Interleukin 6 (rs1800795) gene polymorphism is associated with cardiovascular diseases See

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are group of complex and multifactorial pathologies, in which interleukin-6 (IL- 6) gene polymorphisms have been associated with several components of the CVD. Thus, in this study, we thoroughly reviewed and meta-analyzed evidence on the association between the IL-6 (rs1800795) gene polymorphism and CVD. We systematically searched in the PubMed, Web of Sciences, and Scopus databases. The analyses were performed using five study groups based on (1) a combined poo...

In vivo administration of G9a inhibitor A366 decreases osteogenic potential of bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells See

Epigenetic mechanisms such as histone methylation are considered as one of the most important mediators that control stem cell behaviors such as proliferation, senescence and differentiation. G9a, a histone methyltransferase, has recently generated intense attention as potential target for controlling many diseases such as cancers. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of in vivo administration of A366, a G9a inhibitor, on proliferative and differentiation potential of bone ...

Association between four microRNA binding site-related polymorphisms and the risk of warfarin-induced bleeding complications See

Bleeding is the most serious complication of warfarin anticoagulation therapy and is known to occur even at patients with therapeutic international normalized ratio (INR) range. Recently, it has been shown that microRNAs play a significant role in pharmacogenetics by regulating genes that are critical for drug function. Interaction between microRNAs and these target genes could be affected by single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in microRNA-binding sites. This study focused on 3′-un...

Development and validation of a new scale for prediction of low back pain occurrence among nurses See

There are several scales for prediction of low back pain (LBP) occurrence, but most of them only consider occupational aspect. This study aimed to develop and validate a new biopsychosocial scale for the LBP prediction among nurses. In this mixed-method study, a scale was developed by integrating the findings from the literature review and the semi-structured interviews. The qualitative and quantitative face and content validation were then performed. The construct validation was performe...

Tumor suppressive effects of the pleiotropically acting miR-195 in colorectal cancer cells See

Downregulation of miR-195 in colorectal cancer tissues has been reported in several studies. We investigated the impact exogenous induction of mature miR-195-5p on some malignant features of human colorectal cancer cells. Caco-2 and SW480 human colon cancer cell lines were transfected with a synthetic miR-195-5p mimic. Exogenous induction of miR-195-5p suppressed multiple mediators of invasion and angiogenesis in colorectal cancer cells and increased the apoptotic cell population in both cell...

Highlight report See

The mutational landscape of atypical chronic myeloid leukemia See

Neuroprotective mechanism of low-dose sodium nitrite in oxygen-glucose deprivation model of cerebral ischemic stroke in PC12 cells See

The purpose of this study was to clarify the mechanisms of the protective effects of low-dose sodium nitrite (SN) on oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD)-induced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in PC12 cells. The PC12 cells were exposed to 4 h of OGD and treated with 100 μmol SN. The expression and activity of ER stress markers, including PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase (PERK), transcription factor 6 (ATF6), CCAAT/enhancer binding protein homologous protein (CHOP), as well as caspase-...

Association between a 50bp Ins/Del polymorphism at the promoter region of the superoxide dismutase-1 and age of onset of schizophrenia See

A recent overview on the biological and pharmacological activities of ferulic acid See

The JAK2 V617F mutation in retinal vein or artery occlusion See

Design and synthesis of photoactivatable myristic acid analogues for UNC119 cargo interactions and target identification of autophagy inhibitors See

UNC119 is a chaperone protein, which regulates the trafficking of myristoylated proteins between cellular membranes. Even though these chaperones were extensively studied in the past two decades, only few of their interaction partners are known to date. In the course of this thesis three different photoactivatable myristic acid analogues (Pacman 1-3) were designed and synthesized to study this protein-myristate interaction. Exclusively Pacman-3-based probes covalently labeled UNC119 proteins....

Spatial unification of coupling interactions between EGFR and PTPs establishes a growth factor sensing network See

Cells continuously sense and respond to stimuli from the non-stationary environment. For this, they optimise processing of the perceived signals while maintaining continuous responsiveness. Cell surface receptors, such as the receptor tyrosine kinases, comprise the first layer of sensing. They translate the extracellular signal into internal activity using the protein interaction networks in which they are embedded. The proto-oncogenic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a receptor ty...

Rational design of novel sirtuin 1 activators via structure-activity insights from application of QSAR modeling See

Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) enzyme regulates major cell activities, and its activation offers lucrative therapeutic potentials for aging diseases including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Regarding the global aging society, continual attention has been given to various chemical scaffolds as a source for the discovery of novel SIRT1 activators since the discovery of the pioneer activator, resveratrol. Understanding structure-activity relationship (SAR) is essential for screening, designing as well as impr...

The effect of heat shock protein 90 inhibitors on histone 4 lysine 20 methylation in bladder cancer See

Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), an ATP-dependent molecular chaperone required for the stability and function of numerous oncogenic signaling, is one of the hallmarks of cancer. Recent years, the studies showed that HSP90 plays a pivotal role in epigenetic pathways. Epigenetic regulation plays an important role in the etiology of bladder cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of HSP90 proteins on DNA methylation and the levels of inactivated histone methylation m...

MCT4 promotes cell proliferation and invasion of castration-resistant prostate cancer PC-3 cell line See

Prostate cancer (PCa) is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death in men. Blocking androgen receptor (AR) signaling is an effective treatment strategy for the treatment of advanced metastatic disease of PCa in men. However, the method of blocking AR signaling is not suitable for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC), and the treatment of CRPC is still clinically difficult. It has recently been reported that MCT4 is a plasma membrane transporter that mediates the secretion o...

Cytotoxicity and apoptogenic properties of the standardized extract of Portulaca oleracea on glioblastoma multiforme cancer cell line (U-87) See

The traditional uses of Portulaca oleracea L. (PO) with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity as well as antioxidants properties were expressed previously. Glioma is considered the most common primary brain tumor and its malignant form is the most lethal adult brain tumor, that glioblastoma covers about 50 % of glioma tumors. The present study was aimed to evaluate the cytotoxicity and apoptogenic effects of the hydro-ethanolic extract of PO on human glioblastoma cancer cell line (U-...

Induction of apoptosis by piperine in human cervical adenocarcinoma via ROS mediated mitochondrial pathway and caspase-3 activation See

Piperine (1-piperoylpeperdine), a nitrogenous pungent substance, is present in the fruits of black pepper (Piper nigrum Linn.) and long pepper (Piper longum Linn.). It possesses several pharmacological properties and has been extensively explored for its anti-cancerous activities. The mechanism underlying its anti-cancer potential in human cervical adenocarcinoma (HeLa) cells is not well interpreted. The anti-proliferative effect and the mode of action of piperine were investigated through so...

Effect of cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor on endogenous neural progenitor cell migration in a rat model of Parkinson's disease See

This study investigated the ability of intra-subventricular zone (SVZ) administration of cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) on neural progenitor cells (NPCs) attraction from the SVZ toward the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-lesioned striatum and improvement of motor dysfunctions in Parkinsonian rats. Male Wistar rats were assigned to four groups of the sham model (Sham), 6-OHDA-lesioned (OH), 6-OHDA-lesioned plus CDNF vehicle (OH+Vehicle), and 6-OHDA-lesioned plus CDNF (OH+CDNF). The an...