Search results for "Sect"
showing 10 items of 10622 documents
Characterization of NO-Induced Nitrosative Status in Human Placenta from Pregnant Women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus
2017
Dysregulation of NO production is implicated in pregnancy-related diseases, including gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The role of NO and its placental targets in GDM pregnancies has yet to be determined. S-Nitrosylation is the NO-derived posttranslational protein modification that can modulate biological functions by forming NO-derived complexes with longer half-life, termed S-nitrosothiol (SNO). Our aim was to examine the presence of endogenous S-nitrosylated proteins in cysteine residues in relation to antioxidant defense, apoptosis, and cellular signal transduction in placental tissue from control (n=8) and GDM (n=8) pregnancies. S-Nitrosylation was measured using the biotin-switch …
β(3)‐Adrenoceptors in the normal and diseased urinary bladder—What are the open questions?
2019
β(3)‐Adrenoceptor agonists are used in the treatment of overactive bladder syndrome. Although the relaxant response to adrenergic stimulation in human detrusor smooth muscle cells is mediated mainly via β(3)‐adrenoceptors, the plasma concentrations of the therapeutic dose of mirabegron, the only clinically approved β(3)‐adrenoceptor agonist, are considerably lower than the EC(50) for causing direct relaxation of human detrusor, suggesting a mechanism of action other than direct relaxation of detrusor smooth muscle. However, the site and mechanism of action of β(3)‐adrenoceptor agonists in the bladder have not been firmly established. Postulated mechanisms include prejunctional suppression o…
Birth Mode-Related Differences in Gut Microbiota Colonization and Immune System Development.
2018
<b><i>Background:</i></b> The process of early gut colonization is extremely variable among individuals and is influenced by numerous factors. Among these, the mode of birth will strongly shape the early microbial exposure and immune environment of the neonate. <b><i>Summary:</i></b> Here, I review how the concomitant processes of microbiota and immune system development are altered by C-section delivery and the effects of such alterations on long-term health. <b><i>Key messages:</i></b> C-section delivery impinges on microbiota and immune system development through various means: (i) if labor is lacking, intrauterine i…
Simultaneous infection of cattle with different Anaplasma phagocytophilum variants.
2019
Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-transmitted Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacterium that replicates in neutrophil granulocytes. It causes tick-borne fever in cattle and sheep. We report here the case of a 5-year-old cow from Germany with clinically overt granulocytic anaplasmosis presenting with fever, lower limb oedema and drop in milk-yield. The herd encompassed 10 animals, 8 other animals showed subclinical infection. The strains from the 9 A. phagocytophilum positive cows were molecularly characterized using ankA gene-based and multilocus sequence typing (MLST). Seven of 9 (78%) animals were infected simultaneously with different ankA variants belonging to ankA clusters I and…
DNA demethylation caused By 5-Aza-2'-Deoxycytidine induces mitotic alterations and aneuploidy
2016
Aneuploidy, the unbalanced number of chromosomes in a cell, is considered a prevalent form of genetic instability and is largely acknowledged as a condition implicated in tumorigenesis. Epigenetic alterations like DNA hypomethylation have been correlated with cancer initiation/progression. Furthermore, a growing body of evidence suggests the involvement of epigenome-wide disruption as a cause of global DNA hypomethylation in aneuploidy generation. Here, we report that the DNA hypomethylating drug 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine (DAC), affects the correct ploidy of nearly diploid HCT-116 human cells by altering the methylation pattern of the chromosomes. Specifically, we show that a DAC-induced reduc…
Identification of theprothoracicotropic hormone(Ptth) coding gene and localization of its site of expression in the pea aphidAcyrthosiphon pisum
2017
Insect hormones control essential aspects of physiology, behaviour and development in insects. The majority of insect hormones are peptide hormones that perform a highly diverse catalogue of functions. Prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH) is a brain neuropeptide hormone whose main function is to stimulate the secretion of ecdysone (the moulting hormone) by the prothoracic glands in insect larvae thus playing a key role in the control of moulting and metamorphosis. Moreover, both PTTH release or blockade have been reported to act as a switch to terminate or initiate larval and pupal diapauses. In insects, diapause is a prevalent response often regulated by the photoperiod. It has been shown tha…
Mild Parkinsonian Signs in a Hospital-based Cohort of Mild Cognitive Impairment Types: A Cross-sectional Study
2018
Background:Mild Parkinsonian Signs (MPS) have been associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) types with conflicting results.Objective:To investigate the association of individual MPS with different MCI types using logistic ridge regression analysis, and to evaluate for each MCI type, the association of MPS with caudate atrophy, global cerebral atrophy, and the topographical location of White Matter Hyperintensities (WMH), and lacunes.Methods:A cross-sectional study was performed among 1,168 subjects with different types of MCI aged 45-97 (70,52 ± 9,41) years, who underwent brain MRI. WMH were assessed through two visual rating scales. The number and location of lacunes were also rated…
Genetics and Evolution of Social Behavior in Insects
2017
The study of insect social behavior has offered tremendous insight into the molecular mechanisms mediating behavioral and phenotypic plasticity. Genomic applications to the study of eusocial insect species, in particular, have led to several hypotheses for the processes underlying the molecular evolution of behavior. Advances in understanding the genetic control of social organization have also been made, suggesting an important role for supergenes in the evolution of divergent behavioral phenotypes. Intensive study of social phenotypes across species has revealed that behavior and caste are controlled by an interaction between genetic and environmentally mediated effects and, further, tha…
Mast cells contribute to autoimmune diabetes by releasing interleukin-6 and failing to acquire a tolerogenic IL-10+ phenotype
2017
Mast cells (MCs) are innate immune cells that exert positive and negative immune modulatory functions capable to enhance or limit the intensity and/or duration of adaptive immune responses. Although MCs are crucial to regulate T cell immunity, their action in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases is still debated. Here we demonstrate that MCs play a crucial role in T1D pathogenesis so that their selective depletion in conditional MC knockout NOD mice protects them from the disease. MCs of diabetic NOD mice are overly inflammatory and secrete large amounts of IL-6 that favors differentiation of IL-17-secreting T cells at the site of autoimmunity. Moreover, while MCs of control mice acquire…
Human Achilles tendon glycation and function in diabetes
2016
Diabetic patients have an increased risk of foot ulcers, and glycation of collagen may increase tissue stiffness. We hypothesized that the level of glycemic control (glycation) may affect Achilles tendon stiffness, which can influence gait pattern. We therefore investigated the relationship between collagen glycation, Achilles tendon stiffness parameters, and plantar pressure in poorly ( n = 22) and well ( n = 22) controlled diabetic patients, including healthy age-matched (45–70 yr) controls ( n = 11). There were no differences in any of the outcome parameters (collagen cross-linking or tendon stiffness) between patients with well-controlled and poorly controlled diabetes. The overall effe…