Publications by authors named "Julieta I Castro"
Chemokines are small proteins that primarily regulate the traffic of leukocytes under homeostatic conditions and during specific immune responses. The chemokine-chemokine receptor system comprises almost 50 chemokines and approximately 20 chemokine receptors; thus, there is no unique ligand for each receptor and the binding of different chemokines to the same receptor might have disparate effects. Complicating the system further, these effects depend on the cellular milieu.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytokines are highly inducible, secretory proteins that mediate intercellular communication in the immune system. They are grouped into several protein families that are referred to as tumor necrosis factors, interleukins, interferons, and colony-stimulating factors. In recent years, it has become clear that some of these proteins as well as their receptors are produced in the organisms under physiological and pathological conditions.
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- Cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis serve as safe alternatives for controlling insect pests, targeting the cellular integrity of Aedes aegypti larvae.
- An analysis using 2D-DIGE and LC-MS/MS identified significant proteomic changes in larvae exposed to Cry11Aa toxin, with 18 proteins up-regulated and 7 down-regulated, primarily related to protein turnover, energy production, and cytoskeleton maintenance.
- Gene silencing of specific proteins revealed that reducing ATP synthase and actin expression made larvae more sensitive to the toxin, while silencing the heat shock protein HSP90 increased resistance, highlighting key molecular components in the larvae's defense response.