Pannexin 1 (PANX1) forms cell-surface channels capable of releasing signaling metabolites for diverse patho-physiological processes. While inhibiting dysregulated PANX1 has been proposed as a therapeutic strategy for many pathological conditions, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), low efficacy, or poor specificity of classical PANX1 inhibitors introduces uncertainty for their applications in basic and translational research. Here, hit-to-lead optimization is performed and a naphthyridone, compound 12, is identified as a new PANX1 inhibitor with an IC of 0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Metabolic Score for Visceral Fat (METS-VF) is a novel indicator for estimating intra-abdominal fat, yet its connection with coronary artery calcification (CAC) remains uncharted. Our research aims to explore the novel METS-VF indicator's link to CAC while comparing its performance against relevant anthropometric indices.
Methods: This study enrolled participants who underwent health checkups and computed tomography scans for categorizing severity of CAC using the coronary artery calcium score.
Curr Issues Mol Biol
November 2024
Transmembrane-4 L-six family member-1 (TM4SF1) is a small cell surface glycoprotein that is highly and selectively expressed on endothelial cell and mesenchymal stem cell surfaces. TM4SF1 regulates cellular functions by forming protein complexes called TMED (TM4SF1-enriched microdomains) that either recruit growth-factor activated proteins and internalize them via microtubules to distribute the recruited molecules intracellularly or support the formation of nanopodia for intercellular interactions extracellularly. Through a genetically manipulated mouse model for global gene knockout, we demonstrate here that TM4SF1 is essential for blood vessel development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the past, patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) were advised to avoid exercise due to concerns that it might strain cardiac function and exacerbate symptoms. However, recent evidence indicates that structured exercise programs can enhance outcomes and improve health-related quality of life for these patients. Consequently, exercise rehabilitation is now recommended in international guidelines as a key component of PH management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe design criteria of the wavelength-selectable Nd:YAG laser by controlling a birefringence filter (BRF) rotational angle and temperature are explored. Theoretically, the angle and temperature-dependent BRF transmission are applied to the threshold pump power equation to verify the achievable output wavelength. It is found that by using a thicker BRF with a 3.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt Immunopharmacol
December 2024
Proteins with intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) often undergo phase separation to control their functions spatiotemporally. Changing the pH alters the protonation levels of charged sidechains, which in turn affects the attractive or repulsive force for phase separation. In a cell, the rupture of membrane-bound compartments, such as lysosomes, creates an abrupt change in pH.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransmembrane-4 L-six family member-1 (TM4SF1) is an atypical tetraspanin that is highly and selectively expressed in proliferating endothelial cells and plays an essential role in blood vessel development. TM4SF1 forms clusters on the cell surface called TMED (TM4SF1-enriched microdomains) and recruits other proteins that internalize along with TM4SF1 via microtubules to intracellular locations including the nucleus. We report here that tumor growth and wound healing are inhibited in -heterozygous mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMidlife overweight and obesity are risk factors of cognitive decline and Alzheimer' s disease (AD) in late life. In addition to increasing risk of obesity and cognitive dysfunction, diets rich in fats also contributes to an imbalance of gut microbiota. Xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) are a kind of prebiotic with several biological advantages, and can selectively promote the growth of beneficial microorganisms in the gut.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVGluT3-expressing mouse retinal amacrine cells (VG3s) respond to small-object motion and connect to multiple types of bipolar cells (inputs) and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs, outputs). Because these input and output connections are intermixed on the same dendrites, making sense of VG3 circuitry requires comparing the distribution of synapses across their arbors to the subcellular flow of signals. Here, we combine subcellular calcium imaging and electron microscopic connectomic reconstruction to analyze how VG3s integrate and transmit visual information.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurposes: Our aim is to build and evaluate models to screen for clinically significant nephrolithiasis in overweight and obesity populations using machine learning (ML) methodologies and simple health checkup clinical and urine parameters easily obtained in clinics.
Methods: We developed ML models to screen for clinically significant nephrolithiasis (kidney stone > 2 mm) in overweight and obese populations (body mass index, BMI ≥ 25 kg/m) using gender, age, BMI, gout, diabetes mellitus, estimated glomerular filtration rate, bacteriuria, urine pH, urine red blood cell counts, and urine specific gravity. The data were collected from hospitals in Kaohsiung, Taiwan between 2012 and 2021.
Cardiac rehabilitation is a comprehensive intervention recommended in international and Taiwanese guidelines for patients with acute myocardial infarction. Evidence supports that cardiac rehabilitation improves the health-related quality of life, enhances exercise capacity, reduces readmission rates, and promotes survival in patients with cardiovascular disease. The cardiac rehabilitation team is comprehensive and multidisciplinary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFValanimycin is an azoxy-containing natural product isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces viridifaciens MG456-hF10. While the biosynthesis of valanimycin has been partially characterized, how the azoxy group is constructed remains obscure. Herein, the membrane protein VlmO and the putative hydrazine synthetase ForJ from the formycin biosynthetic pathway are demonstrated to catalyze N-N bond formation converting O-(l-seryl)-isobutyl hydroxylamine into N-(isobutylamino)-l-serine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune disease characterized by immune-mediated destruction of intrahepatic small bile ducts. CD8 T cells play a critical role in biliary destruction. However, regulatory T cells (Tregs) have also been identified in the portal tracts of PBC patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: It is currently unclear whether the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) fibrosis score, when compared to major anthropometric indices, is useful in estimating the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD).
Methods And Results: This study included 3886 adults undergoing a health checkup. An elevated risk of ASCVD was determined as a 10-year ASCVD risk ≥7.
Two-dimensional (2D) semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) represent the ultimate thickness for scaling down channel materials. They provide a tantalizing solution to push the limit of semiconductor technology nodes in the sub-1 nm range. One key challenge with 2D semiconducting TMD channel materials is to achieve large-scale batch growth on insulating substrates of single crystals with spatial homogeneity and compelling electrical properties.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFExercise interventions are evident in the treatment of mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy (AT). However, there is still a lack of knowledge concerning the effect of different exercise treatments on improving a specific function (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHypoglycemia has been known as a potential contributory factor to neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. There may be shared pathogenic mechanisms underlying both conditions, and the ketone body, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), as an alternative substrate for glucose may exert neuroprotection against hypoglycemia-induced injury. To investigate this, Neuro-2a cells were subjected to a 24 h period of glucose deprivation with or without the presence of BHB.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrimary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a female-predominant liver autoimmune disease characterized by the specific immune-mediated destruction of the intrahepatic small bile duct. Although apoptosis of biliary epithelial cells (BECs) and alterations in gut microbiota are observed in patients with PBC, it is still unclear whether these events happen in the early stage and cause the breakdown of tolerance in PBC. In this study, we examined the early events in the loss of tolerance in our well-defined 2-OA-OVA-induced murine autoimmune cholangitis (AIC) model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have previously shown that selective inhibition of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) decreases infarct volume and improves long-term functional outcomes after stroke. In this study, we examined the effects of HDAC3 inhibition on cerebral edema and blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage and explored its underlying mechanisms. Adult male Wistar rats were subjected to 2-h middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) and randomly treated i.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFColorectal cancer (CRC) is a leading cause and mortality worldwide. Aurora A and haspin kinases act pivotal roles in mitotic progression. However, the blockage of Aurora A and Haspin for CRC therapy is still unclear.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder that causes dementia and affects millions of people worldwide. The mechanism underlying AD is unclear; however, oxidative stress and mitochondrial biogenesis have been reported to be involved in AD progression. Previous research has also reported the reduction in mitochondrial biogenesis in the brains of patients with AD.
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