Publications by authors named "Balcan Erdal"

Background/aim: Although high muscle strength worsens the sense of force, it is unknown whether there is a relationship between this deterioration and the underlying molecular mechanisms. This study examined the relationship between decreased force sense (FS) acuity and strength-related gene expressions.

Materials And Methods: Maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) and FS (50% MVIC) tests were performed on the knee joints of twenty-two subjects.

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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Pinus halepensis Mill. seed (Pinaceae), commonly known as "Zgougou," is widely consumed in the Mediterranean region and has long been used to treat diseases including bronchitis, rheumatism, infection, and inflammation.

Aim Of The Study: The present study was focused on the investigation of some pharmacological activities, such as analgesic, anti-inflammatory, and wound healing effects, of cold-pressed oil of Pinus halepensis Mill.

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In this study, we investigated the effect of doxorubicin and tunicamycin treatment alone or in combination on MDM-, Cul9-and prion protein (PrP)-mediated subcellular regulation of p53 in the context of apoptosis and autophagy. MTT analysis was performed to determine the cytotoxic effect of the agents. Apoptosis was monitorized by ELISA, flow cytometry and JC-1 assay.

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Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common condition worldwide. There is no curative treatment for gastroesophageal reflux disease. Endoplasmic reticulum stress leads to the activation of the unfolded protein response and has an important role in inflammation.

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Although pesticides are essential agrochemicals to annihilate harmful organisms in agriculture, their uncontrolled use has become an important threat to environmental health. Exposure to pesticides can affect many biological systems including immune system, endocrine system, and nervous system. However, the potential side effects of pesticides to skeletal muscle system remain unclear.

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Because the small intestine is exposed to variety of foreign substances, it participates in host immune response. We investigated whether the expression levels of intestinal MAdCAM-1, PECAM-1 (CD31) and CAV-1 are affected by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress following brief treatment with tunicamycin (TN). We administered a single dose of TN intraperitoneally.

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Dexamethasone (DEX) is the most commonly used synthetic glucocorticoid in treatment of various inflammatory conditions. Here we focused on evaluating the effect of DEX on apoptosis and glycan profile in the mouse thymic tissues. Histological examinations revealed that the DEX treatment cause severe alterations in thymus, such as disruption of thymic capsule, impaired epithelial cell-thymocyte contacts, cellular loss and increased apoptosis.

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Background: Idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) is an epilepsy form without an underlying brain lesion or neurological indication or symptom. Recent investigations on the genetic origins of IGE and its subtypes report that certain mutations of various ion and non-ion channels genes in the central nervous system may be associated with IGE.

Purpose: In this study we evaluated the relation between IGE and S430Y polymorphism in EFHC2 gene in a Turkish population.

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Genetic variations such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in prion protein coding gene, Prnp, greatly affect susceptibility to prion diseases in mammals. Here, the coding region of Prnp was screened for polymorphisms in redeared turtle, Trachemys scripta. Four polymorphisms, L203V, N205I, V225A and M237V, were common in 15 out of 30 turtles; in one sample, three SNPs, L203V, N205I and M237V, and in the remaining 14 samples, only L203V and N205I polymorphisms, were investigated.

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Objective: To compare histological and molecular alterations in the embryonic and neonatal thymi following exposure to tunicamycin.

Study Design: Mouse embryos at gestational days 17 (n = 7) and 18 (n = 7) and newborn animals at post-natal days 1 (n = 5) and 3 (n = 5) were divided into two groups: control and tunicamycin-treated. Combined Alcian blue and Periodic acid-Schiff sequences immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting were performed to determine glycosaminoglycan (GAG) accumulation and laminin expression in control and tunicamycin-treated embryonic and postnatal thymi.

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Toxoplasma gondii the causative agent of toxoplasmosis is an obligate intracellular parasite with a wide host range including all warm-blooded animals and birds. T.gondii infection causes congenital toxoplasmosis in newborns and this may lead to fetal anomalies, retinochoroiditis leading to blindness, lethal toxoplasmic encephalitis in immune compromised patients, and organ failure in transplantation patients.

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During the intrathymic development, the fate of the thymocytes depends largely on variable expression of CD4/CD8 markers and T cell receptor protein expressions. In addition, changes of cell surface glycosylation status also affect the thymocyte maturation. In this study the glycosylation alterations in thymic tissues from 1, 9, 13 and 16 days old mice were evaluated by histochemical and lectin blotting techniques.

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Epidermis is one of the many tissues that are resorbed during metamorphosis in the regressing tail of amphibian tadpoles. Apoptotic mechanisms play an important role in this process. In this study, loss of intercellular contacts and alterations in plasma membrane glycosylation were observed during apoptosis.

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In the thymus, glycosylation status of many cell surface molecules changes during the thymocyte maturation and selection processes. In this study, we evaluated the glycosylation changes and possible relationships with programmed cell death in the thymic tissues from mouse embryos at the days 14 (E14), 15 (E15), 16 (E16), 17 (E17) and 18 (E18) of embryonic development. In order to determine glycosylation changes we used three different plant lectins: peanut agglutinin (PNA), Maackia amurensis leucoagglutinin (MAL or MAAI) and Sambucus nigra agglutinin (SNA), which recognize core disaccharide galactose (1-3) N-acetylgalactosamine [Galbeta(1-->3)GalNAc], sialic acid linked (2-->3) to galactose [SAalpha(2-->3)Gal] and sialic acid linked to galactose [SAalpha(2-->6)Gal] structures, respectively.

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