Search results for "messenger"
showing 10 items of 1493 documents
Plasma hTERT mRNA discriminates between clinically localized and locally advanced disease and is a predictor of recurrence in prostate cancer patients
2012
Since the introduction of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, new prostate cancer (PCa) patients are diagnosed earlier and most have localized and locally advanced disease. Current diagnosis methods lack specificity and sensitivity, leading to overdiagnosis and overtreatment of patients with low-risk organ-confined localized disease. Therefore, new non-invasive molecular tools are needed to discriminate between localized and locally advanced disease.Plasma telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA levels were determined by qRT-PCR in 49 patients with localized and locally advanced PCa. Diagnostic accuracy and efficacy as a prognostic factor of biochemical recurrence of plasma hTERT…
Modeling interactions between Human Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter-1 and other factors involved in the response to gemcitabine treatment to pre…
2014
Background Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is an extremely aggressive malignancy, characterized by largely unsatisfactory responses to the currently available therapeutic strategies. In this study we evaluated the expression of genes involved in gemcitabine uptake in a selected cohort of patients with PDAC, with well-defined clinical-pathological features. Methods mRNA levels of hENT1, CHOP, MRP1 and DCK were evaluated by means of qRT-PCR in matched pairs of tumor and adjacent normal tissue samples collected from PDAC patients treated with gemcitabine after surgical tumor resection. To detect possible interaction between gene expression levels and to identify subgroups of patients a…
High expression of GLI1 is associated with better survival in advanced SCLC
2020
Aim Aberrant Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway signaling has been described in small cell lung cancer (SCLC), as well discrepancies, when analyzing expression of pathway components in SCLC cell lines vs tumor biopsies. Shh key component GLI1 was evaluated in advanced SCLC and data correlated with patient survival. Materials and methods GLI1 expression was analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction in pre-treatment fresh frozen tumor biopsies of 12 advanced SCLC patients and mRNA level of GLI1 was compared in short-term vs long-term survivor's samples (stratified by median survival, independent samples t-test). Results Expression of GLI1 mRNA was significantly higher in long-ter…
Real-Time Quantification of Human Telomerase Reverse Transcriptase mRNA in the Plasma of Patients with Prostate Cancer
2006
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential diagnostic value of quantitative analysis of human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) mRNA in plasma for noninvasive diagnosis of prostate cancer (PCa). Expression levels of hTERT were analyzed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR in 68 patients showing elevated prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels and a control group of 44 healthy volunteers. Sensitivity and specificity were determined and compared to the corresponding PSA values. Median values for hTERT gene expression in the PCa patients (0.72 ng; range 0.01-12.86) were statistically significantly higher (P < 0.001) than in the control group (0.13 ng; 0.02-0.35). Patients with clini…
Gene Expression Profiling of Facilitated L-LTP in VP16-CREB Mice Reveals that BDNF Is Critical for the Maintenance of LTP and Its Synaptic Capture
2011
Expression of VP16-CREB, a constitutively active form of CREB, in hippocampal neurons of the CA1 region lowers the threshold for eliciting the late, persistent phase of long-term potentiation (L-LTP) in the Schaffer collateral pathway. This VP16-CREB-mediated L-LTP differs from the conventional late phase of LTP in not being dependent on new transcription. This finding suggests that in the transgenic mice the mRNA transcript(s) encoding the protein(s) necessary for this form of L-LTP might already be present in CA1 neurons in the basal condition. We used high-density oligonucleotide arrays to identify the mRNAs differentially expressed in the hippocampus of transgenic and wild-type mice. We…
Influence of Age on Brain Edema Formation, Secondary Brain Damage and Inflammatory Response after Brain Trauma in Mice
2012
After traumatic brain injury (TBI) elderly patients suffer from higher mortality rate and worse functional outcome compared to young patients. However, experimental TBI research is primarily performed in young animals. Aim of the present study was to clarify whether age affects functional outcome, neuroinflammation and secondary brain damage after brain trauma in mice. Young (2 months) and old (21 months) male C57Bl6N mice were anesthetized and subjected to a controlled cortical impact injury (CCI) on the right parietal cortex. Animals of both ages were randomly assigned to 15 min, 24 h, and 72 h survival. At the end of the observation periods, contusion volume, brain water content, neurolo…
Upregulation of activin-B and follistatin in pulmonary fibrosis: a translational study using human biopsies and a specific inhibitor in mouse fibrosi…
2014
Background: Activins are members of the TGF-ß superfamily of growth factors. First, we identified by expression array screening that activin-B and follistatin are upregulated in human idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). Next, we wanted to clarify their specific role in lung fibrosis formation. Methods: We used specific antibodies for activin-A and -B subunits and follistatin to measure and localize their levels in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and control lung biopsies. To inhibit activin signaling, we used soluble activin type IIB receptor fused to the Fc portion of human IgG1 (sActRIIB-Fc) in two different mouse models of pulmonary fibrosis. Results: Activin-B and follistatin mRNA levels…
Expression of Interleukin-32 in the Inflamed Arteries of Patients With Giant Cell Arteritis
2011
Objective Giant cell (temporal) arteritis (GCA) is a vasculitis that mainly affects the large and medium arteries, especially the branches of the proximal aorta. Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is a recently described Th1 proinflammatory cytokine, and is mainly induced by interferon-γ (IFNγ), IL-1β, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα). This study was undertaken to investigate the expression and tissue distribution of IL-32 in artery biopsy specimens from patients with GCA. Methods Quantitative gene expression analysis of IL-32, IL-1β, TNFα, IFNγ, IL-6, and IL-27 was performed in artery biopsy specimens obtained from 18 patients with GCA and 15 controls. Immunohistochemistry analysis was performed to …
BLBP-expression in astrocytes during experimental demyelination and in human multiple sclerosis lesions
2011
Several lines of evidence indicate that remyelination represents one of the most effective mechanisms to achieve axonal protection. For reasons that are not yet understood, this process is often incomplete or fails in multiple sclerosis (MS). Activated astrocytes appear to be able to boost or inhibit endogenous repair processes. A better understanding of remyelination in MS and possible reasons for its failure is needed. Using the well-established toxic demyelination cuprizone model, we created lesions with either robust or impaired endogenous remyelination capacity. Lesions were analyzed for mRNA expression levels by Affymetrix GeneChip® arrays. One finding was the predominance of immune a…
Lymphocytic Mitochondrial Aconitase Activity is Reduced in Alzheimer's Disease and Mild Cognitive Impairment
2015
Background: Specific mechanisms behind the role of oxidative/nitrosative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis remain elusive. Mitochondrial aconitase (ACO2) is a Krebs cycle enzyme sensitive to free radicalmediated damage. Objective: We assessed activity and expression of ACO2 extracted from blood lymphocytes of subjects with AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), older adults with normal cognition (OCN, age >= 65 years), and younger adults with normal cognition (YCN, age < 65 years). Plasma levels and activities of antioxidants were also measured. Methods: Blood samples were collected from 28 subjects with AD, 22 with MCI, 21 OCN, and 19 YCN. ACO2 act…