Search results for "plasma membrane"
showing 10 items of 92 documents
Chaperonopathies and chaperonotherapy. Hsp60 as therapeutic target in cancer: potential benefits and risks.
2013
In this minireview we focus on Hsp60 as a target for anticancer therapy. We discuss the new concepts of chaperonopathies and chaperonotherapy and present information on Hsp60 localization in the cell membrane of human tumor cells. We describe novel mechanisms for Hsp60 reaching the extracellular environment that involve membrane-associated stages, as well as data on anti-Hsp60 antibodies found in human sera, both in normal subjects and patients affected by autoimmune diseases. Finally, we discuss possible therapeutic applications of anti-Hsp60 antibodies in cancer treatment, evaluating also side effects on non-tumor cells. In conclusion, the way for investigating Hsp60-targeted anti-tumor t…
Long-Term Potentiation in the Neonatal Rat Barrel Cortex In Vivo
2012
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is important for the activity-dependent formation of early cortical circuits. In the neonatal rodent barrel cortex, LTP has been studied only in vitro . We combined voltage-sensitive dye imaging with extracellular multielectrode recordings to study whisker stimulation-induced LTP in the whisker-to-barrel cortex pathway of the neonatal rat barrel cortex in vivo . Single whisker stimulation at 2 Hz for 10 min induced an age-dependent expression of LTP in postnatal day (P) 0 to P14 rats, with the strongest expression of LTP at P3–P5. The magnitude of LTP was largest in the activated barrel-related column, smaller in the surrounding septal region, and no LTP could b…
Transportan 10 Induces Perturbation and Pores Formation in Giant Plasma Membrane Vesicles Derived from Cancer Liver Cells
2023
Continuous progress has been made in the development of new molecules for therapeutic purposes. This is driven by the need to address several challenges such as molecular instability and biocompatibility, difficulties in crossing the plasma membrane, and the development of host resistance. In this context, cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) constitute a promising tool for the development of new therapies due to their intrinsic ability to deliver therapeutic molecules to cells and tissues. These short peptides have gained increasing attention for applications in drug delivery as well as for their antimicrobial and anticancer activity but the general rules regulating the events involved in cell…
Relationships Between Dimorphism, Cell Wall Structure, and Surface Activities in Candida albicans
1991
Most cells are covered with a complex network of interacting molecules that form the extracellular matrix. These molecules (proteins and polysaccharides) are secreted locally and interact among themselves to form an organized structure outside the cell plasma membrane. In unicellular eukaryotic organisms and plant cells, this structure is reinforced to withstand osmotic changes in the external environment, giving rise to the so-called cell wall.
Influence of flavonoids on the transmembrane electron transport:study ex-vivo
2015
The oxidative stress results from a change in the physiological balancebetween oxidant and antioxidant species. This condition induces an chemical change in the redox state of cells.. The function of t-PMET is to cooperate with intracellular redox pairs, like piruvate and lactate, to maintain thecytoplasmatic NAD+/NADH balance. The t-PMET is correlated with the modulation of internal pH and redox homeostasis, as it is able to activate proton release. Thus, t-PMET causes external and internal pH modification, as well as development of an inside negative membrane potential. The aim of this work was evaluate the erythrocytes redox status in a group of health volunteers and then to study whethe…
Serotonin transporter gene polymorphism in eating disorders: Data from a new biobank and META-analysis of previous studies.
2016
Objectives Growing interest focuses on the association between 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and eating disorders (ED), but published findings have been conflicting. Methods The Italian BIO.VE.D.A. biobank provided 976 samples (735 ED patients and 241 controls) for genotyping. We conducted a literature search of studies published up to 1 April 2015, including studies reporting on 5HTTLPR genotype and allele frequencies in obesity and/or ED. We ran a meta-analysis, including data from BIO.VE.D.A. – comparing low and high-functioning genotype and allele frequencies in ED vs. controls. Results Data from 21 studies, plus BIO.VE.D.A., were extracted providing information from 3,736 patients and 2,707 co…
Transient focal cerebral ischemia significantly alters not only EAATs but also VGLUTs expression in rats: relevance of changes in reactive astroglia
2010
The involvement of plasma membrane glutamate transporters (EAATs - excitatory aminoacid transporters) in the pathophysiology of ischemia has been widely studied, but little is known about the role of vesicular glutamate transporters (VGLUTs) in the ischemic process. We analyzed the expression of VGLUT1-3 in the cortex and caudate-putamen of rats subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. Western blot and immunohistochemistry revealed an increase of VGLUT1 signal in cortex and caudate-putamen until 3 days of reperfusion followed by a reduction 7 days after the ischemic insult. By contrast, VGLUT2 and 3 were drastically reduced. Confocal microscopy revealed an increase in VGLUT2…
Association analysis between gene variants of the tyrosine hydroxylase and the serotonin transporter in borderline personality disorder.
2010
For patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), we previously reported an independent effect of the catechol-o-methyl-transferase (COMT) low-activity (Met(158)) allele and an interaction with the low-expression allele of the deletion/insertion (short/long or S/L, resp.) polymorphism in the serotonin transporter-linked promoter region (5-HTTLPR). The purpose of the present study was to extend these findings to the tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) Val(81)Met single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), the 5-HTTLPR S/L polymorphism incorporating the recently described functional A/G SNP within the long allele of the 5-HTTLPR (rs25531) as well as the variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) polymorp…
Influence of prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants on human cord blood levels of glutamate
2013
El pdf del artículo es la versión post-print.
Prosurvival effect of human wild-type alpha-synuclein on MPTP-induced toxicity to central but not peripheral catecholaminergic neurons isolated from …
2010
In the present work we report the generation of a new line of alpha-synuclein (alpha-SYN) transgenic mice in which the human wild-type alpha-SYN cDNA is expressed under the control of a tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) promoter. We provide evidence that the ectopic protein is found in TH expressing neurons of both central and peripheral nervous systems. The transgene is expressed very early in development coinciding with the activity of the TH promoter and in the adult brain the human protein distributes normally to the nerve endings and cell bodies of dopaminergic nigral neurons without any evidence of abnormal aggregation. Our results indicate that expression of human wild-type alpha-SYN does no…