Search results for "Techniques"
showing 10 items of 4426 documents
Beta-2-glycoprotein I is growth regulated and plays a role as survival factor for hepatocytes
2004
Beta-2-glycoprotein I (beta(2)GPI) is mainly produced by the liver and is found in plasma partially associated to lipoproteins. Although various properties have been attributed to this protein, its physiological role remains still unclear. We investigated its expression in cultured liver cells and in regenerating liver. Expression studies in HepG2 cells demonstrate that beta(2)GPI mRNA is regulated in a cell cycle-dependent manner, with very low expression in low cycling conditions and increasing levels in proliferating cells. p21 WAF-dependent growth arrest, induced by butyrate treatment, down-regulate beta(2)GPI mRNA levels. Immunolocalization in normal rat liver shows a non-homogeneous p…
Soluble ligands and their receptors in human embryo development and implantation.
2014
Extensive evidence suggests that soluble ligands and their receptors mediate human preimplantation embryo development and implantation. Progress in this complex area has been ongoing since the 1980s, with an ever-increasing list of candidates. This article specifically reviews evidence of soluble ligands and their receptors in the human preimplantation stage embryo and female reproductive tract. The focus will be on candidates produced by the human preimplantation embryo and those eliciting developmental responses in vitro, as well as endometrial factors related to implantation and receptivity. Pathways to clinical translation, including innovative diagnostics and other technologies, are al…
Relaxant effect of dopamine on the isolated rat uterus.
1988
The effect of dopamine was studied on the isolated uterus of diethylstilboestrol-treated rats. Dopamine, at concentrations (10(7)-10(-4) M) produced a concentration-dependent relaxation in the K+-depolarized rat uterus. On a molar basis, dopamine was about 500 times less potent than adrenaline in relaxing the uterus, the maximum degree of relaxation obtained with both drugs was the same. Pretreatment of the rats with reserpine (5 mg/kg) did not produce any modification of the dose-response curve to dopamine. Similarly, cocaine (3 x 10(-6) M) failed to modify the relaxant effect of dopamine. The dopamine induced relaxation was inhibited by propranolol (10(-9)-10(-7) M) in a dose-dependent ma…
Effect of histamine on the longitudinal and circular muscle of the oestrogen dominated rat uterus.
1993
The response of the longitudinal and circular myometrial strips to histamine was studied in oestrogen-treated rats. Histamine produced a dose-related inhibitory response in KCl-contracted longitudinal and circular uterine strips. Histamine was equipotent in producing the relaxant response but the maximal effect achieved in the longitudinal muscle was higher than the circular one. Ranitidine antagonized the histamine-induced relaxation with a similar dose ratio in both longitudinal and circular strips. Clemizole and reserpine treatment did not produce any modification of the dose-response curve to histamine. In the longitudinal and circular strips which were not preconstricted by KCl, neithe…
Analysis of cardiac and pulmonary complication probabilities after radiation therapy for patients with early-stage breast cancer
2009
Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiobiological implications of clinical use of respiratory-gated techniques for postoperative radiation therapy of early-stage left-sided breast cancer after breast-conserving surgery. Material and methods. Radiation therapy treatment plans of 80 patients with early-stage breast cancer (stage I–II), receiving whole breast irradiation after breast-conserving therapy, were analyzed. The control group consisting of 47 patients received standard radiation therapy, and the respiratory-gated group consisting of 33 patients received deep inspiration-gated radiation therapy. Normal tissue complication probabilities (NTCP) for cardiac mortali…
Caffeine increases the expression of cystatin SN in human submandibular acinar-like HSG cells
2013
The study aimed at evaluating in vitro the effect of caffeine on expression of cystatin SN, a potential marker of sensitivity to bitterness in humans.Differentiation of human submandibular gland (HSG) cells was induced by culturing cells on Matrigel. Caffeine cytotoxicity was assessed over 3 days by the Resazurin test. Finally, effects of 5, 50 and 100μM caffeine exposure on cystatin SN expression were explored over 3 days by ELISA.At concentrations relevant to human adult plasma levels (5, 50 and 100μM), caffeine did not affect cell viability whether cells were differentiated or not. Cystatin SN levels were overall higher in differentiated cells and increased with time in both conditions. …
Muscarine receptors on the rat phrenic nerve, evidence for positive and negative muscarinic feedback mechanisms.
1987
Neuronal transmitter stores of the rat phrenic nerve were labelled by incubation with [3H]choline. Release of [3H]acetylcholine was elicited by electrical nerve stimulation (100 or 1500 pulses, 5 or 25 Hz) or by high potassium (27 mmol/l) and the effects of the muscarine receptor agonist oxotremorine and the antagonist scopolamine were investigated. Neither oxotremorine nor scopolamine affected the basal tritium efflux. A low concentration of oxotremorine (10 nmol/l) enhanced and a high concentration of oxotremorine (1 μol/l) reduced the electrically evoked [3H]acetylcholine release. Likewise, the high potassium-evoked [3H]acetylcholine release was reduced by a high concentration of oxotrem…
Characterization of endogenous noradrenaline release from intact and epithelium-denuded rat isolated trachea.
1991
1. Overflow of endogenous noradrenaline (NA) from the in vitro incubated rat trachea evoked by two periods of electrical field stimulation (S1, S2 at 3 or 15 Hz) or by high potassium (60 mM) was determined by high performance liquid chromatography (h.p.l.c.) with electrochemical detection. 2. In the presence of the neuronal uptake inhibitor desipramine, the alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, yohimbine, enhanced the overflow of NA evoked by stimulation at 3 Hz by about 100% suggesting the presence of presynaptic inhibitory autoreceptors on the sympathetic nerves innervating the trachea. 3. When desipramine and yohimbine were present throughout the experiments, the overflow of NA evoked by the …
Plasmid diversity in Vibrio vulnificus biotypes.
2009
Vibrio vulnificus is a heterogeneous bacterial species that can be virulent for humans and fish. Virulence in fish seems to rely on a recently described plasmid that can be transmitted between strains, aided by a conjugative plasmid. The main objective of this work was to analyse the plasmid content of a wide collection of strains from the three biotypes of the species, as well as to identify putative conjugative and virulence plasmids by means of Southern hybridization with specific probes and sequence analysis of selected gene markers. We found 28 different plasmid profiles in a total of 112 strains, which were relatively biotype- or serovar-specific. Biotype 1 lacked high-molecular-mass…
Endothelial modulation of 5-hydroxytryptamine-induced contraction in goat cerebral arteries.
1993
Abstract 1. 1. In isolated goat middle cerebral artery segments, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, 10 −8 −3 × 10 −5 M) caused concentration-dependent contractions, with EC 50 = 2.1 (1.9−2.5) × 10 −7 M and E max = 60 ± 2% of 50 mM KCl-induced contraction. 2. 2. Mechanical removal of endothelium significantly increased the E max (91 ± 8%) and did not change the EC 50 value of 5-HT-elicited contractions. 3. 3. Incubation of unrubbed arteries with the irreversible inhibitor of EDRF, gossypol (10 −5 M), significantly increased the contractile response to 5-HT ( E max = 77 ± 4%). 4. 4. Incubation of unrubbed arteries with the competitive inhibitor of the NO synthesis, N G -nitro - l -arginine (L-NOARG) …