Search results for "Transcription factor"
showing 10 items of 1493 documents
Small for gestational age (SGA) neonates show reduced suppressive activity of their regulatory T cells
2009
Little information exists concerning the role of fetal regulatory T cells (Tregs) during intrauterine development. We examined whether complications such as reduced birth weight or the occurrence of preterm labor were associated with deficiencies in the number or in the immunosuppressive activity of Tregs in the fetal circulation. Their total number did not change during normal or complicated pregnancy. In contrast, their level of FoxP3 expression decreased continuously with gestational age and was significantly reduced in the presence of spontaneous term, but not preterm labor. In small for gestational age (SGA) neonates, FoxP3 expression was constantly decreased when compared to age match…
Genome-wide association analyses identify multiple loci associated with central corneal thickness and keratoconus
2013
The author manuscript of this article is open access and is freely available online at PubMed Central
Translocation (10;11;22)(p14;q24;q12) Characterized by Fluorescence in Situ Hybridization in a Case of Ewing's Tumor
2001
It is well recognized that the identification by classic cytogenetics of t(11;22)(q24;q12) is a useful aid in the accurate diagnosis of Ewing's sarcoma and related tumors. This translocation induces the EWS/FLI-1 fusion transcript, which can be detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Recent studies have also used fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to demonstrate the translocation. The authors coupled classic cytogenetics and FISH on tumor cells from the original specimen, the local recurrence, and the pulmonary metastasis as well as from the xenografted tumors in a case of extraosseous Ewing's sarcoma. FISH analysis not only confirmed the cytogenetic results but …
Embryonic and foetal Islet-1 positive cells in human hearts are also positive to c-Kit.
2011
During embryogenesis, the mammalian heart develops from a primitive heart tube originating from two bilateral primary heart fields located in the lateral plate mesoderm. Cells belongings to the pre-cardiac mesoderm will differentiate into early cardiac progenitors, which express early transcription factors which are also common to the Isl-1 positive cardiac progenitor cells isolated from the developing pharyngeal mesoderm and the foetal and post-natal mice hearts. A second population of cardiac progenitor cells positive to c-Kit has been abundantly isolated from adult hearts. Until now, these two populations have been considered two different sets of progenitor cells present in the heart in…
PGC-1α: a master gene that is hard to master
2012
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) is a transcriptional coactivator that favorably affects mitochondrial function. This concept is supported by an increasing amount of data including studies in PGC-1α gene-deleted mice, suggesting that PGC-1α is a rescue factor capable of boosting cell metabolism and promoting cell survival. However, this view has now been called into question by a recent study showing that adeno-associated virus-mediated PGC-1α overexpression causes overt cell degeneration in dopaminergic neurons. How is this to be understood, and can these seemingly conflicting findings tell us something about the role of PGC-1α in cell stress and in cont…
Tetralogy of Fallot as a Model to Study Cardiac Progenitor Cell Migration and Differentiation During Heart Development
2009
Tetralogy of Fallot (ToF) has long been considered a congenital disorder that occurs due to environmental alterations during gestation. Recently, several mutated genes have been discovered that are thought to be responsible for the malformations observed in ToF. These genetic mutations, which are microdeletions, are sporadic and are frequently also present in trisomy 21 patients. The ToF malformations can be lethal, but for the last 50 years, surgical repairs that place an artificial patch to repair the four features of ToF have improved the survival of patients with ToF. However, 0.5% to 6% of patients who survive after surgical repair of ToF die of sudden cardiac death caused by ventricul…
Antidepressant Effects of Exercise: A Role for the Adiponectin-PGC-1α-kynurenine Triad?
2015
It is well-recognized that exercise improves mental health, e.g., by decreasing depressive behaviors, improving hippocampal-dependent learning and neurogenesis, and increasing dendritic plasticity. Yet how exercise influences the brain at the molecular level is not clearly understood. Yau et al recently reported that the antidepressant effects of physical exercise are mainly mediated by adiponectin, an adipocyte-secreted hormone ('adipocytokine') with neuroprotective effects at the central nervous system level (Yau et al., 2014). 4.155 JCR (2015) Q1, 12/83 Physiology; Q2, 63/187 Cell biology UEM
Repression of Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate Upregulation Disarms and Expands Human Regulatory T Cells
2011
Abstract The main molecular mechanism of human regulatory T cell (Treg)-mediated suppression has not been elucidated. We show in this study that cAMP represents a key regulator of human Treg function. Repression of cAMP production by inhibition of adenylate cyclase activity or augmentation of cAMP degradation through ectopic expression of a cAMP-degrading phosphodiesterase greatly reduces the suppressive activity of human Treg in vitro and in a humanized mouse model in vivo. Notably, cAMP repression additionally abrogates the anergic state of human Treg, accompanied by nuclear translocation of NFATc1 and induction of its short isoform NFATc1/αA. Treg expanded under cAMP repression, however,…
Retarded thymic involution and massive germinal center formation in NF-ATp-deficient mice.
1998
NF-ATp and NF-ATc are the most prominent nuclear NF-AT transcription factors in peripheral T lymphocytes. After T cell activation both factors bind to and control the promoters and enhancers of numerous lymphokine and receptor ligand genes. In order to define a specific role for NF-ATp in vivo we have inactivated the NF-ATp gene by gene targeting in mice. We show that NF-ATp deficiency leads to the accumulation of peripheral T cells with a “preactivated” phenotype, enhanced immune responses of T cells after secondary stimulation in vitro and severe defects in the proper termination of antigen responses, as shown by a reduced deletion of superantigen-reactive CD4+ T cells. These alterations …
Aryl hydrocarbon receptor-dependent cell cycle arrest in isolated mouse oval cells
2013
The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor, which mediates toxic responses to environmental pollutants, such as 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds. Besides its well known role in induction of xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes, for instance CYP1A1, the AhR is also involved in tumor promotion in rodents although the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Additionally, the AhR is known to regulate cellular proliferation, which might result in either inhibition or stimulation of proliferation depending on the cell-type studied. Potential targets in hepatocarcinogenesis are liver oval (stem/progenitor) cells. In the pres…