Search results for "Tos"
showing 10 items of 12217 documents
Socio-Reproductive Conflicts and the Father’s Curse Dilemma
2018
Evolutionary conflicts between males and females can manifest over sexually antagonistic interactions at loci or over sexually antagonistic interests within a locus. The latter form of conflict, intralocus sexual conflict, arises from sexually antagonistic selection and constrains the fitness of individuals through a phenotypic compromise. These conflicts, and socio-reproductive interactions in general, are commonly mediated by hormones, and thus predictive insights can be gained from studying their mediating effects. Here, we integrate several lines of evidence to describe a novel, hormonally mediated reproductive dilemma that we call the father’s curse, which results from an intralocus co…
Brain circuit-gene expression relationships and neuroplasticity of multisensory cortices in blind children.
2017
Sensory deprivation reorganizes neurocircuits in the human brain. The biological basis of such neuroplastic adaptations remains elusive. In this study, we applied two complementary graph theory-based functional connectivity analyses, one to evaluate whole-brain functional connectivity relationships and the second to specifically delineate distributed network connectivity profiles downstream of primary sensory cortices, to investigate neural reorganization in blind children compared with sighted controls. We also examined the relationship between connectivity changes and neuroplasticity-related gene expression profiles in the cerebral cortex. We observed that multisensory integration areas e…
Isoform-specific function of calpains in cell adhesion disruption: studies in postlactational mammary gland and breast cancer.
2016
Cleavage of adhesion proteins is the first step for physiological clearance of undesired cells during postlactational regression of the mammary gland, but also for cell migration in pathological states such as breast cancer. The intracellular Ca2+-dependent proteases, calpains (CAPNs), are known to cleave adhesion proteins. The isoform-specific function of CAPN1 and CAPN2 was explored and compared in two models of cell adhesion disruption: mice mammary gland during weaning-induced involution and breast cancer cell lines according to tumor subtype classification. In both models, E-cadherin, β-catenin, p-120, and talin-1 were cleaved as assessed by western blot analysis. Both CAPNs were able …
Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies discovers multiple loci for chronic lymphocytic leukemia
2016
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a common lymphoid malignancy with strong heritability. To further understand the genetic susceptibility for CLL and identify common loci associated with risk, we conducted a meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies (GWAS) composed of 3,100 cases and 7,667 controls with follow-up replication in 1,958 cases and 5,530 controls. Here we report three new loci at 3p24.1 (rs9880772, EOMES, P=2.55 × 10−11), 6p25.2 (rs73718779, SERPINB6, P=1.97 × 10−8) and 3q28 (rs9815073, LPP, P=3.62 × 10−8), as well as a new independent SNP at the known 2q13 locus (rs9308731, BCL2L11, P=1.00 × 10−11) in the combined analysis. We find suggestive evidence (P<5 × 10−…
Mucoadhesive solid lipid microparticles for controlled release of a corticosteroid in the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease treatment.
2017
Therapeutic efficacy of inhaled drugs is limited by rapid clearance from the site of action due to absorption into systemic circulation or metabolic degradation by alveolar macrophages. Drug delivery systems offer new solutions to clinical problems especially in the treatment of pulmonary diseases. In particular, Solid Lipid Microparticles (SLM) in the range of 3-5 µm are suggested as systems for delivery of therapeutics to the lung as, because of their size, they are able to deposit into secondary bronchi, avoiding systemic absorption typical of alveolar regions. Here, we describe two novel different SLMs prepared with chitosan and alginate for sustained release of fluticasone propionate (…
Diversity of Sterol Composition in Tunisian Pistacia lentiscus Seed Oil
2016
International audience; Pistacia lentiscus L. seed oil is used in some Mediterranean forest area for culinary and medicinal purposes. In this study, we aim to examine, for the first time, the effect of growing area on sterol content of Pistacia lentiscus seed oil. Fruits were harvested from 13 different sites located in northern and central Tunisia. Gas chromatography-flame-ionization detection (GC-FID) was used to quantify sterols and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify them. The major sterol identified was b-sitosterol with a value ranging from 854.12 to 1224.09 mg/kg of oil, thus making up more than 54% of the total sterols. The other two main sterols were c…
Effects of organic mercury on Mytilus galloprovincialis hemocyte function and morphology
2020
Abstract Filter-feeding organisms accumulate xenobiotics and other substances in their tissues. They can be useful as sentinel organisms in biomonitoring of the marine compartment. Bivalve cellular immunity is ensured by phagocytosis and cytotoxic reactions carried out by hemocytes in a network with humoral responses. These can be affected by chemical contaminants in water that can be immunosuppressors also at a low concentration increasing the sensibility to pathogens. This work is an attempt to individuate cellular markers for pollution detection, investigating the effect of methylmercury (CH3HgCl) at different concentrations on the activity and hemocyte morphology of the Mediterranean m…
A 13 mer LNA-i-miR-221 Inhibitor Restores Drug Sensitivity in Melphalan-Refractory Multiple Myeloma Cells.
2016
Abstract Purpose: The onset of drug resistance is a major cause of treatment failure in multiple myeloma. Although increasing evidence is defining the role of miRNAs in mediating drug resistance, their potential activity as drug-sensitizing agents has not yet been investigated in multiple myeloma. Experimental Design: Here we studied the potential utility of miR-221/222 inhibition in sensitizing refractory multiple myeloma cells to melphalan. Results: miR-221/222 expression inversely correlated with melphalan sensitivity of multiple myeloma cells. Inhibition of miR-221/222 overcame melphalan resistance and triggered apoptosis of multiple myeloma cells in vitro, in the presence or absence of…
Mitochondrial Changes in β0-Thalassemia/Hb E Disease.
2015
The compound β°-thalassemia/Hb E hemoglobinopathy is characterized by an unusually large range of presentation from essentially asymptomatic to a severe transfusion dependent state. While a number of factors are known that moderate presentation, these factors do not account for the full spectrum of presentation. Mitochondria are subcellular organelles that are pivotal in a number of cellular processes including oxidative phosphorylation and apoptosis. A mitochondrial protein enriched proteome was determined and validated from erythroblasts from normal controls and β°-thalassemia/Hb E patients of different severities. Mitochondria were evaluated through the use of mitotracker staining, analy…
Apoptotic Activity of MeCP2 Is Enhanced by C-Terminal Truncating Mutations.
2016
Methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) is a widely abundant, multifunctional protein most highly expressed in post-mitotic neurons. Mutations causing Rett syndrome and related neurodevelopmental disorders have been identified along the entire MECP2 locus, but symptoms vary depending on mutation type and location. C-terminal mutations are prevalent, but little is known about the function of the MeCP2 C-terminus. We employ the genetic efficiency of Drosophila to provide evidence that expression of p.Arg294* (more commonly identified as R294X), a human MECP2 E2 mutant allele causing truncation of the C-terminal domains, promotes apoptosis of identified neurons in vivo. We confirm this novel find…