Differential modulation of cell morphology, migration, and Neuropilin-1 expression in cancer and non-cancer cell lines by substrate stiffness.

Physical changes in the tumor microenvironment, such as increased stiffness, regulate cancer hallmarks and play an essential role in gene expression, cell morphology, migration, and malignancy. However, the response of cancer cells to stiffness is not homogeneous and varies depending on the cell type and its mechanosensitivity. In this study, we investigated the differential responses of cervical (HeLa) and prostate (PC-3) cancer cell lines, as well as non-tumoral cell lines (HEK293 and HPrEC), to stiffness using polyacrylamide hydrogels mimicking normal and tumoral tissues.

Sonchus oleraceus L.: ethnomedical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects.

Sonchus oleraceus L. (Asteraceae) is a cosmopolitan species native to Europe commonly known as lettuce, sowthistle, chicory, or fake dandelion, considered a weed. However, for many years in various cultures around the world, it has been used as food and medicinal plant.

Evaluation of the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effect of intracerebral administration of growth hormone in rats.

Introduction: The growth hormone (GH) has been reported as a crucial neuronal survival factor in the hippocampus against insults of diverse nature. Status epilepticus (SE) is a prolonged seizure that produces extensive neuronal cell death. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of intracerebroventricular administration of GH on seizure severity and SE-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration.

Exogenous growth hormone promotes an epithelial-mesenchymal hybrid phenotype in cancerous HeLa cells but not in non-cancerous HEK293 cells.

In cancer, the Epithelial to Mesenchymal Transition (EMT) is the process in which epithelial cells acquire mesenchymal features that allow metastasis, and chemotherapy resistance. Growth hormone (GH) has been associated with melanoma, breast, and endometrial cancer progression through an autocrine regulation of EMT. Since exogenous and autocrine expression of GH is known to have different molecular effects, we investigated whether exogenous GH is capable of regulating the EMT of cancer cells.

Mannich bases of hydroxycoumarins: synthesis, DFT/QTAIM computational study and assessment of biological activity.

The synthesis of six Mannich bases derived from hydroxycoumarins was carried out in moderate yields, two of these derivatives were described for the first time. Conformational analysis was performed through DFT theoretical calculations explaining the formation of stable six membered rings based on intramolecular hydrogen bonds within the structure. These findings were correlated with the antiproliferative activity.

The role of growth hormone in hippocampal function.

Growth hormone is a multifunctional molecule with broad cellular targets. This pituitary hormone is currently used as a therapeutic agent against several brain injuries due to its neurotrophic activity. The hippocampus is one of the brain regions where the growth hormone plays a role in normal and pathologic conditions.

Evaluation of the anticonvulsant and neuroprotective effect of intracerebral administration of growth hormone in rats.

Introduction: The growth hormone (GH) has been reported as a crucial neuronal survival factor in the hippocampus against insults of diverse nature. Status epilepticus (SE) is a prolonged seizure that produces extensive neuronal cell death. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effect of intracerebroventricular administration of GH on seizure severity and SE-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration.

Intracerebroventricular administration of growth hormone induces morphological changes in pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex in adult rats.

A growing body of evidence suggests that growth hormone (GH) affects synaptic plasticity at both the molecular and electrophysiological levels. However, unclear is whether plasticity that is stimulated by GH is associated with changes in neuron structure. This study investigated the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of GH on the morphology of pyramidal neurons of the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus and layer III of the prefrontal cortex.

Mimicking Neural Stem Cell Niche by Biocompatible Substrates.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) participate in the maintenance, repair, and regeneration of the central nervous system. During development, the primary NSCs are distributed along the ventricular zone of the neural tube, while, in adults, NSCs are mainly restricted to the subependymal layer of the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles and the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus. The circumscribed areas where the NSCs are located contain the secreted proteins and extracellular matrix components that conform their niche.

Growth hormone (GH) is a survival rather than a proliferative factor for embryonic striatal neural precursor cells.

Objective: A possible role of GH during central nervous system (CNS) development has been suggested by the presence of this hormone and its receptor in brain areas before its production by the pituitary gland. Although several effects have been reported for GH, the specific role of this hormone during CNS development remains unclear. Here, we examined the effect of GH on proliferation, survival and neurosphere formation in primary cultures of striatal tissue from 14-day-old (E14) mouse embryos.

Ghrelin and its interactions with growth hormone, leptin and orexins: implications for the sleep-wake cycle and metabolism.

Several studies have shown that ghrelin administration promotes wakefulness in rodents, while in human males it induces sleep but has no effect in women. Ghrelin also plays an important role in metabolism and appetite regulation, and as described in this review may participate in the energy balance during sleep. In this review, we summarize some of the effects induced by ghrelin administration on the sleep-wake cycle in relation to the effects of other hormones, such as growth hormone, leptin, and orexin.

Growth hormone improves hippocampal adult cell survival and counteracts the inhibitory effect of prolonged sleep deprivation on cell proliferation.

Sleep deprivation (SD) produces numerous deleterious changes in brain cells, including apoptosis. It has been demonstrated that growth hormone (GH) stimulates cell growth and counteracts apoptosis, although this anti-apoptotic effect has not been tested against SD. To determine the protective effect of GH administration on cell proliferation and survival in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus after sleep deprivation; we injected Wistar adult rats with a low dose of recombinant human GH (rhGH 5 ng/kg) per seven days and then we gently sleep deprived the animals for 48 consecutive hours.

Adult cystatin C reference intervals determined by nephelometric immunoassay.

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the adult reference values for cystatin C (CysC) and to evaluate their consistence with those reported in the literature.

Design And Methods: CysC was analyzed in a consecutive series of subjects (100 males and 100 females) by a nephelometric immunoassay. Medline was searched for CysC reference values.

A simple and sensitive assay for GH activity based on 3T3-F442A cell differentiation.

We describe a fast, sensitive, specific, and simple in vitro assay for GH biological activity, based on the differentiation of 3T3-F442A cells into adipocytes. The 3T3-F442A cells were directly plated at 1.5 x 10(4)cells/cm(2) in medium with or without various concentrations of human growth hormone (hGH).

Controlled clinical study of deep partial-thickness burns treated with frozen cultured human allogeneic epidermal sheets.

Numerous studies, many uncontrolled, have suggested that the application of freshly prepared human allogeneic epidermal cultures promotes faster re-epithelialization of skin donor sites and deep partial-thickness burns. We describe the results of a study of deep partial-thickness burns treated with such cultures preserved in the frozen state. The study was controlled, side-by-side comparative, and randomized.

Frozen human epidermal allogeneic cultures promote rapid healing of facial dermabrasion wounds.

Background: Clinical studies have shown that cultured human epidermal allogenic sheets promote faster reepithelization of skin donor sites and deep partial-thickness wounds.

Objective: We describe the results of a controlled, clinical study of facial dermabrasion sites treated with a single application of frozen cultured human allogenic epidermal sheets that were thawed for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before application.

Methods: Ten patients with scars from acne or of other etiology underwent facial dermabrasion.

Functional domains of human growth hormone necessary for the adipogenic activity of hGH/hPL chimeric molecules.

Genetic analysis through construction of chimeric genes and their transfection in mammalian cells could provide a better understanding of biological functions of native or modified proteins, and would allow the design of new gene constructs encoding peptides that mimic or block ligand interaction with target tissues. To identify the hGH domains responsible for induction of adipose differentiation we constructed hGH/hPL chimeric molecules using homologous DNA mutagenesis, since hGH, but not human placental lactogen (hPL), promotes adipose differentiation in mouse 3T3-F442A cells. We assayed their adipogenic activity in an autocrine/paracrine biological model consisting of transiently transfected 3T3-F442A cells with the chimeric constructs.

22-kDa and 20-kDa hGH isoforms show differential effects when assayed in 3T3-F442A and 3T3-F442A/C4 adipocytes.

To known whether 22.0-kDa human growth hormone (hGH22K) and the 20.0-kDa isoform (hGH20K) show different activities, we used 3T3-F442A and 3T3-F442A/C4 cells to evaluate their adipogenic and metabolic effects.