Publications by authors named "Bruss M"

Article Synopsis
  • Iron regulatory proteins (IRPs) are crucial for managing iron metabolism in animal cells by controlling the translation of mRNAs that have iron responsive elements (IREs).
  • Different targeted mRNAs show varying responses to iron levels: ferritins and ferroportin are repressed when iron is sufficient, while mitochondrial aconitase responds more during iron deficiency.
  • This indicates that IRPs have a hierarchical control mechanism, allowing cells to adapt to both iron scarcity and toxicity by adjusting the translation of key proteins based on the cellular iron status.
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Unlabelled: Family relations and behavioral-emotional problems in adolescents - an analysis with the adolescent version of the Family Relations Test for Children and Adolescents Abstract.

Objectives: So far hardly any instruments are available for the German-speaking countries, covering family relations from the perspective of young people reliably. Moreover, the relationship between family relations from the perspective of young people and behavioral problems has been rarely investigated.

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Daily moderate exercise (DME) and stress management are underemphasized in the care of patients with lupus nephritis (LN) due to a poor comprehensive understanding of their potential roles in controlling the inflammatory response. To investigate these effects on murine LN, disease progression was monitored with either DME or social disruption stress (SDR) induction in NZM2410/J mice, which spontaneously develop severe, early-onset LN. SDR of previously established social hierarchies was performed daily for 6 days and DME consisted of treadmill walking (8.

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Recent studies implicate innate immunity to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) pathogenesis. Toll-like receptor (TLR)8 is estrogen-regulated and binds viral ssRNA to stimulate innate immune responses, but recent work indicates that microRNA (miR)-21 within extracellular vesicles (EVs) can also trigger this receptor. Our objective was to examine TLR8 expression/activation to better understand sex-biased responses involving TLR8 in SLE.

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Article Synopsis
  • To address the challenges of an aging population, it's important to find ways to slow down age-related diseases through targeted interventions.
  • The study examined three mouse models with extended lifespans to evaluate cell proliferation and protein synthesis rates, revealing that while cell proliferation varied, all models showed reduced protein replacement rates.
  • The findings suggest that improved protein homeostasis is linked to longer lifespans and could serve as an early indicator for future aging interventions in mammals.
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Despite recent advances in the understanding of Sjögren's Syndrome (SjS), the pathogenic mechanisms remain elusive and an ideal model for early drug discovery is not yet available. To establish a humanized mouse model of SjS, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from healthy volunteers or patients with SjS were transferred into immunodeficient NOD-scid IL-2rγ(null) mouse recipients to produce chimeric mice. While no difference was observed in the distribution of cells, chimeric mice transferred with PBMCs from SjS patients produced enhanced cytokine levels, most significantly IFN-γ and IL-10.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Calorie restriction (CR) can delay aging and extend lifespan in organisms like mice by reducing levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), which may help slow down cell proliferation and tumor growth.
  • - The study investigated how moderate CR affects growth hormone (GH) and IGF-1 signaling, finding changes in the phosphorylation of specific proteins involved, particularly the reduction of STAT5 phosphorylation.
  • - Although FGF21 is linked to CR and IGF-1 regulation, research showed that it is not necessary for the decrease in IGF-1 levels or the slowing of cell proliferation during CR, while also suggesting that FGF21 may play a role in limiting cell growth under certain conditions.
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Despite the widespread use of curcumin for centuries in Eastern medicine as an anti-inflammatory agent, its molecular actions and therapeutic viability have only recently been explored. While curcumin does have potential therapeutic efficacy, both solubility and bioavailability must be improved before it can be more successfully translated to clinical care. We have previously reported a novel formulation of nano-emulsion curcumin (NEC) that achieves significantly greater plasma concentrations in mice after oral administration.

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Article Synopsis
  • Pharmaceutical packaging and medical devices undergo a controlled extraction study to identify compounds that can be extracted by solvents, assessing whether materials are suitable for packaging new drugs.
  • This study evaluates potential contamination of drug products by analyzing samples through various analytical techniques, aiming to create a comprehensive profile of extractable compounds.
  • The article details a method using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography to effectively analyze diverse non-volatile and semi-volatile compounds within a short timeframe, demonstrating reliable results across different sample types.
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  • The study investigates how genetic factors and environmental influences contribute to complex diseases like diabetes by analyzing an F2 intercross of genetically modified mice.
  • Researchers focused on five tissues and performed high-density genotyping, clinical trait evaluations, and gene expression profiling to identify interactions that affect plasma insulin levels.
  • A key finding was the identification of the Alzheimer's gene App as a potential regulator of insulin secretion in pancreatic islets, suggesting a link between Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.
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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how caloric restriction (CR) affects protein synthesis, proposing it may not increase in all tissues.
  • Researchers found no significant short-term increase in protein synthesis from feeding in CR mice compared to those on a regular diet (AL).
  • They discovered that CR suppresses mTOR signaling in the liver and heart, suggesting this may lead to lower protein synthesis despite sustained overall levels.
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Article Synopsis
  • * In a study comparing long-term CR and ad libitum-fed mice, CR significantly decreased both the synthesis and breakdown rates of most liver proteins and extended the lifespan of mitochondrial proteins.
  • * The results challenge the assumption that CR boosts mitochondrial protein turnover, revealing instead that CR may reduce the overall protein synthetic load for better cellular health.
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Article Synopsis
  • Researchers examine how caloric restriction (CR) affects mitochondrial protein synthesis in mice, hypothesizing that CR may lead to a decrease in this process through translational regulation rather than changes at the transcription level.
  • The study finds that mitochondrial protein synthesis levels remain consistent between CR and control groups despite decreased cellular proliferation in the liver and heart, suggesting CR aids in maintaining mitochondrial health.
  • An increase in specific proteins related to energy regulation with CR is observed, but global translation initiation appears to be less impactful, implying that selective translation might be more critical for mitochondrial protein synthesis during caloric restriction.
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While fatty acids (FAs) released by white adipose tissue (WAT) provide energy for other organs, lipolysis is also critical in brown adipose tissue (BAT), generating FAs for oxidation and UCP-1 activation for thermogenesis. Here we show that adipose-specific ablation of desnutrin/ATGL in mice converts BAT to a WAT-like tissue. These mice exhibit severely impaired thermogenesis with increased expression of WAT-enriched genes but decreased BAT genes, including UCP-1 with lower PPARα binding to its promoter, revealing the requirement of desnutrin-catalyzed lipolysis for maintaining a BAT phenotype.

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The aim of this study was to analyze functional properties of the naturally occurring C23S variant of the human 5-HT2C receptor. In HEK293 cells transiently expressing the unedited forms of the variant receptor (VR) or the wild-type receptor (WTR), surface expression was determined by [3H]mesulergine binding to membrane fragments. Function was examined by an aequorin luminescence-based Ca2+ assay.

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Article Synopsis
  • * A study on C57BL/6 mice showed that around 20% CR reduced cell proliferation in keratinocytes, liver cells, and T-cells, but this reduction was not due to changes in food intake, energy expenditure, body fat, or body weight.
  • * The findings imply that reduced levels of insulin-like growth factor I may play a key role in lowering cell proliferation rates and suggest that decreased proliferation could serve as a biomarker for longevity-enhancing interventions.
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Since the first description of 5-HT₃ receptors more than 50 years ago, there has been speculation about the molecular basis of their receptor heterogeneity. We have cloned the genes encoding novel 5-HT3 subunits 5-HT3C, 5-HT3D, and 5-HT3E and have shown that these subunits are able to form functional heteromeric receptors when coexpressed with the 5-HT3A subunit. However, whether these subunits are actually expressed in human tissue remained to be confirmed.

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Background: Cyclic AMP (cAMP) signaling modulates functions of inflammatory cells involved in the pathogenesis of asthma, and type 4 cAMP-specific phosphodiesterases (PDE4s) are essential components of this pathway. Induction of the PDE4 isoform PDE4B is necessary for Toll-like receptor signaling in monocytes and macrophages and is associated with T cell receptor/CD3 in T cells; however, its exact physiological function in the development of allergic asthma remains undefined.

Objectives: We investigated the role of PDE4B in the development of allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) and T(H)2-driven inflammatory responses.

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Although five 5-hydroxytryptamine type 3 (5-HT3) subunits (A-E) have been cloned, knowledge on the regulation of their assembly is limited. RIC-3 has been identified as a chaperone specific for the pentameric ligand-gated nicotinic acetylcholine and 5-HT(3) receptors. Therefore, we examined the impact of RIC-3 on differently composed 5-HT(3) receptors with the focus on 5-HT3C, -D, and -E subunits.

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Although radioactive iodide uptake (RAIU) is one of the reliable diagnostic methods for thyroid function in adult humans, especially in the diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis, there are limited data for RAIU during pregnancy and lactation in humans and animals. Therefore, we proposed to validate RAIU for the lactating rhesus monkey to further human model studies in thyroid disease. RAIU was performed at 6 and 24 h using 100 microCi of (123)I orally in four lactating monkeys.

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The present study aimed at examining the function and pharmacological properties of the naturally occurring Arg344His variant of the human 5-HT(3A) receptor, identified in a schizophrenic patient. In intact human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells expressing the wild-type (WT) or the variant receptor, the function was analyzed by indirect measurement of agonist-induced Ca(2+) current through the 5-HT(3A) receptor channel by an aequorin luminescence-based Ca(2+) assay. In cell membrane patches cation currents were determined electrophysiologically including technically demanding single channel analyses.

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Article Synopsis
  • Calorie restriction (CR) has been linked to increased lifespan and a delay in chronic disease progression, but its metabolic processes are not fully understood.
  • In a study with mice, researchers found that CR leads to a unique pattern of fatty acid (FA) metabolism, where periods of high FA synthesis are followed by extended periods of FA oxidation, even with reduced fat intake.
  • The findings suggest that CR alters the body’s metabolism in ways that could affect oxidative stress and disease risk, highlighting a complex relationship between FA dynamics and CR.
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Objective: To characterize effects of IV administration of pirfenidone on clinical, biochemical, and hematologic variables and circulating tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha concentrations in horses after infusion of a low dose of endotoxin.

Animals: 18 healthy adult horses.

Procedures: Horses were randomly assigned to 3 groups (n = 6 horses/group) and administered an IV infusion of 30 ng of endotoxin/kg or saline (0.

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Community-based participatory research (CBPR) was used to design and evaluate the effectiveness of a culturally relevant, science-based intervention for the prevention of childhood obesity in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), a US Commonwealth in the western Pacific. This cognitive behavioral lifestyle intervention, Project Familia Giya Marianas (PFGM), was offered during the 2005-2007 school years in all CNMI public elementary schools over eight sessions to primary caregivers of 3rd grade children (N = 407). A crossover design was utilized with half of the schools offering the intervention in the Fall term, while the other half delivered the sessions in the Spring term.

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Dysregulations of central noradrenergic and serotonergic neurotransmission have been suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. The norepinephrine transporter (NET; SLC6A2) and the serotonin (5-HT)(1A) receptor (5-HT(1A) receptor; HTR1A) play an important role in central nervous monoaminergic homeostasis. As shown previously, variations in the human NET and 5-HT(1A) receptor genes can alter noradrenergic and serotonergic signaling in the brain: a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the coding region of the NET gene resulting in a F528C substitution increased plasma membrane expression of this NET variant, and a SNP in the human 5-HT(1A) receptor gene leading to the R219L receptor variant almost abolished cellular signal transduction subsequent to receptor activation.

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