Search results for "complement"
showing 10 items of 2113 documents
Possible Editing of Alu Transcripts in Blood Cells of Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease (sCJD)
2011
Editing of RNA molecules gained major interest when coding mRNA was analyzed. A small, noncoding, Alu DNA element transcript that may act as regulatory RNA in cells was examined in this study. Alu DNA element transcription was determined in buffy coat from healthy humans and human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) cases. In addition, non-sCJD controls, mostly dementia cases and Alzheimer's disease (AD) cases, were included. The Alu cDNA sequences were aligned to genomic Alu DNA elements by database search. A comparison of best aligned Alu DNA sequences with our RNA/cDNA clones revealed editing by deamination by ADAR (adenosine deaminase acting on RNA) and APOBEC (apolipoprotein B ed…
Identification of a Functional Homolog of the Yeast Copper Homeostasis Gene ATX1 from Arabidopsis1
1998
Abstract A cDNA clone encoding a homolog of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) gene Anti-oxidant 1(ATX1) has been identified from Arabidopsis. This gene, referred to as CopperCHaperone(CCH), encodes a protein that is 36% identical to the amino acid sequence of ATX1 and has a 48-amino acid extension at the C-terminal end, which is absent from ATX1 homologs identified in animals. ATX1-deficient yeast (atx1) displayed a loss of high-affinity iron uptake. Expression of CCH in the atx1 strain restored high-affinity iron uptake, demonstrating thatCCH is a functional homolog of ATX1. When overexpressed in yeast lacking the superoxide dismutase geneSOD1, both ATX1 and CCHprotected the cell from t…
Origin of Insulin Receptor-Like Tyrosine Kinases in Marine Sponges
1999
One autapomorphic character restricted to all Metazoa including Porifera [sponges] is the existence of transmembrane receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In this study we screened for molecules from one subfamily within the superfamily of the insulin receptors. The subfamily includes the insulin receptors (InsR), the insulin-like growth factor I receptors, and the InsR-related receptors--all found in vertebrates--as well as the InsR-homolog from Drosophila melanogaster. cDNAs encoding putative InsRs were isolated from the hexactinellid sponge Aphrocallistes vastus, the demosponge Suberites domuncula, and the calcareous sponge Sycon raphanus. Phylogenetic analyses of the catalytic domains of th…
Analysis of the Immune Status in Latvian Chernobyl Clean-up Workers with Nononcological Thyroid Diseases
2001
The aim of the present work was to characterize the immune status of 385 individuals who participated in the 1986–90 clean-up work of the after effects of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant explosion. Fifty-nine Chernobyl clean-up workers developed the most common thyroid diseases; euthyroid nodular and diffuse goiter; 47 healthy blood donors were taken as controls. The levels of immunoglobulins (IgA, IgG and IgM), the numbers of peripheral blood leukocytes, lymphocytes, monocytes, T lymphocytes and their subpopulations (CD3+, CD4+, CD8+), B lymphocytes (CD19+), natural killer (NK) cells (CD16+), classical and alternative pathway activity of complement (CH50, APH50), the C3 split product C3d…
The Inflammatory Feed-Forward Loop Triggered by the Complement Component C3 as a Potential Target in Endometriosis
2021
Copyright © 2021 Agostinis, Zorzet, Balduit, Zito, Mangogna, Macor, Romano, Toffoli, Belmonte, Morello, Martorana, Borelli, Ricci, Kishore and Bulla. The complement system is a major component of humoral innate immunity, acting as a first line of defense against microbes via opsonization and lysis of pathogens. However, novel roles of the complement system in inflammatory and immunological processes, including in cancer, are emerging. Endometriosis (EM), a benign disease characterized by ectopic endometrial implants, shows certain unique features of cancer, such as the capacity to invade surrounding tissues, and in severe cases, metastatic properties. A defective immune surveillance against…
Chemical Composition and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of the Essential Oil of Achillea ligustica Growing Wild in Lipari (Aeolian Islands, Sicily)
2013
In the present study the chemical composition of the essential oils from aerial parts and flowers of Achillea ligustica All., collected in Lipari (Aeolian Islands) was evaluated by GC and GC-MS. ( Z)-Chrysanthenyl acetate was the most abundant component of both oils (29.6% in A1 and 27.8% in F1), followed by viridiflorol (16.8% in A1 and 21.6% in F1), bornyl acetate (8.7% in A1 and 11.6% in F1) and 1,8-cineole (7.4% in A1 and 9.3% in F1). A comparison was made of the composition of the different populations studied so far. Futhermore, the free radical scavenging activity of the oil was determined by DPPH and ABTS methods.
F-type lectin from the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax): purification, cDNA cloning, tissue expression and localization, and opsonic activity.
2009
Recently described biochemical and structural aspects of fucose-binding lectins from the European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and striped bass (Morone saxatilis) led to the identification of a novel lectin family ("F-type" lectins) characterized by a unique sequence motif and a characteristic structural fold. The F-type fold is shared not only with other members of this lectin family, but also with apparently unrelated proteins ranging from prokaryotes to vertebrates. Here we describe the purification, biochemical and molecular properties, and the opsonic activity of an F-type lectin (DlFBL) isolated from sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) serum. DlFBL exhibits two tandemly arranged carbohydrate-r…
The Landscape as a Silent Witness of a Fragile Memory in Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2013 Film Ida
2022
This article focuses on Paweł Pawlikowski’s 2013 film Ida, analysing how the formal and aesthetic aspects question silent witnesses about the difficult past using pictures as a useful testifier. In the context of Poland’s national memory, its current political discourse and the Polish-Jewish relations during World War II, Ida offers a significant contribution. The process of scrutinising this difficult past becomes a journey, a troublesome event when a remembrance must be constructed and experienced. The film journey offers a possibility to get back to this period of time and encourages us to pose certain questions: how do sites of memory remain with us through cinematographic or photograph…
Confrontare decimali e frazioni: analisi delle concezioni degli studenti a partire da una domanda INVALSI
2016
A partire da una domanda a risposta multipla tratta dai test standardizzati INVALSI per la quinta primaria, investighiamo la concezione di numero razionale sviluppata dagli studenti italiani. Lo scopo di questa ricerca è quello di individuare quali invarianti-operatori emergono dalle risposte degli studenti e quali di questi conducono più facilmente a conclusioni corrette o errate. Vengono anche osservati alcuni errori comuni nella conversione da frazione a decimale (e viceversa). Sono discusse alcune implicazioni per la pratica e la ricerca.