Search results for "TOC"
showing 10 items of 14693 documents
Interactions between odorants and glutathione transferases in the human olfactory cleft
2020
AbstractXenobiotic metabolizing enzymes and other proteins, including odorant-binding proteins located in the nasal epithelium and mucus, participate in a series of processes modulating the concentration of odorants in the environment of olfactory receptors (ORs) and finely impact odor perception. These enzymes and transporters are thought to participate in odorant degradation or transport. Odorant biotransformation results in 1) changes in the odorant quantity up to their clearance and the termination of signaling and 2) the formation of new odorant stimuli (metabolites). Enzymes, such as cytochrome P450 and glutathione transferases (GSTs), have been proposed to participate in odorant clea…
Mitoprotective Clinical Strategies in Type 2 Diabetes and Fanconi Anemia Patients: Suggestions for Clinical Management of Mitochondrial Dysfunction
2020
Oxidative stress (OS) and mitochondrial dysfunction (MDF) occur in a number of disorders, and several clinical studies have attempted to counteract OS and MDF by providing adjuvant treatments against disease progression. The present review is aimed at focusing on two apparently distant diseases, namely type 2 diabetes (T2D) and a rare genetic disease, Fanconi anemia (FA). The pathogenetic links between T2D and FA include the high T2D prevalence among FA patients and the recognized evidence for OS and MDF in both disorders. This latter phenotypic/pathogenetic feature—namely MDF—may be regarded as a mechanistic ground both accounting for the clinical outcomes in both diseases, and…
The activity of Artemisia spp. and their constituents against Trypanosomiasis.
2018
Abstract Background Trypanosomiasis belongs to the neglected tropical diseases. Although standard therapies are available, the safety and efficacy of current synthetic drugs are limited due to the development of drug resistance and adverse side effects. Purpose Artemisia annua and artemisinin are not only active against Plasmodia, but also other protozoa. Therefore, we reviewed the literature on species of the genus Artemisia and their phytochemicals regarding their activity against trypanosomes. Study design A PubMed search for “Artemisia/Artemisinin and Trypanosoma” has been conducted for literature until December 2017. Results Interestingly, not only A. annua L. and its active principle,…
Polyphenolic Phytochemicals in Cancer Prevention and Therapy: Bioavailability versus Bioefficacy
2017
Natural polyphenols are organic chemicals which contain phenol units in their structures. They show antitumor properties. However, a key problem is their short half-life and low bioavailability under in vivo conditions. Still, definitively demonstrating the human benefits of isolated polyphenolic compounds (alone or in combination) using modern scientific methodology has proved challenging. The most common discrepancy between experimental and clinical observations is the use of nonphysiologically relevant concentrations of polyphenols in mechanistic studies. Thus, it remains highly controversial how applicable underlying mechanisms are with bioavailable concentrations and biological half-li…
Fat-soluble nutrients and Omega-3 fatty acids as modifiable factors influencing preterm birth risk
2019
Preterm birth is a leading cause of child morbidity and mortality, so strategies to reduce early birth must remain a priority. One key approach to enhancing birth outcomes is improving maternal dietary intake. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to discuss mechanisms on perinatal status of fat-soluble nutrients (carotenoids, retinol, tocopherols) and omega-3 fatty acids and how they impact risk for preterm birth. Literature review demonstrates that maternal dietary intake and biological (blood and placental tissue) levels of fat-soluble nutrients during pregnancy may provide antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory health benefits. Omega-3 fatty acids also promote increas…
Survival of Late Pleistocene Hunter-Gatherer Ancestry in the Iberian Peninsula
2019
The Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe represents an important test case for the study of human population movements during prehistoric periods. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the peninsula formed a periglacial refugium [1] for hunter-gatherers (HGs) and thus served as a potential source for the re-peopling of northern latitudes [2]. The post-LGM genetic signature was previously described as a cline from Western HG (WHG) to Eastern HG (EHG), further shaped by later Holocene expansions from the Near East and the North Pontic steppes [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Western and central Europe were dominated by ancestry associated with the ∼14,000-year-old individual from Villabruna, Italy…
Effects of air pollution particles (ultrafine and fine particulate matter) on mitochondrial function and oxidative stress – Implications for cardiova…
2020
Environmental pollution is a major cause of global mortality and burden of disease. All chemical pollution forms together may be responsible for up to 12 million annual excess deaths as estimated by the Lancet Commission on pollution and health as well as the World Health Organization. Ambient air pollution by particulate matter (PM) and ozone was found to be associated with an all-cause mortality rate of up to 9 million in the year 2015, with the majority being of cerebro- and cardiovascular nature (e.g. stroke and ischemic heart disease). Recent evidence suggests that exposure to airborne particles and gases contributes to and accelerates neurodegenerative diseases. Especially, airborne t…
Rapid generation of hydrogen peroxide contributes to the complex cell death induction by the angucycline antibiotic landomycin E
2017
Landomycin E (LE) is an angucycline antibiotic produced by Streptomyces globisporus. Previously, we have shown a broad anticancer activity of LE which is, in contrast to the structurally related and clinically used anthracycline doxorubicin (Dx), only mildly affected by multidrug resistance-mediated drug efflux. In the present study, cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the anticancer activity of landomycin E towards Jurkat T-cell leukemia cells were dissected focusing on the involvement of radical oxygen species (ROS). LE-induced apoptosis distinctly differed in several aspects from the one induced by Dx. Rapid generation of both extracellular and cell-derived hydrogen peroxide alr…
Enzymatic Spermine Metabolites Induce Apoptosis Associated with Increase of p53, caspase-3 and miR-34a in Both Neuroblastoma Cells, SJNKP and the N-M…
2021
Neuroblastoma (NB) is a common malignant solid tumor in children and accounts for 15% of childhood cancer mortality. Amplification of the N-Myc oncogene is a well-established poor prognostic marker in NB patients and strongly correlates with higher tumor aggression and resistance to treatment. New therapies for patients with N-Myc-amplified NB need to be developed. After treating NB cells with BSAO/SPM, the detection of apoptosis was determined after annexin V-FITC labeling and DNA staining with propidium iodide. The mitochondrial membrane potential activity was checked, labeling cells with the probe JC-1 dye. We analyzed, by real-time RT-PCR, the transcript of genes involved in the apoptot…
Mitochondrial DNA Replacement Techniques to Prevent Human Mitochondrial Diseases.
2021
Background: Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) diseases are a group of maternally inherited genetic disorders caused by a lack of energy production. Currently, mtDNA diseases have a poor prognosis and no known cure. The chance to have unaffected offspring with a genetic link is important for the affected families, and mitochondrial replacement techniques (MRTs) allow them to do so. MRTs consist of transferring the nuclear DNA from an oocyte with pathogenic mtDNA to an enucleated donor oocyte without pathogenic mtDNA. This paper aims to determine the efficacy, associated risks, and main ethical and legal issues related to MRTs. Methods: A bibliographic review was performed on the MEDLINE and Web of S…