Bioavailability and In Vivo Antioxidant Activity of a Standardized Polyphenol Mixture Extracted from Brown Propolis.

Several lines of evidence demonstrate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial activities of propolis, mostly ascribed to its polyphenol content. However, little is known regarding the bioavailability of propolis in acute and prolonged settings of oral administration. In this study, we first determined the content of the main polyphenols in a brown propolis extract obtained using a patented extraction method (Multi Dinamic Extraction-M.

Electron Microscope Detection of 5-Methylcytosine on DNA and RNA.

5-Methylcytosine is the major epigenetic modification occurring on DNA. It is known to be involved not only in gene expression regulation but also in the control of chromatin structure. However, this modification is also found on different types of RNA, including mRNA.

A new platinum-based prodrug candidate: Its anticancer effects in B50 neuroblastoma rat cells.

Aims: Neuroblastoma is a rare cancer that affects children, mostly under the age of 5. This type of cancer starts in very early forms of immature nerve cells or developing cells found in embryo or fetus. To date cisplatin represents one of the most potent antitumor agent known, however, the onset of systemic side effects and the induction of drug resistance limit its use in the clinic for long-term treatment.

Perichromatin region: a moveable feast.

The perichromatin region is an elusive zone of the cell nucleus located at the periphery of the condensed chromatin areas. This region is visible at the electron microscope level under special staining treatments, otherwise it is merged with the border of condensed chromatin. In this 200 nm-thick area, several fundamental cell processes take place, such as replication, DNA repair and transcription.

Zc3h13/Flacc is required for adenosine methylation by bridging the mRNA-binding factor Rbm15/Spenito to the mA machinery component Wtap/Fl(2)d.

-methyladenosine (mA) is the most abundant mRNA modification in eukaryotes, playing crucial roles in multiple biological processes. mA is catalyzed by the activity of methyltransferase-like 3 (Mettl3), which depends on additional proteins whose precise functions remain poorly understood. Here we identified Zc3h13 (zinc finger CCCH domain-containing protein 13)/Flacc [Fl(2)d-associated complex component] as a novel interactor of mA methyltransferase complex components in and mice.

Ultrastructural localization of 5-methylcytosine on DNA and RNA.

DNA methylation is the major epigenetic modification and it is involved in the negative regulation of gene expression. Its alteration can lead to neoplastic transformation. Several biomolecular approaches are nowadays used to study this modification on DNA, but also on RNA molecules, which are known to play a role in different biological processes.

Visualizing RNA at Electron Microscopy by Terbium Citrate.

Although the EDTA regressive technique allows the visualization of RNPs, this widely used method is not intended to be specific for RNA alone. A fine ultrastructural visualization of RNA on ultrathin sections can be obtained with terbium citrate: this method gives a weak contrast but a very fine end product which allows observations at a high resolution level.The procedure is very simple since it consists only of a period of incubation and very short washes, which are the crucial point of this technique to avoid the Tb removal from RNA.

Osmium Ammine for Staining DNA in Electron Microscopy.

The osmium ammine staining allows the specific detection of DNA in the cell nucleus and represents one of the most used techniques for EM cytochemistry.The procedure is a Feulgen-type reaction, consisting of an acid hydrolysis to obtain free aldehyde groups on DNA followed by their binding to osmium ammine, a Schiff-type reagent. Osmium ammine is polyamminic electron-dense compound commercially available.