Tissue distribution and expression dynamics of trefoil factor genes in the hydroid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus.

Proteins of the trefoil factor family (TFF) participate in mucosal repair and are formed by single or tandemly repeated trefoil domains. TFFs have been extensively studied in mammals and amphibians, but they have not been functionally characterized in other animals. Here we report the identification of two genes expressed in the hydroid Hydractinia symbiolongicarpus, predicted to encode trefoil domain-containing peptides, one with four trefoil domains in tandem and the other one with a trefoil domain flanked by two ShKT domains.

Case Report: Three Case Reports of Rapidly Progressive Dementias and Narrative Review.

Unlabelled: Rapidly progressive dementia (RPD) is a heterogeneous group of diseases characterized by cognitive impairment and other neurological disorders developed in a short span of fewer than 2 years. Currently viewed as new and infrequent entities, most medical personnel have little understanding of it. Nevertheless, they significantly compromise many patients' quality of life.

Neuropsychiatric Alterations in a Patient Diagnosed with Advanced Korsakoff's Syndrome: Clinical Case of Low Incidence and Prevalence in Colombia.

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) is an insidious and progressive neuropsychiatric disorder that affects specific neurocognitive functioning, especially in tasks that require sustained attention, memory, executive functions, and visuospatial functioning. Usually, this disease generates neuropsychiatric complications that worsen the quality of life (QOL) of patients in the medium term. We present a case of a 63-year-old male who presented with a diagnosis of advanced Korsakoff's syndrome and has a clinical history of recurrent memory loss and a history of alcohol abuse.

Transfusion-transmitted arboviruses: Update and systematic review.

Background: The detection of the first cases of transfusion-transmitted West Nile virus in 2002 posed a new challenge for transfusion safety. Institutions like the World Health Organization have stated that blood transfusion centers need to know the epidemiology of the different emerging infectious agents and their impact on blood transfusion. The aim of the study is to review the published cases of arbovirus transmission through transfusion of blood or blood components and to analyze their main clinical and epidemiological characteristics.

Model-based optimal immunization for antibody production in birds.

A dynamic model of the immune response in poultry was developed in order to enhance antibody production. Efficient production of antibodies is very valuable for researchers and physicians since they are used for other molecules detection. Large amounts of poultry-based antibodies are found in birds' eggs.

SUMOylation of HMGA2: selective destabilization of promyelocytic leukemia protein via proteasome.

The HMGA2 architectural protein functions in a variety of cellular processes, such as cell growth, transcription regulation, neoplastic transformation, and progression. Up-regulation of HMGA2 protein is observed in many tumors and is associated with advanced cancers with poor prognoses. Although the expression and biochemical properties of HMGA2 protein are regulated by microRNA and phosphorylation, it is unknown whether HMGA2 activity can also be regulated by SUMOylation, and that is what is investigated in this report.

Effects of KGF on alveolar epithelial cell transdifferentiation are mediated by JNK signaling.

Rat alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) in primary culture transdifferentiate from a type II (AT2) toward a type I (AT1) cell-like phenotype, a process that can be both prevented and reversed by keratinocyte growth factor (KGF). Microarray analysis revealed that these effects of KGF are associated with up-regulation of key molecules in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway. To further explore the role of three key MAPK (i.

Protein kinase Cdelta-dependent and -independent signaling in genotoxic response to treatment of desferroxamine, a hypoxia-mimetic agent.

Protein kinase C (PKC) plays a critical role in diseases such as cancer, stroke, and cardiac ischemia and participates in a variety of signal transduction pathways including apoptosis, cell proliferation, and tumor suppression. Here, we demonstrate that PKCdelta is proteolytically cleaved and translocated to the nucleus in a time-dependent manner on treatment of desferroxamine (DFO), a hypoxia-mimetic agent. Specific knockdown of the endogenous PKCdelta by RNAi (sh-PKCdelta) or expression of the kinase-dead (Lys376Arg) mutant of PKCdelta (PKCdeltaKD) conferred modulation on the cellular adaptive responses to DFO treatment.

Etk/Bmx mediates expression of stress-induced adaptive genes VEGF, PAI-1, and iNOS via multiple signaling cascades in different cell systems.

We recently showed that Etk/Bmx, a member of the Tec family of nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinases, promotes tight junction formation during chronic hypoxic exposure and augments normoxic VEGF expression via a feedforward mechanism. Here we further characterized Etk's role in potentiating hypoxia-induced gene expression in salivary epithelial Pa-4 cells. Using transient transfection in conditionally activated Etk (DeltaEtk:ER) cells, we demonstrated that Etk enhances hypoxia-response element-dependent reporter activation in normoxia and hypoxia.