Galactose specific lectins from prostate tissue with different pathologies: biochemical and cellular studies.

Background: Galectins-galactose-specific lectins are involved in various types of cell activities, including apoptosis, cell cycle regulation, inflammation and cell transformation. Galectins are implicated in prostate malignat transformation. It is not known yet if prostate glands with different grade of pathologies are expressing different galectins and if these galectins express different effects on the cell viability.

Luminescence enhancement in nanocomposite consisting of polyvinyl alcohol incorporated gold nanoparticles and Nile blue 690 perchlorate.

We have experimentally demonstrated that the emission of visible light from the polymer matrix doped with luminescent dye and gold nanoparticles (GNPs) can be enhanced with the use of surface plasmon coupling. GNPs can enhance the luminescence intensity of nearby luminescent dye because of the interactions between the dipole moments of the dye and the surface plasmon field of the GNPs. The electric charge on the GNPs and the distance between GNPs and luminescent dye molecules have a significant effect on the luminescence intensity, and this enhancement depends strongly upon the excitation wavelength of the pumping laser source.

Lectin activity of species of genus Cerrena S.F. Gray (Aphyllophoromycetideae) in submerged fermentation of lignocellulosic materials.

The capability of 5 strains of 2 species of genus Cerrena (Aphyllophoromycetideae) to express hemagglutinating activity (HA) was evaluated in submerged fermentation of 7 lignocellulosic materials of different chemical compositions. Among the lignocellulosic substrates tested, walnut pericarp, followed by mandarin and kiwi peels provided the highest specific HA of C. unicolor IBB 300; walnut leaves and pericarp appeared to be the best substrates for the accumulation of lectin by C.

Influence of beta-galactose-specific mitochondrial lectins from prostate hyperplasic tissue on mitochondrial properties.

Galactose-specific lectins (Gal-lectins) were isolated from the mitochondrial fraction of prostate post-operational hyperplasic tissue of two diagnoses: benign prostate hyperplasic tissue with low-grade intraepithelial neoplasia (LGPIN) and benign prostate hyperplasic tissue with atypical adenomatous hyperplasia (AAH). They had similar molecular weight and other properties. Effects of these lectins were investigated in vitro model experiments on bovine liver cells mitochondrial properties.