Search results for "Race"
showing 10 items of 4458 documents
Bioactive Compounds in Wild Asteraceae Edible Plants Consumed in the Mediterranean Diet
2020
Three wild edible plant species belonging to the Asteraceae family, Crepis vesicaria L. (s.l.), Sonchus asper (L.) Hill s.l., and Sonchus oleraceus L., usually consumed in the Mediterranean diet, were tested for their nutritional composition and content of carotenoids, tocols, thiamine and riboflavin. Low amounts of thiamine and riboflavin were found. All species were sources of xanthophylls (violaxanthin, neoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin and β-cryptoxanthin) and carotenes (α-carotene, β-carotene, 9-cis-β-carotene and 13-cis-β-carotene). Lutein accounted for the highest content (about 4 mg/100 g). They had good tocol amounts, in particular α-tocopherol (about 2–3 mg/100 g). Taking into accoun…
Cannabinoid Control of Learning and Memory through HCN Channels
2016
The mechanisms underlying the effects of cannabinoids on cognitive processes are not understood. Here we show that cannabinoid type-1 receptors (CB1Rs) control hippocampal synaptic plasticity and spatial memory through the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels that underlie the h-current (Ih), a key regulator of dendritic excitability. The CB1R-HCN pathway, involving c-Jun-N-terminal kinases (JNKs), nitric oxide synthase, and intracellular cGMP, exerts a tonic enhancement of Ih selectively in pyramidal cells located in the superficial portion of the CA1 pyramidal cell layer, whereas it is absent from deep-layer cells. Activation of the CB1R-HCN pathway impairs d…
Uncovering the Signaling Pathway behind Extracellular Guanine-Induced Activation of NO System: New Perspectives in Memory-Related Disorders
2018
Mounting evidence suggests that the guanine-based purines stand out as key player in cell metabolism and in several models of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Guanosine (GUO) and guanine (GUA) are extracellular signaling molecules derived from the breakdown of the correspondent nucleotide, GTP, and their intracellular and extracellular levels are regulated by the fine-tuned activity of two major enzymes, purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) and guanine deaminase (GDA). Noteworthy, GUO and GUA, seem to play opposite roles in the modulation of cognitive functions, such as learning and memory. Indeed GUO, despite exerting neuroprotective, anti-apoptot…
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Rv2145c Promotes Intracellular Survival by STAT3 and IL-10 Receptor Signaling
2021
Although Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is an intracellular pathogen in phagocytic cells, the factors and mechanisms by which they invade and persist in host cells are still not well understood. Characterization of the bacterial proteins modulating macrophage function is essential for understanding tuberculosis pathogenesis and bacterial virulence. Here we investigated the pathogenic role of the Rv2145c protein in stimulating IL-10 production. We first found that recombinant Rv2145c stimulated bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) to secrete IL-10, IL-6 and TNF-α but not IL-12p70 and to increase the expression of surface molecules through the MAPK, NF-κB, and TLR4 pathways and enhanced …
Targeting prohibitins at the cell surface prevents Th17-mediated autoimmunity.
2018
T helper (Th)17 cells represent a unique subset of CD4(+) T cells and are vital for clearance of extracellular pathogens including bacteria and fungi. However, Th17 cells are also involved in orchestrating autoimmunity. By employing quantitative surface proteomics, we found that the evolutionarily conserved prohibitins (PHB1/2) are highly expressed on the surface of both murine and human Th17 cells. Increased expression of PHBs at the cell surface contributed to enhanced CRAF/MAPK activation in Th17 cells. Targeting surface‐expressed PHBs on Th17 cells with ligands such as Vi polysaccharide (Typhim vaccine) inhibited CRAF‐MAPK pathway, reduced interleukin (IL)‐17 expression and ameliorated …
Pharmacological modulation of protein kinases as a new approach to treat addiction to cocaine and opiates.
2016
Drug addiction shares brain mechanisms and molecular substrates with learning and memory processes, such as the stimulation of glutamate receptors and their downstream signalling pathways. In the present work we provide an up-to-date review of studies that have demonstrated the implication of the main memory-related calcium-dependent protein kinases in opiate and cocaine addiction. The effects of these drugs of abuse in different animal models of drug reward, dependence and addiction are altered by manipulation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family, particularly extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK), calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII), the protein kinase C…
The Role of ERK Signaling in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis
2017
Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling plays a crucial role in regulating immune cell function and has been implicated in autoimmune disorders. To date, all commercially available inhibitors of ERK target upstream components, such as mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase/ERK kinase (MEKs), but not ERK itself. Here, we directly inhibit nuclear ERK translocation by a novel pharmacological approach (Glu-Pro-Glu (EPE) peptide), leading to an increase in cytosolic ERK phosphorylation during T helper (Th)17 cell differentiation. This was accompanied by diminished secretion of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), a cytokine influencing the encephalitogenicity …
MDA-MB-231 and 8701BC breast cancer lines promote the migration and invasiveness of ECV304 cells on 2D and 3D type-I collagen matrix
2017
Tumor angiogenesis is a multiphasic process, having the extracellular matrix remodeling as critical step. Different classes of proteolytic enzymes in matrix digestion/remodeling are involved. The role of lytic enzymes and their activation mode have not been completely elucidated. Herein, the crosstalk between endothelia and tumor cells, by realization of bi- and three-dimensional endothelial and breast cancer cells co-cultures, were studied in vitro. Particularly, the effects of two tumor conditioned media (TCM) were assessed about endothelial proliferation, migration, and invasiveness. An increase in expression of pro-MMP9 was detected when endothelial cells were cultured in the presence o…
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…