DNA chips with conjugated polyelectrolytes in resonance energy transfer mode.

We show how to use well-defined conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) combined with surface energy patterning to fabricate DNA chips utilizing fluorescence signal amplification. Cholesterol-modified DNA strands in complex with a CPE are adsorbed to a surface energy pattern, formed by printing with soft elastomer stamps. Hybridization of the surface bound DNA strands with a short complementary strand from solution is monitored using both fluorescence microscopy and imaging surface plasmon resonance.

α-Dystrobrevin distribution and association with other proteins in human promyelocytic NB4 cells treated for granulocytic differentiation.

Dystrobrevins (DBs) bind directly to dystrophin and are prominent components of the dystrophin-associated protein complex (DAPC) that links the cytoskeleton to the extracellular matrix. They are involved in brain development, synapse formation and plasticity, as well as water and ion homeostasis. However, the role of DB in non-muscular cells is not clear.

Factors associated with bone mineral density and content in 7-year-old children.

Objective: To evaluate the bone status of 7-year-old school children in Reykjavik, Iceland, and to see if gender, height, lean body mass and fat mass is associated with bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) in the lumbar vertebrae and hip.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study of a sample of 7-year-old school children.

Setting: Six elementary schools in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Aging is associated with altered dendritic cells subset distribution and impaired proinflammatory cytokine production.

Aging is characterized by the gradual decline in immune function. Dendritic cells (DC) are potent antigen-presenting cells that regulate the balance between immunity and tolerance. The reduction in immune responsiveness and increased susceptibility to infections observed in the aged population could be due to age-related defects in DC differentiation and function.

Device Performance of APFO-3/PCBM Solar Cells with Controlled Morphology.

Polymer/fullerene solar cells with three different device structures: A) diffuse bilayer, B) spontaneously formed multilayer, and C) vertically homogenous thin films, are fabricated. The photocurrent/voltage performance is compared and it is found that the self-stratified structure (B) yields the highest energy conversion efficiency.

Proteomic analysis of stromal cells derived from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth.

Human dental pulp derived from exfoliated deciduous teeth has been described as a promising alternative source of multipotent stem cells. While these cells share certain similarities with mesenchymal stem-like cells (MSC) isolated from other tissues, basically they are still poorly characterized. In this study, for the first time, a proteomic map of abundantly expressed proteins in stromal cells derived from the dental pulp of human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) was established.

[Analysis of extracellular matrix proteins produced by cultured cells].

Extracellular matrix (ECM) is a highly organized multimolecular structure essential for vital function of any organism. Although a lot of data on the extracellular matrix components has been accumulated, an isolation of the entire set of these proteins still remains to be a complex procedure since ECM contains fibrillar proteins and proteoglycans, which form multidomain net-like structures. In the presented study, we developed a method for isolation of ECM proteins from cell cultures.

[Analysis of nuclear protein complexes comprising alpha-actinin-4 by 2D-electrophoresis and mass-spectrometry].

Actin-binding protein alpha-actinin-4 is a member of spectrin super family. It is located in the cytoplasm and in the nucleus. However, nuclear functions of alpha-actinin-4 are still not clear.

Nandrolone decanoate administration elevates hippocampal prodynorphin mRNA expression and impairs Morris water maze performance in male rats.

The misuse of anabolic androgenic steroids has in several reports been associated with effects resulting in altered behavior. This study used the Morris water maze task to investigate the effect of high doses of the anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone on spatial learning and memory in male rats. During the experiment, we observed a significantly impaired Morris water maze performance in the nandrolone-treated rats compared with controls.

Nuclear expression of the RNA-binding protein RBM3 is associated with an improved clinical outcome in breast cancer.

Single-strand RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are involved in many aspects of RNA metabolism and in the regulation of gene transcription. The RBP RBM3 was recently suggested to be a proto-oncogene in colorectal cancer; however, such a role has not been corroborated by previous studies in the colon or other tumor types, and the prognostic implications of tumor-specific RBM3 expression remain unclear. Mono-specific antibodies against RBM3 were generated.

Association of BMI and fasting insulin with cardiovascular disease risk factors in seven-year-old Icelandic children.

Objective: . To look at overweight and common cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, and associations with body mass index (BMI) and fasting insulin in seven-year-old schoolchildren in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study of seven-year-old schoolchildren.

Response of retinoic acid-resistant KG1 cells to combination of retinoic acid with diverse histone deacetylase inhibitors.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia KG1 cells with t(11;17) PLZF-RARalpha respond poorly to the differentiation inducer all-trans retinoic acid (RA), and the reason for the RA resistance is the recruitment of histone deacetylase by PLZF-RARalpha. Here, we demonstrate that histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs), FK228, BML-210, phenyl butyrate, and vitamin B3, in different combinations with RA, act as KG1 cell growth inhibitors. Partial differentiation to granulocytes was induced by 3 micromol/L RA, and its combination with HDAC inhibitors did not enhance RA-induced but potentiated apoptosis.

Selective expression of Syntaxin-7 protein in benign melanocytes and malignant melanoma.

To search for proteins expressed in human melanocytes and melanoma, we employed an antibody-based proteomics strategy to screen for protein expression in tissue microarrays containing normal tissues, cancer tissues and cell lines. Syntaxin-7 (STX7) was identified as a novel protein, not previously characterized in cells of melanocytic lineage, displaying a cell type-specific protein expression pattern. In tumor tissues, STX7 was expressed in malignant melanoma and lymphoma.

Zinc supplementation increases zinc status and thymopoiesis in aged mice.

The age-related decline in lymphocyte development and function coincides with impaired zinc status in the elderly. Thymic involution and reduced immune responsiveness are classic hallmarks of both aging and zinc deficiency, resulting in decreased host defense and an increased susceptibility to infections. Thus, compromised zinc status associated with aging may be an important contributing factor in reduced thymopoiesis and impaired immune functions.

The effects of aging on N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor subunits in the synaptic membrane and relationships to long-term spatial memory.

There are declines in the protein expression of the NR2B (mouse epsilon2) and NR1 (mouse zeta1) subunits of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus during aging in C57BL/6 mice. This study was designed to determine if there is a greater effect of aging on subunit expression and a stronger relationship between long-term spatial memory and subunit expression within the synaptic membrane than in the cell as a whole. Male, C57BL/6JNIA mice (4, 11 and 26 months old) were tested for long-term spatial memory in the Morris water maze.

[The comparative analysis of subcellular fractionation methods for revealing of alpha-actinin 1 and alpha-actinin 4 in A431 cells].

Alpha-actinin 1 and alpha-actinin 4 belong to a family of actin-binding proteins with shared structural function and regulation of several processes in a cell. Based on previous data on different distribution of these proteins in the nucleus and cytoplasm, we have explored in detail the distribution of alpha-actinin 1 and alpha-actinin 4 in subcellular fractions in A431 cells spread on fibronectin. Several methods of subcellular fractionation were used.

Water flux in cell motility: expanding the mechanisms of membrane protrusion.

Transmembrane water fluxes through aquaporins (AQPs) are suggested to play pivotal roles in cell polarization and directional cell motility. Local dilution by water influences the dynamics of the subcortical actin polymerization and directs the formation of nascent membrane protrusions. In this paper, recent evidence is discussed in support of such a central role of AQP in membrane protrusion formation and cell migration as a basis for our understanding of the underlying molecular mechanisms of directional motility.

Isoflurane differentially affects neurogenesis and long-term neurocognitive function in 60-day-old and 7-day-old rats.

Background: Anesthetic agents cause cell death in the developing rodent brain and long-term, mostly hippocampal-dependent, neurocognitive dysfunction. However, a causal link between these findings has not been shown. Postnatal hippocampal neurogenesis affects hippocampal function into adulthood; therefore, the authors tested the hypothesis that isoflurane affects long-term neurocognitive function via an effect on dentate gyrus neurogenesis.

Probiotics prevent intestinal barrier dysfunction in acute pancreatitis in rats via induction of ileal mucosal glutathione biosynthesis.

Background: During acute pancreatitis (AP), oxidative stress contributes to intestinal barrier failure. We studied actions of multispecies probiotics on barrier dysfunction and oxidative stress in experimental AP.

Methodology/principal Findings: Fifty-three male Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly allocated into five groups: 1) controls, non-operated, 2) sham-operated, 3) AP, 4) AP and probiotics and 5) AP and placebo.

Nandrolone decanoate administration dose-dependently affects the density of kappa opioid peptide receptors in the rat brain determined by autoradiography.

The kappa opioid receptor ligand [(3)H]CI-977 was used to autoradiographically determine the density of kappa opioid receptors in the male rat brain following chronic treatment with the anabolic androgenic steroid nandrolone decanoate at two different doses. As compared to controls, significantly lower densities of the kappa opioid receptor were encountered after two weeks of high dose nandrolone decanoate (15 mg/kg) in the nucleus accumbens shell (16%), lateral hypothalamic area (36%), ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus (37%), dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus (49%), central amygdaloid nucleus, capsular part (28%), lateral globus pallidus (35%) and in the stria terminalis (24%). Furthermore, an up-regulation of the receptor level was observed in the caudate putamen (18%) and in the dorsal endopiriform nucleus (23%).

Lipid extract from completely sporoderm-broken germinating Ganoderma sinensis spores elicits potent antitumor immune responses in human macrophages.

Ganoderma sinensis has been used widely in Oriental countries for the prevention and treatment of various diseases including cancer. Previous studies have shown that the lipid extract from Ganoderma exhibits direct cytotoxicity against tumor cells. Here, it is reported that the lipid extract from germinating G.

CD83+CCR7- dendritic cells accumulate in the subepithelial dome and internalize translocated Escherichia coli HB101 in the Peyer's patches of ileal Crohn's disease.

Recurrent Crohn's disease originates with small erosions in the follicle-associated epithelium overlying the Peyer's patches. Animal studies have illustrated mucosal immune regulation by dendritic cells located in the subepithelial dome. The aim of this study was to characterize the dendritic cells at this specific site in patients with Crohn's disease.

Leishmania donovani lipophosphoglycan inhibits phagosomal maturation via action on membrane rafts.

Lipophosphoglycan (LPG), the major surface glycoconjugate on Leishmania donovani promastigotes, is crucial for the establishment of infection inside macrophages. LPG comprises a polymer of repeating Galbeta1,4Manalpha-PO(4) attached to a lysophosphatidylinositol membrane anchor. LPG is transferred from the parasite to the host macrophage membrane during phagocytosis and induces periphagosomal F-actin accumulation correlating with an inhibition of phagosomal maturation.

The junctional integrity of epithelial cells is modulated by Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing molecule through phosphorylation-dependent mechanisms.

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, cell-cell communication based on acyl-homoserine lactone (HSL) quorum sensing molecules is known to coordinate the production of virulence factors and biofilms by the bacterium. Incidentally, these bacterial signals can also modulate mammalian cell behaviour. We report that 3O-C(12)-HSL can disrupt adherens junctions in human epithelial Caco-2 cells as evidenced by a reduction of the expression and distribution of E-cadherin and beta-catenin.