In vitro studies with renal proximal tubule cells show direct cytotoxicity of Androctonus australis hector scorpion venom triggered by oxidative stress, caspase activation and apoptosis.
AuthorsSaidani C, Hammoudi-Triki D, Laraba-Djebari F, Taub M,
JournalToxicon
PubMed ID27470530
'Scorpion envenomation injures a number of organs, including the kidney. Mechanisms proposed to explain the renal tubule injury include direct effects of venom on tubule epithelial cells, as well as indirect effects of the autonomic nervous system, and inflammation. Here, we report direct effects of Androctonus australis hector (Aah) scorpion ... More
Fluorescence and Cytotoxicity of Cadmium Sulfide Quantum Dots Stabilized on Clay Nanotubes.
AuthorsStavitskaya AV, Novikov AA, Kotelev MS, Kopitsyn DS, Rozhina EV, Ishmukhametov IR, Fakhrullin RF, Ivanov EV, Lvov YM, Vinokurov VA
JournalNanomaterials (Basel)
PubMed ID29857546
'Quantum dots (QD) are widely used for cellular labeling due to enhanced brightness, resistance to photobleaching, and multicolor light emissions. CdS and Cd'
Chemobrionic structures in tissue engineering: self-assembling calcium phosphate tubes as cellular scaffolds.
AuthorsHughes EAB, Chipara M, Hall TJ, Williams RL, Grover LM
JournalBiomater Sci
PubMed ID31830151
'A diverse range of complex patterns and mineralised hierarchical microstructures can be derived from chemobrionic systems, with formation driven by complex reaction-diffusion mechanisms far from thermodynamic equilibrium. In these experiments, self-assembling calcium phosphate tubes are generated using hydrogels made with 1 M calcium solutions layered with solutions of dibasic sodium ... More
An evolutionary perspective on the role of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF): At the crossroads of poriferan innate immune and apoptotic pathways.
AuthorsSereno D, Müller WEG, Bausen M, Elkhooly TA, Markl JS, Wiens M,
JournalBiochem Biophys Rep
PubMed ID28955781
'The mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) belongs to a recently discovered family of neurotrophic factors. MANF can be secreted but is generally resident within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in neuronal and non-neuronal cells, where it is involved in the ER stress response with pro-survival effects. Here we report the discovery ... More
A novel method to understand tumor cell invasion: integrating extracellular matrix mimicking layers in microfluidic chips by
'A major challenge in studying tumor cell invasion into its surrounding tissue is to identify the contribution of individual factors in the tumor microenvironment (TME) to the process. One of the important elements of the TME is the fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM) which is known to influence cancer cell invasion, ... More
Stimulus-dependent chromatin dynamics, citrullination, calcium signalling and ROS production during NET formation.
Authorsde Bont CM, Koopman WJH, Boelens WC, Pruijn GJM
JournalBiochim Biophys Acta Mol Cell Res
PubMed ID30327203
'Neutrophils can release their chromatin to form neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), a process known as NETosis. Although NET formation can be induced by various stimuli, recent evidence suggests that these stimuli do so via different mechanisms. Here, we have analysed NET formation induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) ... More
MED31 involved in regulating self-renewal and adipogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells.
'Regulation of gene expression is critical for the maintenance of cell state and homeostasis. Aberrant regulation of genes can lead to unwanted cell proliferation or misdirected differentiation. Here we investigate the role of MED31, a highly conserved subunit of the Mediator complex, to determine the role this subunit plays in ... More
3D Printability of Alginate-Carboxymethyl Cellulose Hydrogel.
AuthorsHabib A, Sathish V, Mallik S, Khoda B,
JournalMaterials (Basel)
PubMed ID29558424
'Three-dimensional (3D) bio-printing is a revolutionary technology to reproduce a 3D functional living tissue scaffold in-vitro through controlled layer-by-layer deposition of biomaterials along with high precision positioning of cells. Due to its bio-compatibility, natural hydrogels are commonly considered as the scaffold material. However, the mechanical integrity of a hydrogel material, ... More
The Anticancer Agent Elesclomol Has Direct Effects on Mitochondrial Bioenergetic Function in Isolated Mammalian Mitochondria.
Optical Pacing of Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes Mediated by a Conjugated Polymer Interface.
AuthorsLodola F, Vurro V, Crasto S, Di Pasquale E, Lanzani G
JournalAdv Healthc Mater
PubMed ID31066237
'The use of light for triggering skeletal and cardiac muscles allows lower invasiveness higher selectivity and unprecedented possibility to target individual cells or even subcellular compartments in a temporally and spatially precise manner. Because cells are in general transparent, this requires the development of suitable interfaces that bestow light sensitivity ... More
Prolonged Culture of Aligned Skeletal Myotubes on Micromolded Gelatin Hydrogels.
AuthorsBettadapur A, Suh GC, Geisse NA, Wang ER, Hua C, Huber HA, Viscio AA, Kim JY, Strickland JB, McCain ML,
JournalSci Rep
PubMed ID27350122
In vitro models of skeletal muscle are critically needed to elucidate disease mechanisms, identify therapeutic targets, and test drugs pre-clinically. However, culturing skeletal muscle has been challenging due to myotube delamination from synthetic culture substrates approximately one week after initiating differentiation from myoblasts. In this study, we successfully maintained aligned ... More
Vitamin K2 Prevents Glucocorticoid-induced Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head in Rats.
Glucocorticoid medication is one of the most common causes of atraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), and vitamin K2 (VK2) has been shown to play an important and beneficial role in bone metabolism. In this study, we hypothesized that VK2 could decrease the incidence of glucocorticoid-induced ONFH in a ... More
Isolation of adult pituitary stem/progenitor cell clusters located in the parenchyma of the rat anterior lobe.
AuthorsYoshida S, Nishimura N, Ueharu H, Kanno N, Higuchi M, Horiguchi K, Kato T, Kato Y,
JournalStem Cell Res
PubMed ID27596959
Recent studies have demonstrated that Sox2-expressing stem/progenitor cells play roles in the pituitary cell turnover. Two types of niches have been proposed for stem/progenitor cells, the marginal cell layer (MCL) and the dense cell clusters in the parenchyma. Among them, the appearance of the parenchymal-niche only after birth indicates that ... More
Long-term exposure to abnormal glucose levels alters drug metabolism pathways and insulin sensitivity in primary human hepatocytes.
AuthorsDavidson MD, Ballinger KR, Khetani SR,
JournalSci Rep
PubMed ID27312339
Hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus has been linked to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, which can progress to inflammation, fibrosis/cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Understanding how chronic hyperglycemia affects primary human hepatocytes (PHHs) can facilitate the development of therapeutics for these diseases. Conversely, elucidating the effects of hypoglycemia on PHHs may ... More
Microvasculature of the Mouse Cerebral Cortex Exhibits Increased Accumulation and Synthesis of Hyaluronan With Aging.
AuthorsReed MJ, Vernon RB, Damodarasamy M, Chan CK, Wight TN, Bentov I, Banks WA,
JournalJ Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci
PubMed ID28482035
The microvasculature of the aged brain is less dense and more vulnerable to dysfunction than that of the young brain. Brain microvasculature is supported by its surrounding extracellular matrix, which is comprised largely of hyaluronan (HA). HA is continually degraded into lower molecular weight forms that induce neuroinflammation. We examined ... More