Search results for "Sequence analysis"
showing 10 items of 1349 documents
A53T-Alpha-Synuclein Overexpression Impairs Dopamine Signaling and Striatal Synaptic Plasticity in Old Mice
2010
BACKGROUND: Parkinson's disease (PD), the second most frequent neurodegenerative disorder at old age, can be caused by elevated expression or the A53T missense mutation of the presynaptic protein alpha-synuclein (SNCA). PD is characterized pathologically by the preferential vulnerability of the dopaminergic nigrostriatal projection neurons. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we used two mouse lines overexpressing human A53T-SNCA and studied striatal dysfunction in the absence of neurodegeneration to understand early disease mechanisms. To characterize the progression, we employed young adult as well as old mice. Analysis of striatal neurotransmitter content demonstrated that dopamine (DA…
Hormonal regulation of S-adenosylmethionine synthase transcripts in pea ovaries
1996
Two cDNA clones coding for S-adenosyl-L-methionine synthase (SAMs, EC 2.5.1.6) have been isolated from a cDNA library of gibberellic acid-treated unpollinated pea ovaries. Both cDNAs were sequenced showing a high degree of identity but coding for different SAMs polypeptides. The presence of two SAMs genes in pea was further confirmed by Southern analysis. Expression of the SAMs genes in the pea plant was found at different levels in vegetative and reproductive tissues. We characterized the expression levels of SAMs genes during the development or senescence of pea ovaries. Northern analysis showed that transcription of SAMs genes in parthenocarpic fruits was upregulated by auxins in the sam…
Muscular transcriptome in postmenopausal women with or without hormone replacement.
2007
The loss of muscle mass and strength with aging is well characterized, but our knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying the development of sarcopenia remains incomplete. Although menopause is often accompanied with first signs of age-associated changes in muscle structure and function, the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or menopause-related decline in estrogen production in the muscles of postmenopausal women is not well understood. Furthermore the knowledge of the global transcriptional changes that take place in skeletal muscle in relation to estrogen status has thus far been completely lacking. We used a randomized double-blinded study design together with an explor…
Similar endometrial development in oocyte donors treated with either high- or standard-dose GnRH antagonist compared to treatment with a GnRH agonist…
2005
Background This descriptive study evaluates the impact on endometrial development of standard and high doses of a GnRH antagonist in stimulated cycles compared with GnRH agonist and natural cycles. Methods Thirty-one oocyte donors were treated with a combination of rFSH and 0.25 mg/day ganirelix (standard dose), 2 mg/day ganirelix (high dose) or 0.6 mg/day buserelin (long protocol). Vaginal progesterone (200 mg/day) was administered in the luteal phase. Endometrial biopsies were performed 2 and 7 days after HCG administration. Additional biopsies were carried out in a subset of 12 subjects, 2 and 7 days following the LH peak of their previous natural cycle. Biopsies were evaluated histologi…
Prevalence and genetic diversity of Aichi virus strains in stool samples from community and hospitalized patients.
2008
ABSTRACT Aichi virus has been proposed as a causative agent of gastroenteritis. A total of 457 stool specimens from children hospitalized with acute diarrhea and 566 stool specimens from adults and children involved in 110 gastroenteritis outbreaks were screened for the presence of Aichi virus by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) amplification of the genomic region of the 3C and 3D (3CD) nonstructural proteins. Our results show a low incidence of Aichi virus in pediatric samples and the existence of mixed infections with other microbiological agents in some cases. From the outbreak survey, it appears that the presence of Aichi virus is an indicator of mixed infections causing gastroenterit…
Evolutionary History and Functional Characterization of the Amphibian Xenosensor CAR
2011
AbstractThe xenosensing constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) is widely considered to have arisen in early mammals via duplication of the pregnane X receptor (PXR). We report that CAR emerged together with PXR and the vitamin D receptor from an ancestral NR1I gene already in early vertebrates, as a result of whole-genome duplications. CAR genes were subsequently lost from the fish lineage, but they are conserved in all taxa of land vertebrates. This contrasts with PXR, which is found in most fish species, whereas it is lost from Sauropsida (reptiles and birds) and plays a role unrelated to xenosensing in Xenopus. This role is fulfilled in Xenopus by CAR, which exhibits low basal activity a…
Diversity of ankA and msp4 genes of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in Slovenia.
2015
Granulocytic anaplasmosis is a tick transmitted emerging disease in Europe and worldwide. The agent, Anaplasma phagocytophilum is transmitted by ticks of the genus Ixodes and causes infections in humans and domestic animals. The analysis of different target genes showed that in nature several genetic variants of A. phagocytophilum were present. The purpose of our study was to genetically characterize A. phagocytophilum strains from eight humans, 16 dogs, 12 wild boars, one bear and 18 tick pools from Slovenia. Therefore, the ankA and msp4 genes of A. phagocytophilum were chosen. The same genetic ankA and msp4 variant of A. phagocytophilum was detected in humans, wild boar and a part of the …
Receptor Activator of NF-kB (RANK) Expression in Primary Tumors Associates with Bone Metastasis Occurrence in Breast Cancer Patients
2011
Background\ud Receptor activator of NFkB (RANK), its ligand (RANKL) and the decoy receptor of RANKL (osteoprotegerin, OPG) play a pivotal role in bone remodeling by regulating osteoclasts formation and activity. RANKL stimulates migration of RANK-expressing tumor cells in vitro, conversely inhibited by OPG.\ud \ud Materials and Methods\ud We examined mRNA expression levels of RANKL/RANK/OPG in a publicly available microarray dataset of 295 primary breast cancer patients. We next analyzed RANK expression by immunohistochemistry in an independent series of 93 primary breast cancer specimens and investigated a possible association with clinicopathological parameters, bone recurrence and surviv…
The Active Human Gut Microbiota Differs from the Total Microbiota
2011
The human gut microbiota is considered one of the most fascinating reservoirs of microbial diversity hosting between 400 to 1000 bacterial species distributed among nine phyla with Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria representing around of the diversity. One of the most intriguing issues relates to understanding which microbial groups are active players in the maintenance of the microbiota homeostasis. Here, we describe the diversity of active microbial fractions compared with the whole community from raw human fecal samples. We studied four healthy volunteers by 16S rDNA gene pyrosequencing. The fractions were obtained by cell sorting based on bacterial RNA concentration. Bacteria…
Hookworm-like eggs in children’s faecal samples from a rural area of Rwanda
2016
Background: Hookworm eggs identification and quantification is usually carried out by Kato-Katz method. However various structures present in the smear may be confused with eggs of such parasites. Objective: To document the presence of structures in Kato-Katz slides that could initially be misinterpreted as hookworm eggs. Method: 497 faecal samples were analysed by Kato-Katz technique, diphasic concentration technique, agar-plate coprocultive and larvae obtained were analysed by PCR and characterized by sequencing. Result: Hookworm-like eggs were found in 159 (32%) of the samples by Kato Katz, finally identified as Caenorhabditis elegans by PCR technique. Conclusion: The diagnosis of human …