Driven by demand for high standards in university education, efforts have been made in the UK to address the perceived imbalance between teaching and research. However, teaching is still perceived by many as having less credibility and is attributed less importance.

C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) expression is associated with poor prognosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to explore the biological role of CXCR4 in gefitinib resistance of HCC. Compared with a normal, non-gefitinib-resistant, human HCC cell line (Huh7), CXCR4 mRNA and protein were highly expressed in gefitinib-resistant Huh7 cells (Huh7-R). Cell proliferation

Overexpression of ferritin heavy chain (FTH1) often associates with good prognosis in breast cancer (BCa), particularly in the triple-negative subtype [triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC)]. However, the mechanism by which FTH1 exerts its possible tumor suppressor effects in BCa is not known. Here, we examined the bearing of FTH1 silencing or overexpression on several aspects of BCa cell growth in

Although general anesthesia is indispensable during modern surgical procedures, the mechanism by which inhalation anesthetics act on the synaptic membrane at the molecular and cellular level is largely unknown. In this study, we used yeast cells to examine the effect of isoflurane, an inhalation anesthetic, on membrane proteins. Bap2, an amino acid transporter localized on the plasma membrane, was

FFAR4/GPR120 has been previously found as a receptor for medium- and long-chain fatty acids. We previously identified phytosphingosine (PHS) as a novel ligand of FFAR4. While many natural FFAR4 ligands have carboxyl groups, PHS does not, thus suggesting that binding to FFAR4 is driven by a completely different mechanism than other natural ligands such as α-linolenic acid (ALA). To test this hypothesis

Loss-of-function variants of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The mechanism through which TREM2 contributes to the disease (TREM2 activation vs inactivation) is largely unknown. Here, we analyzed changes in a gene set downstream of TREM2 to determine whether TREM2 signaling is modified by AD progression. We generated

MreC is a scaffold protein required for cell shape determination through interactions with proteins related to cell wall synthesis. Here, we determined the crystal structure of the major periplasmic part of MreC from Escherichia coli at 2.1 Å resolution. The periplasmic part of MreC contains a coiled coil domain and two six-stranded barrel domains. The coiled coil domain is essential for dimer formation

Human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV18) has high carcinogenic power in invasive cervical cancer (ICC) development. However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. The carcinogenic properties of HPV18 require the PDZ-binding motif of its E6 oncoprotein (HPV18 E6) to degrade its target PDZ proteins. In this study, we demonstrated that the PDZ protein membrane associated guanylate kinase, WW and PDZ domain

Oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is a prevalent malignancy with high morbidity and mortality due to early metastasis and poor prognosis. Metastasis is a multistep process, involving various signalling pathways. Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of covalently closed non-coding RNAs, the aberrant expression of which is reported to be involved in several biological events, including cell

The development of gene-editing technologies over the past years has allowed the precise and efficient insertion of transgenes into the genome of various cell types. Knock-in approaches using homology-directed repair and designer nucleases often rely on viral vectors, which can considerably impact the manufacturing cost and timeline of gene-edited therapeutic products. An attractive alternative would

Ferroptosis is a newly discovered, iron-dependent, non-apoptotic form of programmed cell death that plays an important role in the development of lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). In this study, ferroptosis-related genes (FRGs) were identified from the FerrDb dataset, and the mRNA expression profiles and corresponding clinical data of LUAD patients were downloaded from the University of California, Santa

There were about 1.93 million new cases and 940,000 deaths from colorectal cancer in 2020. The first-line chemotherapeutic drugs for colorectal cancer are mainly based on 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), but the use of these drugs is limited by the development of drug resistance. Consequently, there is a need for novel chemotherapeutic drugs for efficient treatment of colorectal cancer patients. In this study

In social mammalian species, such as human and mouse, social stress can arise from different social interactions; for example, from encounters with aggressive strangers (whether they be mice or men). Repeated exposure to such stress can lead to various conditions, including depression and anxiety, but different individuals show varying degrees of resilience to such stress. To explore the mechanisms

Cytoplasmic polyadenylation element binding protein 1 (CPEB1) regulates the translation of numerous mRNAs. We previously showed that AU-rich binding factor 1 (AUF1) regulates Cpeb1 expression through the 3’ untranslated region (3’UTR). To investigate the molecular basis of the regulatory potential of the Cpeb1 3’UTR, here we performed reporter analyses that examined expression levels of Gfp reporter

Post-translational modifications frequently modulate protein functions. Lysine acetylation in particular plays a key role in interactions between respiratory cytochrome c and its metabolic partners. To date, in vivo acetylation of lysines at positions 8 and 53 has specifically been identified in mammalian cytochrome c, but little is known about the structural basis of acetylation-induced functional

B7-H3 plays an important role in tumor biology, but the molecular mechanism underlying the role of B7-H3 in tumor metastasis remains unclear. Here, our analysis of the TCGA database suggested that B7-H3 expression is associated with poor prognosis of patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). B7-H3 knockdown affected the expression of metastasis-related genes and significantly suppressed

Expanding on previous demonstrations of the therapeutic effects of adeno-associated virus (AAV) carrying small-hairpin RNA (shRNA) in downregulating the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) in in vivo retinal vascular disorders, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-stimulated endothelial cells were treated with AAV2-shmTOR to examine the role of mTOR inhibition in retinal angiogenesis. AAV2-shmTOR

It has been well-documented that the terminal sugars of Fc glycans can play a critical role in the safety and efficacy of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). However, many of the effects of highly heterogeneous Fc glycan structures have yet to be fully characterized. Different glycosylation patterns can affect Fc-dependent activities such as the ability of mAbs to bind Fcγ receptors (FcγRs) on