Mammary gland morphology and gene expression differ in female rats treated with 17β-estradiol or fed soy protein isolate.

Soy foods have been suggested to have both positive health benefits and potentially adverse effects as a result of their content of phytoestrogens. However, studies on the estrogenicity of soy foods are lacking. Here we directly compared the effects of soy protein isolate (SPI), the protein in soy infant formula, with those of 17β-estradiol (E2), on global gene expression profiles and morphology in the female rat mammary gland.

Correlating conformational shift induction with altered inhibitor potency in a multidrug resistant HIV-1 protease variant.

Inhibitor-induced conformational ensemble shifts in a multidrug resistant HIV-1 protease variant, MDR769, are characterized by site-directed spin labeling double electron-electron resonance spectroscopy. For MDR769 compared to the native enzyme, changes in inhibitor IC(50) values are related to a parameter defined as |ΔC|, which is the relative change in the inhibitor-induced shift to the closed state. Specifically, a linear correlation is found between |ΔC| and the magnitude of the change in IC(50), provided that inhibitor binding is not too weak.

Effectiveness of continuous passive motion in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital after total knee replacement: a matched cohort study.

Objective: To examine the use of continuous passive motion (CPM) as an adjunct to physical therapy after total knee replacement in patients who were transferred to an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) and to compare the effectiveness of CPM on active range of motion (AROM), functional tasks, destination after discharge, the need for home care services, and the ambulation device at discharge.

Design: Matched cohort study.

Setting: IRF.

Excessive penile norepinephrine level underlies impaired erectile function in adenosine A1 receptor deficient mice.

Introduction: Penile erection is a complex neurovascular physiological event controlled by multiple factors and signaling pathways. A considerable amount of evidence indicates that adenosine plays a significant role in cavernosal smooth muscle relaxation. However, the specific role of adenosine and its receptors in erectile physiology and pathology is not fully understood.

Gene therapy/bone marrow transplantation in ADA-deficient mice: roles of enzyme-replacement therapy and cytoreduction.

Gene therapy (GT) for adenosine deaminase-deficient severe combined immune deficiency (ADA-SCID) can provide significant long-term benefit when patients are given nonmyeloablative conditioning and ADA enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) is withheld before autologous transplantation of γ-retroviral vector-transduced BM CD34+ cells. To determine the contributions of conditioning and discontinuation of ERT to the therapeutic effects, we analyzed these factors in Ada gene knockout mice (Ada(-/-)). Mice were transplanted with ADA-deficient marrow transduced with an ADA-expressing γ-retroviral vector without preconditioning or after 200 cGy or 900 cGy total-body irradiation and evaluated after 4 months.

Sustained adenosine exposure causes lung endothelial barrier dysfunction via nucleoside transporter-mediated signaling.

Previous studies by our group as well as others have shown that acute adenosine exposure enhances lung vascular endothelial barrier integrity and protects against increased permeability lung edema. In contrast, there is growing evidence that sustained adenosine exposure has detrimental effects on the lungs, including lung edema. It is well established that adenosine modulates lung inflammation.

Delay discounting as emotional processing: an electrophysiological study.

Both theoretical models and functional imaging studies implicate the involvement of emotions within the delay discounting process. However, defining this role has been difficult to establish with neuroimaging techniques given the automaticity of emotional responses. To address this, the current study examined electrophysiological correlates involved in the detection and evaluation of immediate and delayed monetary outcomes.

Spare PRELI gene loci: failsafe chromosome insurance?

Background: LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins encode conserved N-terminal mitochondrial signal domains and C-terminal (A/TAEKAK) motif repeats, long-presumed to confer cell resistance to stress and death cues. This prompted the hypothesis that LEA proteins are central to mitochondria mechanisms that connect bioenergetics with cell responses to stress and death signaling. In support of this hypothesis, recent studies have demonstrated that mammalian LEA protein PRELI can act as a biochemical hub, which upholds mitochondria energy metabolism, while concomitantly promoting B cell resistance to stress and induced death.

Blueberry consumption prevents loss of collagen in bone matrix and inhibits senescence pathways in osteoblastic cells.

Ovariectomy (OVX)-induced bone loss has been linked to increased bone turnover and higher bone matrix collagen degradation as the result of osteoclast activation. However, the role of degraded collagen matrix in the fate of resident bone-forming cells is unclear. In this report, we show that OVX-induced bone loss is associated with profound decreases in collagen 1 and Sirt1.

Differential effects of short term feeding of a soy protein isolate diet and estrogen treatment on bone in the pre-pubertal rat.

Background: Previous reports suggest that beneficial effects of soy on bone quality are due to the estrogenic actions of isoflavone phytochemicals associated with the protein. However, mechanistic studies comparing the effects of soy diet and estrogens on bone, particularly in rapidly growing animals are lacking.

Methodology And Principal Findings: We studied the effects of short term feeding of soy protein isolate (SPI) on bone in comparison to the effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) in pre-pubertal rats.

Role of A2B adenosine receptors in regulation of paracrine functions of stem cell antigen 1-positive cardiac stromal cells.

The existence of multipotent cardiac stromal cells expressing stem cell antigen (Sca)-1 has been reported, and their proangiogenic properties have been demonstrated in myocardial infarction models. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that stimulation of adenosine receptors on cardiac Sca-1(+) cells up-regulates their secretion of proangiogenic factors. We found that Sca-1 is expressed in subsets of mouse cardiac stromal CD31(-) and endothelial CD31(+) cells.

The A2B adenosine receptor modulates pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease.

Development of pulmonary hypertension is a common and deadly complication of interstitial lung disease. Little is known regarding the cellular and molecular mechanisms that lead to pulmonary hypertension in patients with interstitial lung disease, and effective treatment options are lacking. The purpose of this study was to examine the adenosine 2B receptor (A(2B)R) as a regulator of vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension secondary to pulmonary fibrosis.

Osteopontin in systemic sclerosis and its role in dermal fibrosis.

Osteopontin (OPN) is a matricellular protein with proinflammatory and profibrotic properties. Previous reports demonstrate a role for OPN in wound healing and pulmonary fibrosis. Here, we determined whether OPN levels are increased in a large cohort of patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and whether OPN contributes to the development of dermal fibrosis.

RNA-seq analysis of the functional compartments within the rat placentation site.

The rat placentation site is distinctly organized into interacting zones, the so-called labyrinth, junctional, and metrial gland compartments. These zones house unique cell populations equipped to undertake myriad prescribed functions including transport, hormonal responses, and immune interactions. Although much is known about the genesis of these cell types and specific markers that characterize each zone, a detailed global overview of gene expression in the three zones is absent.

Learner portfolios and hands-on workshop to facilitate and evaluate nurses' learning in obstetric ultrasound.

Over the past three decades, ultrasound has played an increasing role in perinatal nursing. In obstetric triage, many clients present with indications for ultrasound. In one institution's triage unit, restrictive policies, lack of opportunities for learning skills, and an unstructured method of verifying competence created barriers to nurses learning ultrasound.

Inhibition of fetal bone development through epigenetic down-regulation of HoxA10 in obese rats fed high-fat diet.

Epidemiological studies show that maternal obesity during intrauterine and early postnatal life increases the risk of low bone mass and fracture later in life. Here, we show that bone development is inhibited in gestational embryonic day 18.5 (E18.

I want it now! Neural correlates of hypersensitivity to immediate reward in hypomania.

Background: Hypomania is associated with impulsive decision making and risk taking, characteristics that may arise from hypersensitivity to reward. To date, the neural dynamics underlying intertemporal reward processing have neither been characterized clinically nor in the general population. Taking vulnerability to hypomania as a surrogate model of impulsivity, we utilized event-related potentials to study the neural mechanisms of delay discounting.

Interleukin 6 underlies angiotensin II-induced hypertension and chronic renal damage.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a prevalent life-threatening disease frequently associated with hypertension, progression to renal fibrosis, and eventual renal failure. Although the pathogenesis of CKD remains largely unknown, an increased inflammatory response is known to be associated with the disease and has long been speculated to contribute to disease development. However, the causative factors, the exact role of the increased inflammatory cascade in CKD, and the underlying mechanisms for its progression remain unidentified.

Adenosinergic regulation of the expansion and immunosuppressive activity of CD11b+Gr1+ cells.

Extracellular adenosine and purine nucleotides are elevated in many pathological situations associated with the expansion of CD11b(+)Gr1(+) myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). Therefore, we tested whether adenosinergic pathways play a role in MDSC expansion and functions. We found that A(2B) adenosine receptors on hematopoietic cells play an important role in accumulation of intratumoral CD11b(+)Gr1(high) cells in a mouse Lewis lung carcinoma model in vivo and demonstrated that these receptors promote preferential expansion of the granulocytic CD11b(+)Gr1(high) subset of MDSCs in vitro.

Cadherin-11 contributes to pulmonary fibrosis: potential role in TGF-β production and epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

Pulmonary fibrosis, characterized by excess deposition of extracellular matrix by myofibroblasts, is a serious component of chronic lung diseases. Cadherin-11 (CDH11) is increased in wound healing and fibrotic skin. We hypothesized that CDH11 is increased in pulmonary fibrosis and contributes its development.

Formula feeding alters hepatic gene expression signature, iron and cholesterol homeostasis in the neonatal pig.

In the U.S. formula feeding remains more popular than breast-feeding.

Identification and subsequent removal of an interference by FAIMS in the bioanalysis of dianicline in animal plasma.

Background: The determination of pharmacokinetic parameters requires accurate and reliable bioanalytical methods. Even using highly selective MS/MS, interferences can occur. This paper describes the source of some of these interferences with an example discussed involving the problem of a ketamine interference in a plasma assay.