Chromosome segregation errors caused by centromere malfunction can lead to chromosome instability and aneuploidy. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the Argonaute protein CSR-1 is essential for proper chromosome segregation, although the specific mechanisms are not fully understood. Here, we investigated how CSR-1 regulates centromere and kinetochore function in C.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Investig Med High Impact Case Rep
March 2024
Drug-induced thrombotic microangiopathy (DITMA) is a life-threatening condition which may be immune or nonimmune mediated. Quinine is the most implicated drug in immune-mediated DITMA. However, the optimal treatment is unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic mental disorder that involves disruptions in cognitive processes, emotional responsiveness, and social interactions. Psychotherapeutic and social integration practices have increasingly been added to the pharmacological treatment in an effort to improve the level of functioning and the quality of life of individuals affected by this condition. Befriending, defined as a one-on-one companionship provided by a volunteer who aims to act as an emotionally supportive liaison, is hypothesized to be an effective such intervention, offering support for building and maintaining social relationships in the community.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe formation of de novo centromeres on artificial chromosomes in humans (HACs) and fission yeast (SpYACs) has provided much insights to the epigenetic and genetic control on regional centromere establishment and maintenance. Similarly, the use of artificial chromosomes in point centromeric budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae (ScYACs) and holocentric Caenorhabditis elegans (WACs) has revealed epigenetic regulation in the originally thought purely genetically-determined point centromeres and some centromeric DNA sequence features in holocentromeres, respectively. These relatively extreme and less characterized centromere organizations, on the endogenous chromosomes and artificial chromosomes, will be discussed and compared to the more well-studied regional centromere systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe centromere is a specialized region on the chromosome that directs equal chromosome segregation. Centromeres are usually not defined by DNA sequences alone. How centromere formation and function are determined by epigenetics is still not fully understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Young children are using digital technology (DT) devices anytime and anywhere, especially with the invention of smart phones and the replacement of desktop computers with digital tablets. Although research has shown that parents play an important role in fostering and supporting preschoolers' developing maturity and decisions about DT use, and in protecting them from potential risk due to excessive DT exposure, there have been limited studies conducted in Hong Kong focusing on parent-child DT use. This study had three objectives: 1) to explore parental use of DTs with their preschool children; 2) to identify the DT content that associated with child behavioral problems; and 3) to investigate the relationships between approaches adopted by parents to control children's DT use and related preschooler behavioral problems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLipid transport in the brain is coordinated by glial-derived lipoproteins that contain apolipoprotein E (apoE) as their primary protein. Here we show that apoE is secreted from wild-type (WT) primary murine mixed glia as nascent lipoprotein subspecies ranging from 7.5 to 17 nm in diameter.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman disease caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) is associated with fulminant viral pneumonia and mortality rates in excess of 60%. Cytokine dysregulation is thought to contribute to its pathogenesis. In comparison with human seasonal influenza (H1N1) viruses, clade 1, 2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: Progression to the castration-resistant state is the incurable and lethal end stage of prostate cancer, and there is strong evidence that androgen receptor (AR) still plays a central role in this process. We hypothesize that knocking down AR will have a major effect on inhibiting growth of castration-resistant tumors.
Experimental Design: Castration-resistant C4-2 human prostate cancer cells stably expressing a tetracycline-inducible AR-targeted short hairpin RNA (shRNA) were generated to directly test the effects of AR knockdown in C4-2 human prostate cancer cells and tumors.
Cholesterol homeostasis is of emerging therapeutic importance for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Agonists of liver-X-receptors (LXRs) stimulate several genes that regulate cholesterol homeostasis, and synthetic LXR agonists decrease neuropathological and cognitive phenotypes in AD mouse models. The cholesterol transporter ABCG1 is LXR-responsive and highly expressed in brain.
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