Betel quid chewing is associated with various pathologic alterations in oral mucosa. However, the molecular mechanism behind so many contradictory alterations remains unclear. Here we aimed to build ...a model to facilitate the related studies in cultured cells. In our results, areca nut extract (ANE) was found to exert different effects in oral cells depending on the supplemented serum level. ANE strongly induced DNA damage, necrotic ballooning, and inflammatory cytokines under lower serum concentration while might convert to facilitate deregulated growth of serum-supplemented cells via modulating the activity/expression of factors such as E-cadherin and Snail. Despite ANE significantly activated NF-κB, a mediator critical for inflammation, inhibition of NF-κB did not prevent the activation of IL8 promoter. We further discovered Y705-dephosphorylated STAT3 might enhance IL8 transcription. Since necrosis and the inflammatory cytokines could cause massive inflammation, infiltration of interstitial fluid might potentiate cellular resistance against the acute cytotoxicity of ANE and further support the proliferation of transforming cells. Induction of VEGF and angiogenesis under lower serum condition also paved the way for cell growth and subsequent metastasis. Accordingly, we concluded that in correlation with serum infiltration ANE caused particular effects in oral cells and possibly the various clinicopathological alterations in vivo.
To determine the test-retest reliability and criterion validity of self-reported function in mobility and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) in older adults, a convenience sample of 70 ...subjects (72.9 ± 6.6 yr, 34 male) was split into able and disabled groups based on baseline assessment and into consistently able, consistently disabled, and inconsistent based on repeat assessments over 2 weeks. The criterion validities of the self-reported measures of mobility domain and IADL-physical subdomain were assessed with concurrent baseline measures of 4 mobility performances, and that of the self-reported measure of IADL-cognitive subdomain, with the Mini-Mental State Examination. Test-retest reliability was moderate for the mobility, IADL-physical, and IADL-cognitive subdomains (κ = .51-.66). Those who reported being able at baseline also performed better on physical- and cognitive-performance tests. Those with variable performance between test occasions tended to report inconsistently on repeat measures in mobility and IADL-cognitive, suggesting fluctuations in physical and cognitive performance.
The Prp19p-associated complex is essential for the yeast pre-mRNA splicing reaction. The complex consists of at least eight protein components, but is not tightly associated with spliceosomal snRNAs. ...By a combination of genetic and biochemical methods we previously identified four components of this complex, Ntc25p, Ntc85p, Ntc30p and Ntc20p, all of them being novel splicing factors. We have now identified three other components of the complex, Ntc90p, Ntc77p and Ntc31p. These three proteins were also associated with the spliceosome during the splicing reaction in the same manner as Prp19p, concurrently with or immediately after dissociation of U4 snRNA. Two-hybrid analysis revealed that none of these proteins interacted with Prp19p or Ntc25p, but all interacted with Ntc85p. An interaction network between the identified components of the Prp19p-associated complex is demonstrated. Biochemical analysis revealed that Ntc90p, Ntc31p, Ntc30p and Ntc20p form a subcomplex, which, through interacting with Ntc85p and Ntc77p, can associate with Prp19p and Ntc25p to form the Prp19p-associated complex. Genetic analysis suggests that Ntc31p, Ntc30p and Ntc20p may play roles in modulating the function of Ntc90p.
In Taiwan the Rights Protection Act for People with Disabilities stipulates that the Government must provide vocational training for disadvantaged groups. In this study, instructors from three ...organizations: Taichung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (TDARES), National Yuanlin Agricultural and Industrial Vocational High School (NYAIVHS), and Ciqin Social Welfare Foundation (CSWF), examined ten people with mental disabilities and four with psychiatric disorders at Ciqin farm, Changhua County. The study lasted approximately one and a half months from 1 November to 14 December 2008 and included 30 hours of horticultural training per week, amounting to 180 hours of training in total. The training program used in the study included horticultural knowledge, plant care, and use of flowers. In the pre-test and the post-test, two social workers and a horticulturalist evaluated the participants’ in the following five areas: (1) community skills/adaptability, (2) vocational skills, (3) ability to deal with authority, (4) self-discipline/organizational skills, and (5) communication skills. They found that in all five areas, the scores in the post-test were significantly higher than those in the pre-test. In addition, qualitative analysis showed that the people with mental disabilities improved in the following seven areas: basic horticultural knowledge, openness, sociability, conscientiousness, artistic sensibility, self-confidence, and sense of achievement. Because of limited data, the post-test scores of the people with psychiatric disorders were not significantly higher than the pre-test scores. Qualitative analysis suggested, however, that these people had improved in the same seven areas as the other participants.
Summary Oral cancer has emerged as one of the fastest growing malignancies in Taiwan. However, biomarkers that reliably predict clinical outcomes have yet to be identified. This study was aimed to ...identify tumor-associated proteins that could be prognostic biomarkers for oral cancer. We compared the protein expression between oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) tissues and adjacent non-cancerous matched tissues (NCMTs) by proteomics. We found that Rho GDP-dissociation inhibitor alpha (RhoGDIα) was differentially expressed in frozen cancerous samples and OSCC cell lines but not in NCMTs. Furthermore, our results indicated that RhoGDIα was selectively upregulated in 78 OSCC tissue sections ( p < 0.001), and this high expression was significantly correlated with increased tumor size ( p < 0.05) and poor overall survival ( p < 0.01). There was a trend that RhoGDIα expression was localized in the cytoplasm of cancer cells but was localized in the plasma membrane of NCMTs. Finally, expression of RhoGDIα was validated to be an independent prognostic indicator for overall survival ( p < 0.01). These results have identified a novel biomarker that may be useful for prediction of poor prognosis in OSCC patients.
Microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) has been better known for its well-defined role primarily in neurite outgrowth during neuronal development. However, the biological functions of MAP2 in ...non-neuronal cells, such as epithelial cells, remain largely unknown. In the present study, we sought to investigate the cellular functions of MAP2 by separately establishing stable expression of two MAP2 isoforms, MAP2A and MAP2C, in oral squamous cell carcinoma, Ca9-22. Ectopic expression of MAP2A or MAP2C results in microtubule bundling predominantly at the cell periphery. Remarkably, overexpression of MAP2A but not MAP2C significantly promotes migration of Ca9-22 cells, whereas knockdown of MAP2A expression by specific siRNA oligos dramatically decreases cell migration of HaCaT, an immortalized keratinocyte cell line with abundant endogenous MAP2A. Furthermore, by immunohistochemical studies, MAP2A was shown to highly and selectively express in invasive oral cancer tissues, consistent with its motility-promoting cellular function revealed through in vitro assays. Thus, our findings have not only identified a novel role of MAP2 in non-neuronal cells, but also provided the first implication of MAP2 in malignant oral cancer tissues.
The Prp19p protein of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is an essential splicing factor and is associated with the spliceosome during the splicing reaction. We have previously shown
that ...Prp19p is not tightly associated with small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particles but is associated with a protein complex
consisting of at least eight protein components. By sequencing components of the affinity-purified complex, we have identified
Cef1p as a component of the Prp19p-associated complex, Ntc85p. Cef1p could directly interact with Prp19p and was required
for pre-mRNA splicing both in vivo and in vitro . The c-Myb DNA binding motif at the amino terminus of Cef1p was required for cellular growth but not for interaction of Cef1p
with Prp19p or Cef1p self-interaction. We have identified a small region of 30 amino acid residues near the carboxyl terminus
required for both cell viability and protein-protein interactions. Cef1p was associated with the spliceosome in the same manner
as Prp19p, i.e. concomitant with or immediately after dissociation of U4. The anti-Cef1p antibody inhibited binding to the spliceosome of
Cef1p, Prp19p, and at least three other components of the Prp19p-associated complex, suggesting that the Prp19p-associated
complex is likely associated with the spliceosome and functions as an integral complex.
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiaePrp19p protein is an essential splicing factor and a spliceosomal component. It is not tightly associated with small nuclear RNAs (snRNAs) but is associated with a ...protein complex consisting of at least eight proteins. We have identified two novel components of the Prp19p-associated complex, Ntc30p and Ntc20p. Like other identified components of the complex, both Ntc30p and Ntc20p are associated with the spliceosome in the same manner as Prp19p immediately after or concurrently with dissociation of U4, indicating that the entire complex may bind to the spliceosome as an intact form. Neither Ntc30p nor Ntc20p directly interacts with Prp19p, but both interact with another component of the complex, Ntc85p. Immunoprecipitation analysis revealed an ordered interactions of these components in formation of the Prp19p-associated complex. Although null mutants of NTC30 or NTC20 showed no obvious growth phenotype, deletion of both genes impaired yeast growth resulting in accumulation of precursor mRNA. Extracts prepared from such a strain were defective in pre-mRNA splicing in vitro, but the splicing activity could be restored upon addition of the purified Prp19p-associated complex. These results indicate that Ntc30p and Ntc20p are auxiliary splicing factors the functions of which may be modulating the function of the Prp19p-associated complex.
PDF
