Publications by authors named "Brian Roelofs"

Insulin is a hormone produced by β-cells of the pancreas and controls the amount of sugar in the blood. Since its discovery over 100 years ago, insulin has been used as a life-saving treatment for people with diabetes. Historically, the biological activity or bioidentity of insulin products has been assessed using an in vivo model.

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Fast-acting insulin drug products (DPs) are carried and administered by diabetic patients to maintain their blood glucose level throughout the day, exposing the DPs to stress conditions. Apidra, Novolog, and Humalog insulin DPs were tested under various stress conditions. Dynamic light scattering (DLS), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) were used to monitor the stability and aggregation.

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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) activates multiple neuronal cell death mechanisms, leading to post-traumatic neuronal loss and neurological deficits. TBI-induced cell cycle activation (CCA) in post-mitotic neurons causes regulated cell death involving cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activation and initiation of an E2F transcription factor-mediated pro-apoptotic program. Here we examine the mechanisms of CCA-dependent neuronal apoptosis in primary neurons in vitro and in mice exposed to controlled cortical impact (CCI).

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Mitochondrial fission mediated by the GTPase dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1) is an attractive drug target in numerous maladies that range from heart disease to neurodegenerative disorders. The compound mdivi-1 is widely reported to inhibit Drp1-dependent fission, elongate mitochondria, and mitigate brain injury. Here, we show that mdivi-1 reversibly inhibits mitochondrial complex I-dependent O consumption and reverse electron transfer-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production at concentrations (e.

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Ubiquitin- and proteasome-dependent outer mitochondrial membrane (OMM)-associated degradation (OMMAD) is critical for mitochondrial and cellular homeostasis. However, the scope and molecular mechanisms of the OMMAD pathways are still not well understood. We report that the OMM-associated E3 ubiquitin ligase MARCH5 controls dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1)-dependent mitochondrial fission and cell sensitivity to stress-induced apoptosis.

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MitoSOX Red is a fluorescent probe used for the detection of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species by live cell imaging. The lipophilic, positively charged triphenylphosphonium moiety within MitoSOX concentrates the superoxide-sensitive dihydroethidium conjugate within the mitochondrial matrix. Here we investigated whether common MitoSOX imaging protocols influence mitochondrial bioenergetic function in primary rat cortical neurons and microglial cell lines.

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In addition to established membrane remodeling roles in various cellular locations, actin has recently emerged as a participant in mitochondrial fission. However, the underlying mechanisms of its participation remain largely unknown. We report that transient de novo F-actin assembly on the mitochondria occurs upon induction of mitochondrial fission and F-actin accumulates on the mitochondria without forming detectable submitochondrial foci.

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Mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in signal transduction, inflammation, neurodegenerative disorders, and normal aging. Net ROS release by isolated brain mitochondria derived from a mixture of neurons and glia is readily quantified using fluorescent dyes. Measuring intracellular ROS in intact neurons or glia and assigning the origin to mitochondria are far more difficult.

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Technological improvements in microscopy and the development of mitochondria-specific imaging molecular tools have illuminated the dynamic rearrangements of these essential organelles. These rearrangements are mainly the result of two opposing processes: mitochondrial fusion and mitochondrial fission. Consistent with this, in addition to mitochondrial motility, these two processes are major factors determining the overall degree of continuity of the mitochondrial network, as well as the average size of mitochondria within the cell.

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Anti- and pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family members regulate the mitochondrial phase of apoptotic cell death. The mitochondrial targeting mechanisms of Bcl-2 family proteins are tightly regulated. Known outer mitochondrial membrane targeting sequences include the C-terminal tail and central helical hairpin.

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Transient global ischemia in rats induces delayed death of hippocampal CA1 neurons. Early events include caspase activation, cleavage of anti-death Bcl-2 family proteins and large mitochondrial channel activity. However, whether these events have a causal role in ischemia-induced neuronal death is unclear.

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Glucose is a very important energy source for a wide variety of cells, and the ability of cells to respond to changes in glucose availability or other cell stresses is of critical importance. Many mammalian cells respond to acute stress by increasing the V(max) of transport through GLUT1; the most ubiquitously expressed glucose transporter isoform. This study investigated the acute response of glucose uptake to glucose deprivation in L929 fibroblast cells--a cell line that expresses only the GLUT1 transporter.

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