Neutrophils represent the most abundant cell type in peripheral blood, and exhibit a remarkably brief (6-8 h) half-life in circulation. The fundamental role of these professional phagocytes has been established in acute inflammation, based on their potential to both initiate and receive inflammatory signals. Furthermore, neutrophils also take part in maintaining chronic inflammatory processes, such

As a small fruit rich in anthocyanins, blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum × angustifolium) has become a focus of research in recent years for identifying genes related to anthocyanin transport and stress resistance mechanisms based on transcriptome sequencing. However, the lack of validated, stably expressed reference genes greatly limits the functional study of blueberry genes. Therefore, in this study

Within the present study, we investigate the lasting effect of laboratory peer group interactions on the end of year attainment of bioscience and chemistry students. By asking students to identify who they primarily work with within the laboratory environment and evaluating the interactions through cluster analysis, we identified two main categories of laboratory peer groups. The first long-lived well-established

Post-transcriptional modification of mRNA sequences through RNA editing can increase transcriptome and proteome diversity in eukaryotes. Studies of fetal and adult tissues showed that A-to-I RNA editing plays a crucial role in early human development, but there is a lack of global understanding of dynamic RNA editing during mammalian early embryonic development. Therefore, here we used RNA sequence

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma coactivator-1β (PGC-1β) is a transcriptional regulator whose increased expression activates energy-expenditure-related genes in skeletal muscles. However, how PGC-1β is regulated remains largely unclear. Here we show that PGC-1β gene expression is negatively correlated with the expression of a transcription factor, FOXO1, whose expression is increased

Antibiotic resistant Staphylococcus aureus is becoming a major burden on healthcare systems in many countries, necessitating the identification of new targets for antibiotic development. Elongation Factor P (EF-P) is a highly conserved elongation protein factor that plays an important role in protein synthesis and bacteria virulence. EF-P undergoes unique posttranslational modifications in a stepwise

Sophora flavescens is used as a traditional herbal medicine to modulate inflammatory responses. However, little is known about the impact of (-)-maackiain, a compound derived from S. flavescens, on the activation of inflammasome/caspase-1, a key factor in IL-1 β processing. Here, we report that (-)-maackiain potently amplified caspase-1 cleavage in macrophages in response to nigericin. In macrophages

Spitzoid neoplasms are a challenging group of cutaneous melanocytic proliferations. They are characterized by epithelioid and/ or spindle-shaped melanocytes and classified as benign Spitz nevi (SN), atypical Spitz tumors (AST) or malignant Spitz tumors (MST). The intermediate AST category represents a diagnostically challenging group since on purely histopathological grounds, their benign or malignant

Aging is a major risk factor for hypertension and atherosclerosis, and VSMC (vascular smooth muscle cell) senescence can promote aging-related vascular diseases. SIRT1 and AMPK were previously reported to modulate vascular senescence; however, its effects have not been well characterized. To determine the nature of the interaction between SIRT1 and AMPK in VSMC senescence, we investigated the effects

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is regularly accompanied by cardiac fibrosis and concomitant heart failure. Due to the heterogeneous nature and complexity of fibrosis, knowledge about the underlying mechanisms is limited, which prevents effective pharmacotherapy. A deeper understanding of cardiac fibroblasts is essential to meet this need. We previously described phenotypic and functional differences between

Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease of the myocardium associated with immune dysfunction. Earlier studies have suggested that Th1/Th2 cell imbalance plays an important role in the development of myocarditis, but the role of Tfh cells in the development of autoimmune myocarditis has not previously been reported. Here, we investigated this involvement by using a rat model of experimental autoimmune

BNIP3 is a pro-apoptotic protein that mediates apoptosis, necrosis and autophagy. However, the involvement of BNIP3 in cisplatin-induced apoptosis in ovarian cancer is not clear. In this study, we examined the role of BNIP3 in ovarian cancer during cisplatin treatment and its correlation with clinical outcomes. We first measured cisplatin cytotoxicity and BNIP3 levels pre- and post-cisplatin exposure

Cardiomyocyte hypoxia- and ischemia-induced apoptosis is a key challenge in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, and it has been previously reported that high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis can be prevented by autophagy activation. Furthermore, down-regulation of the microRNA miR-142-5p protects cardiomyocytes against hypoxia. However, the effects of miR-142-5p on autophagy of myocardial

In cardiac muscle, binding of troponin (Tn) and tropomyosin (Tpm) to filamentous (F)-actin forms thin filaments capable of Ca2+ -dependent regulation of contraction. Tpm binds to F-actin in a head-to-tail fashion while Tn stabilizes these linkages. Valuable structural and functional information has come from biochemical, X-ray, and electron microscopy data. However, the use of fluorescence microscopy

Osteosarcoma is a malignant bone tumor, and clinically detectable metastases can be detected in approximately 15%-20% of patients when they seek medical advice; patients with metastatic disease have extremely poor prognosis. Here, we examined the involvement of the microRNA miR-505 in osteosarcoma. Eighty-four patients seeking treatment for osteosarcoma were included in the study group (SG), and 63

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common malignancy with poor prognosis and high mortality. To identify key genes associated with HCC and the underlying mechanisms, we performed Weighted Correlation Network Analysis (WGCNA) of potential key genes of HCC. We identified 17 key genes closely related to HCC by yellow module combined with PPI analysis. Verification of the role of these genes revealed

Cervical cancer is the most common gynecological malignancy, with high incidence and mortality rates in China. The microRNA miR-485-5p has previously been reported to serve as a negative regulator of tumorigenesis in breast cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma, and miR-485-5p has been observed to be differentially expressed between cervical cancer and normal control tissue. Here, we confirmed that miR-485-5p

The pathogenesis and progression mechanisms behind renal cancer have always been the focus of urological research, and CIP2A has been identified as an oncoprotein in renal clear cell carcinoma and has been found to play an important role in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. Here, we verified the effect of CIP2A on the biological function of renal clear cell carcinoma Caki-2 cells. CIP2A

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multi-lineage adult stem cells with considerable potential for cell based regenerative therapies. In vitro expansion changes their epigenetic and cellular properties, with a poorly understood impact on DNA damage response and genome stability. We report here results of a transcriptome-based pathway analysis of in vitro expanded hBM-MSCs, supplemented with cellular

Sepsis caused by uncontrolled systemic inflammation is one of the leading causes of death around the world. Parecoxib is a selective COX‐2‐specific inhibitor which has been demonstrated to possess anti‐inflammatory and antiseptic functions in an animal sepsis model. The present study was performed to examine the therapeutic efficacy of parecoxib against inflammation in a mouse model of cecal ligation