Copper stress impairs angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis during zebrafish embryogenesis by down-regulating pERK1/2-foxm1-MMP2/9 axis and epigenetically regulating ccbe1 expression

Angiogenesis - Molecular transport and cell circulation between tissues and organs through blood and lymphatic vessels are essential for physiological homeostasis in vertebrates. Despite the report...     

Prediction of Secondary Structure of Proteins. A Comparison of the ?,Ψ Angles Previously Predicted for Cytochrome c with Recent X-Ray Crystallographic Findings

Newer data from the x-ray crystallographic studies of tuna heart ferrocytochrome c have increased the number of residues in alpha-helical segments. This provided an objective test of our method of predicting varphi,Psi values for cytochrome c using the sequences of 18 cytochromes c and twenty 20 x 20 tables for the varphi,Psi values of tripeptides in 10 other proteins whose three-dimensional structures were known from x-ray crystallographic studies. Of the 32 residues now considered from x-ray data to be in alpha-helices, 27 had been predicted to be in the alpha-helical domain.     

Standardized <Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrus unshiu</Emphasis> peel extract ameliorates dexamethasone-induced neurotoxicity and depressive-like behaviors in mice

Dried Citrus unshiu peel, also known as Chinpi, have been commonly used as a traditional medicine to improve for allergy, inflammation and hepatopathy. Many previously studies have reported that citrus flavonoids show neuroprotective activities. However, the antidepressant-related effects of C. unshiu peels have not been well characterized. Here, the antidepressant-like effects of standardized C. unshiu peel extract (SCP) were evaluated in in vivo and in vitro depression models induced by dexamethasone (DEX), a synthetic glucocorticoid. Male ICR mice (9-week-old) were injected the DEX (40 mg/kg) and were orally given SCP daily (30, 100, and 300 mg/kg) for 14 consecutive days. The depressive-like behaviors were determined by use of open filed test (OFT), sucrose preference test (SPT), tail suspension test (TST), and forced swim test (FST). We show that treatment with SCP significantly alleviated DEX-induced depressive-like behaviors and reduced neurotoxicity in a concentration dependent manner in SH-SY5Y cells. Additionally, repeated DEX injection markedly decreased brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level, tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB), and cyclic AMP-response element-binding protein (CREB), while SCP treatment improved these levels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus regions. Our findings suggest that SCP exhibits significant antidepressant-like effects in the DEX-induced depressive animal model, and this activity may be mediated by preventing corticosterone-induced neurotoxicity.     

Characterization of [3H]U69593 binding sites in the rat heart by receptor binding assays.

The binding properties of [3H]U69593, a selective k-ligand, in rat heart homogenates were characterized by direct and displacement receptor binding assays. It was found that there are substantial specific [3H]U69593 binding sites in the rat heart. They were saturable, reversible and stereospecific. Both association and dissociation rates were monophasic and the Scatchard plot was linear, indicating a homogeneity of binding sites. The Hill coefficient was close to 1, indicating an absence of cooperativity. The Bmax and Kd were 7.91 fmol/mg and 2.92 nM, respectively. The binding sites were most abundant in the right atrium, followed by right ventricle, left ventricle and left atrium in descending order. The study provides information on the properties and distribution of k-binding sites in the rat heart.     

Reappearance of HBsAg with compartmentalized different HBV strains in allograft versus PBMC of the recipient

A woman who was positive for anti-hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) and anti-hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) received an orthotopic liver transplantation from an anti-HBc-seropositive donor in November 1985. Reappearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) was noted 5 months after the transplantation, but it was not associated with significant liver inflammation. Ten years after the transplantation, results of serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA study, by nested polymerase chain reaction, were negative. However, HBV DNA was detected in the transplanted liver tissues and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Different strains were identified in these two organs. An adw strain was found in the transplanted liver, whereas an adr strain with long segment deletions in the core gene was found in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Covalently closed circular HBV DNA was not detected in any of the tissues examined. Occult HBV infection in the donor as well as the recipient is common in HBV endemic areas. The recipient in this case had reappearance of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) in the serum after transplantation. Nevertheless, 10 years later, two different strains of HBV were identified in different organs, without cross infection. The present case demonstrates that HBsAg reappearance was not associated with reactivation of the virus and liver inflammation. This type of HBsAg reappearance did not appear to produce a significant hazard to the transplanted liver. Received: December 16, 1999 / Accepted: May 26, 2000     

Metabolomic Identification of Exosome-Derived Biomarkers for Schizophrenia: A Large Multicenter Study

Exosomes have been suggested as promising targets for the diagnosis and treatment of neurological diseases, including schizophrenia (SCZ), but the potential role of exosome-derived metabolites in these diseases was rarely studied. Using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, we performed the first metabolomic study of serum-derived exosomes from patients with SCZ. Our sample comprised 385 patients and 332 healthy controls recruited from 3 clinical centers and 4 independent cohorts. We identified 25 perturbed metabolites in patients that can be used to classify samples from patients and control participants with 95.7% accuracy (95% CI: 92.6%–98.9%) in the training samples (78 patients and 66 controls). These metabolites also showed good to excellent performance in differentiating between patients and controls in the 3 test sets of participants, with accuracies 91.0% (95% CI: 85.7%–96.3%; 107 patients and 62 controls), 82.7% (95% CI: 77.6%–87.9%; 104 patients and 142 controls), and 99.0% (95% CI: 97.7%–100%; 96 patients and 62 controls), respectively. Bioinformatic analysis suggested that these metabolites were enriched in pathways implicated in SCZ, such as glycerophospholipid metabolism. Taken together, our findings support a role for exosomal metabolite dysregulation in the pathophysiology of SCZ and indicate a strong potential for exosome-derived metabolites to inform the diagnosis of SCZ.     

Periodontal disease and risk of mortality and kidney function decline in advanced chronic kidney disease: a nationwide population-based cohort study

Clinical Oral Investigations - Periodontal disease is prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and potentially associated with kidney function decline. However, it is uncertain...