Safrole oxide has no effect on the growth of mouse neural stem cells. But the apoptotic VECs triggered by safrole oxide induced NSC apoptosis in the co-culture system.
Previously, we found safrole ...oxide could promote VEC apoptosis, however, it is not known whether it can induce NSC apoptosis. It is reported that neural stem cells (NSCs) are localized in a vascular niche. But the effects of apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells (VEC) on NSC growth and differentiation are not clear. To answer these questions, in this study, we co-cultured NSCs with VECs in order to imitate the situation in vivo, in which NSCs are associated with the endothelium, and treated the single-cultured NSCs and the co-cultured NSCs with safrole oxide. The results showed that safrole oxide (10–100
μg/mL) had no effects on NSC growth. Based on these results, we treated the co-culture system with this small molecule. The results showed that the NSCs differentiation, into neurons and gliacytes was induced by VECs untreated with safrole oxide. But in the co-culture system treated with safrole oxide, the NSCs underwent apoptosis. The data suggested that when VEC apoptosis occurred in the co-culture system, the NSC survival and differentiation could not be maintained, and NSCs died by apoptosis. Our finding provided a useful tool for investigating the effect of apoptosis in vascular endothelial cells on neural stem cell survival and differentiation in vitro.
The nation-wide iron ore exploration is primarily based on aeromagnetic survey,based upon which a series of ground follow-up and drilling examination were carried out,and then reconnaissance and ...detailed investigation and exploration were fulfilled.However,for some large.
Following a previous genome-wide association study (GWAS 1) including 744 cases and 895 controls, we analyzed genome-wide association data from a new cohort of Han Chinese (GWAS 2) with 1,510 ...polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) cases and 2,016 controls. We followed up significantly associated signals identified in the combined results of GWAS 1 and 2 in a total of 8,226 cases and 7,578 controls. In addition to confirming the three loci we previously reported, we identify eight new PCOS association signals at P < 5 × 10(-8): 9q22.32, 11q22.1, 12q13.2, 12q14.3, 16q12.1, 19p13.3, 20q13.2 and a second independent signal at 2p16.3 (the FSHR gene). These PCOS association signals show evidence of enrichment for candidate genes related to insulin signaling, sexual hormone function and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Other candidate genes were related to calcium signaling and endocytosis. Our findings provide new insight and direction for discovering the biological mechanisms of PCOS.
Pneumocystis causes a type of pneumonia in immunodeficient mammals, such as AIDS patients. Mammals cannot alkylate the C-24 position of the sterol side chain, nor can they desaturate C-22. Thus, the ...reactions leading to these sterol modifications are particularly attractive targets for the development of drugs against fungal and protozoan pathogens that make them. In the present study, the definitive structures of 43 sterol molecular species in rat-derived Pneumocystis carinii were elucidated by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Ergosterol, Delta(5,7) sterols, trienes, and tetraenes were not among them. Most (32 of the 43) were 24-alkylsterols, products of S-adenosyl-L-methionine:C-24 sterol methyl transferase (SAM:SMT) enzyme activity. Their abundance is consistent with the suggestion that SAM:SMT is highly active in this organism and that the enzyme is an excellent anti-Pneumocystis drug target. In contrast, the comprehensive analysis strongly suggest that P. carinii does not form Delta(22) sterols, thus C-22 desaturation does not appear to be a drug target in this pathogen. The lanosterol derivatives, 24-methylenelanost-8-en-3 beta-ol and (Z)-24-ethylidenelanost-8-en-3 beta-ol (pneumocysterol), previously identified in human-derived Pneumocystis jiroveci, were also detected among the sterols of the rat-derived P. carinii organisms.
Purpose : To determine the ability of radiation to modulate kidney tubule epithelial cell expression of various molecules involved in regulating extracellular matrix accumulation (collagen types I ...and III, fibronectin, plasminogen activator-inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), TGF-beta and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 (TIMP-2)) and degradation (plasminogen activators u-PA or t-PA, MMP-2 and MMP-9). Materials and methods : NRK52E rat tubule epithelial cells were placed in serum-free medium 24h prior to irradiation with single doses of 1.0-10.0 Gy 137 Cs gamma-rays. After irradiation, cells were maintained in serum-free medium for up to 48h. Results : Irradiation of NRK52E cells was associated with significant dose-dependent increases in collagen I (p <0.05) and PAI-1 (p 0.002) mRNA. Collagen III mRNA levels also exhibited a dose-dependent increase; however, this increase failed to reach levels that were statistically significant. Fibronectin mRNA levels were unaltered following irradiation. Radiation also led to an isoform-specific alteration in TGF-beta expression; TGF-beta1 mRNA increased, TGF-beta3 mRNA decreased. The amount of TGF-beta protein secreted into the medium was unchanged following irradiation; however, there was a fivefold increase in the relative amount of active TGF-beta. Irradiation was also associated with differential changes in MMP expression: active MMP-2 levels increased, while MMP-9 levels were unaltered; PA secretion into the medium was unchanged following irradiation. Conclusions : Irradiation of rat kidney tubule epithelial cells leads to altered production of various molecules associated with extracellular matrix accumulation and degradation.
We consider a recently introduced continuous data assimilation (CDA) approach for downscaling a coarse resolution configuration of the 2D Benard convection equations into a finer grid. In this CDA, a ...nudging term, estimated as the misfit between some interpolants of the assimilated coarse grid measurements and the fine grid model solution, is added to the model equations to constrain the model. The main contribution of this study is a performance analysis of CDA for downscaling measurements of temperature and velocity. These measurements are assimilated either separately or simultaneously and the results are compared against those resulting from the standard point-to-point nudging approach (NA). Our numerical results suggest that the CDA solution outperforms that of NA, always converging to the true solution when the velocity is assimilated as has been theoretically proven. Assimilation of temperature measurements only may not always recover the true state as demonstrated in the case study. Various runs are conducted to evaluate the sensitivity of CDA to noise in the measurements, the size and the time frequency of the measured grid, suggesting a more robust behaviour of CDA compared to NA.
Biaxially textured YBa{sub 2}Cu{sub 3}O{sub 7-x} (YBCO) films were grown on inclined-substrate-deposited (ISD) MgO-textured metal substrates by pulsed laser deposition. CeO{sub 2} was deposited as a ...buffer layer prior to YBCO growth. CeO{sub 2} layers of different thickness were prepared to evaluate the thickness dependence of the YBCO films. The biaxial alignment features of the films were examined by X-ray diffraction 2{theta}-scans, pole-figure, {phi}-scans and rocking curves of {Omega} angles. The significant influence of the CeO{sub 2} thickness on the structure and properties of the YBCO films were demonstrated and the optimal thickness was found to be about 10 nm. High values of T{sub c} = 91 K and J{sub c} = 5.5 x 10{sup 5} A/cm{sup 2} were obtained on YBCO films with optimal CeO{sub 2} thickness at 77 K in zero field. The possible mechanisms responsible for the dependence of the structure and the properties of the YBCO films on the thickness of the CeO{sub 2} buffer layers are discussed.
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