biochemistry and cell biology

E74-like factor 3 (ELF3) is an important member of the E-twenty-six (ETS) transcription factor family. ELF3 is expressed in various types of cells and regulates a variety of biological behaviors, such as cell proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, migration, and invasion, by binding to DNA to regulate the expression of other genes. In recent years, studies have shown that ELF3 plays an important role in the occurrence and development of many tumors and inflammation- and immune-related diseases. ELF3 has different functions and expression patterns in different tumors; it can function as a tumor suppressor gene or an oncogene, highlighting its dual effects of tumor promotion and inhibition...

Neural tissue engineering is a sub-field of tissue engineering that develops neural tissue. Damaged central and peripheral nervous tissue can be fabricated with a suitable scaffold printed with biomaterials. These scaffolds promote cell growth, development, and migration, yet they vary according to the biomaterial and scaffold printing technique, which determine the physical and biochemical properties. The physical and biochemical properties of scaffolds stimulate diverse signalling pathways, such as Wnt, NOTCH, Hedgehog, and ion channels- mediated pathways to promote neuron migration, elongation and migration...

A high mortality rate makes hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) a difficult cancer to treat. When surgery is not possible, liver cancer patients are treated with chemotherapy. However, HCC management and treatment are difficult. Sorafenib, which is a first-line treatment for hepatocellular carcinoma, initially slows disease progression. However, sorafenib resistance limits patient survival. Recent studies have linked HCC to programmed cell death, which has increased researcher interest in therapies targeting cell death...

Mesenchymal/medicinal stem/signaling cells (MSCs) have emerged as a promising treatment option for various disorders. However, the donor's age, advanced stage of disease, and prolonged in vitro expansion often diminish the innate regenerative potential of MSCs. Besides that, the absence of MSCs' comprehensive "pre-admission testing" can result in the injection of cells with reduced viability and function, which may negatively affect the overall outcome of MSC-based therapies. It is, therefore, essential to develop effective strategies to improve the impaired biological performance of MSCs...

The increasing global prevalence and associated comorbidities need innovative approaches for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) prevention and treatment. Genetics contributes significantly to T2DM susceptibility, and genetic counseling is significant in detecting and informing people about the diabetic risk. T2DM is also intricately linked to overnutrition and obesity, and nutritional advising is beneficial to mitigate diabetic evolution. However, manipulating pancreatic cell plasticity and transdifferentiation could help beta cell regeneration and glucose homeostasis, effectively contributing to the antidiabetic fight...

Bone remodeling is the balance between osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Bone diseases such as osteoporosis and osteoarthritis are associated with imbalanced bone remodeling. Skeletal injury leads to limited motor function and pain. Neurophilin was initially identified in axons, and its various ligands and roles in bone remodeling， angiogenesis, neuropathic pain and immune regulation were later discovered. Neurophilin promotes osteoblast mineralization and inhibits osteoclast differentiation and its function...

AIM: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a chronic, progressive condition with unknown aetiology that causes the lung parenchyma to scar incessantly, lowering the quality of life and hastening death. In this investigation, we studied the anti-fibrotic activity of Geneticin (a derivative of gentamycin) using in vitro and in vivo models. MAIN METHODS: The TGF-β-mediated differentiation model was adopted to investigate (fibrotic marker's levels/expression) the anti-fibrotic activity of geneticin (GNC) in in-vitro scenarios (Ll29 and DHLF cells)...

Receptor-mediated cellular uptake of specific ligands constitutes an important step in the dynamic regulation of individual protein levels in extracellular fluids. With a focus on the inflammatory lung, we here performed a proteomics-based search for novel ligands regulated by the mannose receptor (MR), a macrophage-expressed endocytic receptor. Wildtype and MR-deficient mice were exposed to lipopolysachharide (LPS), after which the protein content in their lung epithelial lining fluid (ELF) was compared by tandem mass tag-based mass spectrometry...

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a new cancer treatment that involves photoimmunotherapy drug injection and NIR light exposure. In NIR-PIT, antibodies are commonly used as target-directed molecules carrying IRDye700DX (IR700). However, antibodies have disadvantages, such as high cost, complex development strategies, and poor tumor penetration. In contrast, peptides have lower production costs, can be easy to chemically synthesize and modify, and can also be used for tumor-targeting like antibodies...

βIV-spectrin is a membrane-associated cytoskeletal protein that maintains the structural stability of cell membranes and integral proteins such as ion channels and transporters. Its biological functions are best characterized in the brain and heart, although recently we discovered a fundamental new role in the vascular system. Using cellular and genetic mouse models, we reported that βIV-spectrin acts as a critical regulator of developmental and tumor-associated angiogenesis. βIV-spectrin was shown to selectively express in proliferating endothelial cells (EC) and suppress VEGF/VEGFR2 signaling by enhancing receptor internalization and degradation...

DNA-binding proteins perform diverse functions, including regulating cellular growth and orchestrating chromatin architecture. Here, we present a protocol to discover proteins specifically interacting with a hexanucleotide repeat DNA, the expansion of which is known as the most frequent genetic cause of familial C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. We describe steps to fish out DNA-binding proteins recognizing double-stranded repeat DNAs using a SILAC (stable isotope labelling by amino acids in cell culture)-based approach and validate the results using electrophoretic mobility shift assay...

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The pancreas is a heterocrine gland that has both exocrine and endocrine parts. Most pancreatic cancer begins in the cells that line the ducts of the pancreas and is called pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). PDAC is the most encountered pancreatic cancer type. One of the most important characteristic features of PDAC is neuropathy which is primarily due to perineural invasion (PNI). PNI develops tumor microenvironment which includes overexpression of fibroblasts cells, macrophages, as well as angiogenesis which can be responsible for neuropathy pain...

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kidney cancer with high mortality rate. Pazopanib has been approved for the treatment of RCC. However, the underlying mechanism is not clear. Here, we report a novel finding by showing that treatment with Pazopanib could promote cellular senescence of the human RCC cell line ACHN. Cells were stimulated with 5, 10, and 20 μM Pazopanib, respectively. Cellular senescence was measured using senescence-associated β-galactosidase (SA-β-Gal) staining...

The human glucose-regulated protein GRP78 is a human chaperone that translocactes to the cell surface when cells are under stress. Theoretical studies suggested it could be involved in SARS-CoV-2 virus entry to cells. In this work, we used in vitro surface plasmon resonance-based assays to show that human GRP78 indeed binds to SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. We have designed and synthesised cyclic peptides based on the loop structure of amino acids 480-488 of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein S1 domain from the Wuhan and Omicron variants and showed that both peptides bind to GRP78...

The utilization of the glycated amino acids formyline and pyrraline and their peptide-bound derivatives by 14 Saccharomyces yeasts, including 6 beer yeasts (bottom and top fermenting), one wine yeast, 6 strains isolated from natural habitats and one laboratory reference yeast strain (wild type) was investigated. All yeasts were able to metabolize glycated amino acids via the Ehrlich pathway to the corresponding Ehrlich metabolites. While formyline and small amounts of pyrraline entered the yeast cells via passive diffusion, the amounts of dipeptide-bound MRPs, especially the dipeptides glycated at the C-terminus, decreased much faster, indicating an uptake into the yeast cells...

EH domain-containing protein 2 (EHD2) is a member of the EHD protein family and is mainly located in the plasma membrane, but can also be found in the cytoplasm and endosomes. EHD2 is also a nuclear-cytoplasmic shuttle protein. After entering the cell nuclear, EHD2 acts as a corepressor of transcription to inhibit gene transcription. EHD2 regulates a series of biological processes. As a key regulator of endocytic transport, EHD2 is involved in the formation and maintenance of endosomal tubules and vesicles, which are critical for the intracellular transport of proteins and other substances...

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) together with malignant cells present in the tumor microenvironment (TME), participate in the suppression of the antitumor immune response through the production of immunosuppressive factors, such as transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-β1). In previous studies, we reported that adenosine (Ado), generated by the adenosinergic activity of cervical cancer (CeCa) cells, induces the production of TGF-β1 by interacting with A2A R/A2B R. In the present study, we provide evidence that Ado induces the production of TGF-β1 in MSCs derived from CeCa tumors (CeCa-MSCs) by interacting with both receptors and that TGF-β1 acts in an autocrine manner to induce the expression of programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in CeCa-MSCs, resulting in an increase in their immunosuppressive capacity on activated CD8+ T lymphocytes...

Toxicity caused by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) can lead to serious liver injury. The aim of the study is to investigate the protective effects of oregano oil (Origanum minutiflorum extract oil) against CCl4 -induced liver injury. Two doses of oregano oil were used in the experiment: a low dose (LD; 20 mg/kg) and a high dose (HD; 60 mg/kg) during 2 weeks. CCl4 caused severe liver damage, nucleolus destruction in hepatocytes and cytogenetic changes in the nucleus. Indirectly, CCl4 causes decreased protein synthesis and significantly high creatinine and urea values...

Temporal phases of wound healing and their corresponding healing factors are essential in wound regeneration. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) accelerate wound healing via their paracrine secretions by enhancing cell migration, angiogenesis, and reducing inflammation. This study evaluated the local therapeutic effect of human umbilical cord MSCs (hUCMSCs) in the healing of cold-induced burn wounds. An in vitro wound (scratch) was developed in rat skin fibroblasts. The culture was maintained in the conditioned medium (CM) which was prepared by inducing an artificial wound in hUCMSCs in a separate experiment...