‐binding protein RapZ cooperates with small RNAs (sRNAs) GlmY and GlmZ to regulate the glmS mRNA in Escherichia coli. Enzyme GlmS synthesizes glucosamine‐6‐phosphate (GlcN6P), initiating cell envelope biosynthesis. GlmZ activates glmS expression by base‐pairing. When GlcN6P is ample, GlmZ is bound by RapZ and degraded through ribonuclease recruitment. Upon GlcN6P depletion, the decoy sRNA GlmY accumulates through a previously unknown mechanism and sequesters RapZ, suppressing GlmZ decay. This circuit ensures GlcN6P homeostasis and thereby envelope integrity. In this work, we identify RapZ as GlcN6P receptor. GlcN6P‐free RapZ stimulates phosphorylation of the two‐component sy…
“Smoke, Choline-Acetyl-Transferase, Muscarinic Receptors and fibroblast proliferation in COPD
2009
Acetylcholine (ACh), synthesized by choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and muscarinic M1, M2, and M3 receptors (MRs) are involved in fibroblast proliferation. We evaluated ChAT, MRs, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 and nuclear factor (NF) κB activation in lung fibroblasts from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), control smokers, and controls. Human fetal lung fibroblasts (HFL-1) stimulated with interleukin (IL)-1β, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and cigarette smoke extracts (CSEs) were evaluated for ChAT and MR expression. We tested the effects of ACh on fibroblast proliferation and its ability to bind fibroblasts from patients with COPD, control s…
Chemosensory Receptors in the Larval Maxilla of Papilio hospiton
2022
Among the butterflies of the genus Papilio (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), Papilio hospiton (Géné) has a geographical distribution limited to the Mediterranean islands of Sardinia (Italy) and Corsica (France). This is mainly due to the host range that includes only a few plant species of Apiaceae and Rutaceae growing on these islands. In a previous electrophysiological investigation conducted on the maxillary gustatory system of larvae of P. hospiton and its closely phylogenetically related species Papilio machaon, a significantly higher spike activity was shown for the gustatory neurons of lateral and medial styloconic sensilla in P. hospiton when bitter compounds were tested. This effect was…
Host–guest complexes of conformationally flexible C-hexyl-2-bromoresorcinarene and aromatic N-oxides: solid-state, solution and computational studies
2018
Host–guest complexes of C-hexyl-2-bromoresorcinarene (BrC6) with twelve potential aromatic N-oxide guests were studied using single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and 1H NMR spectroscopy. In the solid state, of the nine obtained X-ray crystal structures, eight were consistent with the formation of BrC6-N-oxide endo complexes. The lone exception was from the association between 4-phenylpyridine N-oxide and BrC6, in that case the host forms a self-inclusion complex. BrC6, as opposed to more rigid previously studied C-ethyl-2-bromoresorcinarene and C-propyl-2-bromoresorcinarene, undergoes remarkable cavity conformational changes to host different N-oxide guests through C–H···π(host) intera…
TRAIL-induced apoptosis of hepatocellular carcinoma cells is augmented by targeted therapies
2009
AIM: To analyze the effect of chemotherapeutic drugs and specific kinase inhibitors, in combination with the death receptor ligand tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL), on overcoming TRAIL resistance in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and to study the efficacy of agonistic TRAIL antibodies, as well as the commitment of antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins, in TRAIL-induced apoptosis. METHODS: Surface expression of TRAIL receptors (TRAIL-R1-4) and expression levels of the antiapoptotic BCL-2 proteins MCL-1 and BCL-xL were analyzed by flow cytometry and Western blotting, respectively. Knock-down of MCL-1 and BCL-xL was performed by transfecting specific small interfering RNA…