Bioactive peptide apelin rescues acute kidney injury by protecting the function of renal tubular mitochondria.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in proximal tubular epithelial cells is a key event in acute kidney injury (AKI), which is a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Apelin is a bioactive peptide that protects against AKI by alleviating inflammation, inhibiting apoptosis, and preventing lipid oxidation, but its role in protecting against mitochondrial damage remains unknown. Herein, we examined the protective effects of apelin on mitochondria in cisplatin-stimulated human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy in cisplatin-induced AKI mice.

Apelin attenuates TGF-β1-induced epithelial to mesenchymal transition via activation of PKC-ε in human renal tubular epithelial cells.

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a process whereby fully differentiated epithelial cells transition to a mesenchymal phenotype, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of renal fibrosis. Apelin, a bioactive peptide, has recently been recognized to protect against renal profibrotic activity, but the underlying mechanism has not yet been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the regulation of EMT in the presence of apelin-13 in vitro.

The regulatory peptide apelin: a novel inhibitor of renal interstitial fibrosis.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of tubular epithelial cells is a key event in renal interstitial fibrosis and the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Apelin is a regulatory peptide involved in the regulation of normal renal hemodynamics and tubular functions, but its role in renal fibrosis remains unknown. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of apelin on transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced EMT in HK-2 cells, and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy in mice with complete unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO).

[Regulation on EGFR function via its interacting proteins and its potential application].

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is imptortant for cell activities, oncogenesis and cell migration, and EGFR inhibitor can treat cancer efficiently, but its side effects, for example, in skin, limited its usage. On the other hand, EGFR interacting proteins may also lead to oncogenesis and its interacting protein as drug targets can avoid cutaneous side effect, which implies possibly a better outcome and life quality of cancer patients. For the multiple EGFR interaction proteins, B1R enhances Erk/MAPK signaling, while PTPN12, Kek1, CEACAM1 and NHERF repress Erk/MAPK signaling.

Altered miR-143 and miR-150 expressions in peripheral blood mononuclear cells for diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: Sensitive and specific biomarkers for identifying early stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are urgently needed to improve the therapeutic outcome and reduce the mortality. Small non-coding microRNAs (miRNAs) are key components of cancer development and are considered as potential biomarkers for cancer diagnosis and for monitoring treatment. The aim of this study was to determine whether aberrant miRNA expression can be used as a marker in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) for the diagnosis of NSCLC.

Apelin-13 passes through the ADMA-damaged endothelial barrier and acts on vascular smooth muscle cells.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), an endogenous nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, is associated with vascular dysfunction. The polypeptide apelin mediates two major actions on blood vessels. However, their combined effects on vascular function are not fully understood.

Proteins linked to extinction in contextual fear conditioning in the C57BL/6J mouse.

Studying fear extinction is a major topic in neuroscience. No information on systematic studies on the linkage of contextual fear conditioning (cFC) with hippocampal protein levels is available and we were therefore interested in protein differences between animals with poor and good extinction. cFC was carried out in C57BL/6J mice, hippocampi were taken and proteins were run on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with subsequent quantification of protein spots.

Olfactory bulb proteins linked to olfactory memory in C57BL/6J mice.

Information on systematic analysis of olfactory memory-related proteins is poor. In this study, the odor discrimination task to investigate olfactory recognition memory of adult male C57BL/6J mice was used. Subsequently, olfactory bulbs (OBs) were taken, proteins extracted, and run on two-dimensional gel electrophoresis with in-gel-protein digestion, followed by mass spectrometry and quantification of differentially expressed proteins.

EBP50 exerts tumor suppressor activity by promoting cell apoptosis and retarding extracellular signal-regulated kinase activity.

The expression of Ezrin-radixin-moesin-binding phosphoprotein-50 (EBP50) and the intragenic mutation of the ebp50 gene have been reported to correlate with human breast cancer development, but the exact impacts on breast cancer development and its molecular mechanism are not fully understood. In this study, we investigate the potential function of EBP50 through over-expression in the breast cancer cell line, MDA-MB-231, which has low EBP50 protein expression levels. The effects of EBP50 over-expression on cellular proliferation, anchorage-independent growth and apoptosis were examined.

Hippocampal protein levels related to spatial memory are different in the Barnes maze and in the multiple T-maze.

The Multiple T-maze (MTM) and the Barnes maze (BM) are land mazes used for the evaluation of spatial memory. The observation that mice are performing differently in individual mazes made us test the hypothesis that differences in cognitive performances in the two land mazes would be accompanied by differences in hippocampal protein levels. C57BL/6J mice were tested in the BM and in the MTM, hippocampi were extirpated 6 h following the probe trials each, and proteins were extracted for gel-based proteomic analysis.

Phylogenetically clustering of rhizobia by genome structure: application to unclassified Rhizobium.

Previous research reveals that the genome structures of rhizobial type strains and reference strains can reflect their phylogenetic relationships. In order to further explore the potential application of genome structure as a phylogenetic marker in rhizobial natural taxonomy, this study analyzed the genome structures of 29 unclassified nodule bacteria isolated from the root nodules of leguminous trees, Robinia sp., Dalbergia spp.