Salivary microbiome signatures of Poles and Serbians and its potential for prediction of biogeographic ancestry.

Biogeographical ancestry analysis is valuable in forensic investigations, especially in missing person cases or crimes without eyewitnesses, as it helps to infer geographic origins from genetic markers. This approach enhances forensic efforts by providing essential clues for identifying individuals with limited direct evidence. Slavic-speaking populations are poorly distinguishable based on human genome variability.

Employing Gamma-Ray-Modified Carbon Quantum Dots to Combat a Wide Range of Bacteria.

Nowadays, it is a great challenge to develop new medicines for treating various infectious diseases. The treatment of these diseases is of utmost interest to further prevent the development of multi-drug resistance in different pathogens. Carbon quantum dots, as a new member of the carbon nanomaterials family, can potentially be used as a highly promising visible-light-triggered antibacterial agent.

Crosstalk between Genes and Long Non-Coding RNAs in Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) continues to be the most devastating primary brain malignancy. Despite significant advancements in understanding basic GBM biology and enormous efforts in developing new therapeutic approaches, the prognosis for most GBM patients remains poor with a median survival time of 15 months. Recently, the interplay between the (SRY-related HMG-box) genes and lncRNAs (long non-coding RNAs) has become the focus of GBM research.

Structural, optical, and bioimaging characterization of carbon quantum dots solvothermally synthesized from -phenylenediamine.

Carbon quantum dots as a novel type of carbon nanomaterials have attracted the attention of many researchers because of their unique optical, antibacterial, and anticancer properties as well as their biocompatibility. In this study, for the first time, carbon quantum dots were prepared from -phenylenediamine dissolved in toluene by a solvothermal route. Subsequently, the prepared carbon quantum dots were encapsulated into polyurethane films by a swelling-encapsulation-shrink method.

Highly Efficient Antibacterial Polymer Composites Based on Hydrophobic Riboflavin Carbon Polymerized Dots.

Development of new types of antimicrobial coatings is of utmost importance due to increasing problems with pathogen transmission from various infectious surfaces to human beings. In this study, new types of highly potent antimicrobial polyurethane composite films encapsulated by hydrophobic riboflavin-based carbon polymer dots are presented. Detailed structural, optical, antimicrobial, and cytotoxic investigations of these composites were conducted.

Current Opportunities for Targeting Dysregulated Neurodevelopmental Signaling Pathways in Glioblastoma.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common and highly lethal type of brain tumor, with poor survival despite advances in understanding its complexity. After current standard therapeutic treatment, including tumor resection, radiotherapy and concomitant chemotherapy with temozolomide, the median overall survival of patients with this type of tumor is less than 15 months. Thus, there is an urgent need for new insights into GBM molecular characteristics and progress in targeted therapy in order to improve clinical outcomes.

Interplay of SOX transcription factors and microRNAs in the brain under physiological and pathological conditions.

Precise tuning of gene expression, accomplished by regulatory networks of transcription factors, epigenetic modifiers, and microRNAs, is crucial for the proper neural development and function of the brain cells. The SOX transcription factors are involved in regulating diverse cellular processes during embryonic and adult neurogenesis, such as maintaining the cell stemness, cell proliferation, cell fate decisions, and terminal differentiation into neurons and glial cells. MicroRNAs represent a class of small non-coding RNAs that play important roles in the regulation of gene expression.

SOX transcription factors and glioma stem cells: Choosing between stemness and differentiation.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common, most aggressive and deadliest brain tumor. Recently, remarkable progress has been made towards understanding the cellular and molecular biology of gliomas. GBM tumor initiation, progression and relapse as well as resistance to treatments are associated with glioma stem cells (GSCs).

Facile Synthesis of L-Cysteine Functionalized Graphene Quantum Dots as a Bioimaging and Photosensitive Agent.

Nowadays, a larger number of aggressive and corrosive chemical reagents as well as toxic solvents are used to achieve structural modification and cleaning of the final products. These lead to the production of residual, waste chemicals, which are often reactive, cancerogenic, and toxic to the environment. This study shows a new approach to the modification of graphene quantum dots (GQDs) using gamma irradiation where the usage of reagents was avoided.

Bis-Bibenzyls from the Liverwort and Their Biological Activity.

Based on previous investigations where bis-bibenzyls isolated from liverworts showed various biological activities (cytotoxic, antimicrobial, and antiviral), we investigated their cytotoxic activity in several human cancer cell lines. From the methylene-chloride/methanol extract of the liverwort , three bis-bibenzyls of the perrottetin type were isolated, namely perrottetin E, 10'-hydroxyperrottetin E, and 10,10'-dihydroxyperrottetin E. The last two were found for the first time in this species.

SOX Transcription Factors as Important Regulators of Neuronal and Glial Differentiation During Nervous System Development and Adult Neurogenesis.

The SOX proteins belong to the superfamily of transcription factors (TFs) that display properties of both classical TFs and architectural components of chromatin. Since the cloning of the / genes, remarkable progress has been made in illuminating their roles as key players in the regulation of multiple developmental and physiological processes. SOX TFs govern diverse cellular processes during development, such as maintaining the pluripotency of stem cells, cell proliferation, cell fate decisions/germ layer formation as well as terminal cell differentiation into tissues and organs.

Graphene quantum dots as singlet oxygen producer or radical quencher - The matter of functionalization with urea/thiourea.

Due to their low cost and possible green synthesis, high stability and resistance to photobleaching, graphene quantum dots (GQDs) can be considered as one of the class of carbon nanomaterials which may have great potential as an agent for photosensitized oxygen activation. In such a way, GQDs can be used as a theranostic agent in photodynamic therapy. In this work pristine GQDs, GQDs irradiated with gamma rays and GQDs doped with N and N, S atoms are produced using a simple, green approach.

Graphene oxide size and structure pro-oxidant and antioxidant activity and photoinduced cytotoxicity relation on three cancer cell lines.

Photoactive materials called photosensitizers can be used for treatment of different types of cancer in combination with light source. In this paper, we have investigated pro-oxidant and antioxidant potentials of four graphene based nanomaterials (graphene oxide-GO, graphene quantum dots-GQDs, carbon quantum dots-CQDs and N-doped carbon quantum dots-N-CQDs) depending on the presence/absence of visible light source. Structural and optical properties of these materials and their potentials for reactive oxygen species generation/quenching are investigated by applying different microscopy and spectroscopy techniques (transmission electron microscopy, FTIR, UV-Vis, photoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance).

Benzothiazole carbamates and amides as antiproliferative species.

A series of new benzothiazole-based carbamates and amides were synthesized and their antiproliferative activity was determined. Derivatives with profound activity were identified and further investigated for their possible mechanism of action. It was found that these compounds induce specific apoptosis, G2/M cell cycle arrest and decrease ROS level in MCF-7 human breast cancer cell line.

Does Dietary Provision of Guanidinoacetic Acid Induce Global DNA Hypomethylation in Healthy Men and Women?

Background/aims: Guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) is an experimental dietary additive and has been reported to induce methyl depletion when provided by the diet. However, no study evaluated whether supplemental GAA affects DNA methylation, a critical epigenetic process for genome regulation.

Methods: In this open-label, repeated-measure interventional trial, we evaluated the impact of 12 weeks of GAA supplementation on global DNA methylation in 14 healthy participants (8 women and 6 men, age 22.

Epigenetic regulation of human SOX3 gene expression during early phases of neural differentiation of NT2/D1 cells.

Sox3/SOX3 is one of the earliest neural markers in vertebrates. Together with the Sox1/SOX1 and Sox2/SOX2 genes it is implicated in the regulation of stem cell identity. In the present study, we performed the first analysis of epigenetic mechanisms (DNA methylation and histone marks) involved in the regulation of the human SOX3 gene expression during RA-induced neural differentiation of NT2/D1 cells.

Crosstalk between SOXB1 proteins and WNT/β-catenin signaling in NT2/D1 cells.

During early vertebrate embryogenesis, the expression of SOXB1 proteins is precisely regulated by a number of different mechanisms, including Wnt/β-catenin signaling. This is essential for controlling the balance between stemness and differentiation in embryonic stem cells. In the present study, we analyzed the molecular mechanism of LiCl action in NT2/D1 cells and examined the crosstalk between SOXB1 proteins and Wnt signaling in this model system.

Human embryonal carcinoma cells in serum-free conditions as an in vitro model system of neural differentiation.

Serum is generally regarded as an essential component of many eukaryotic cell culture media, despite the fact that serum composition varies greatly and may be the source of a wide range of artefacts. The objective of this study was to assess serum-free growth conditions for the human embryonal carcinoma cell line, NT2/D1. These cells greatly resemble embryonic stem cells.

Antioxidant and antiproliferative activity of chokeberry juice phenolics during in vitro simulated digestion in the presence of food matrix.

Chokeberry juice was subjected to in vitro gastric digestion in the presence of food matrix in order to determine the changes in polyphenol content and antioxidant activity. Addition of food matrix immediately decreased the total phenolic content, anthocyanin content, DPPH scavenging activity as well as total reducing power by 36%, 90%, 45% and 44%, respectively. After in vitro digestion, total phenolic content, anthocyanin content and reducing power are slightly elevated, but they are still lower than in initial non-digested juice.

Quercetin reduces pluripotency, migration and adhesion of human teratocarcinoma cell line NT2/D1 by inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin signaling.

Quercetin, a bioflavonoid found in plant foods, has a wide range of therapeutic effects. In order to examine the therapeutic potential of quercetin in teratocarcinoma, we used the human teratocarcinoma cell line NT2/D1 as an in vitro model. We have shown that quercetin inhibits the proliferation, adhesion and migration of NT2/D1 cells and downregulates the expression of pluripotency factors SOX2, Oct4 and Nanog.

Cyclic AMP response element binding (CREB) protein acts as a positive regulator of SOX3 gene expression in NT2/D1 cells.

SOX3 is one of the earliest neural markers in vertebrates, playing the role in specifying neuronal fate. In this study we have established first functional link between CREB and human SOX3 gene which both have important roles in the nervous system throughout development and in the adulthood. Here we demonstrate both in vitro and in vivo that CREB binds to CRE half-site located -195 to -191 within the human SOX3 promoter.

TG-interacting factor (TGIF) downregulates SOX3 gene expression in the NT2/D1 cell line.

SOX3 is a member of the Sox gene family implicated in brain formation and cognitive function. It is considered to be one of the earliest neural markers in vertebrates, playing a role in specifying neuronal fate. Recently, we have established the first link between TALE (three-amino-acid loop extension) proteins, PBX1 (pre-B-cell leukemia homeobox 1) and MEIS1 (myeloid ecotropic viral integration site 1 homologue), and the expression of the human SOX3 gene.

Comparative analysis of SOX3 protein orthologs: Expansion of homopolymeric amino acid tracts during vertebrate evolution.

To understand more fully the structure and evolution of the SOX3 protein, we comparatively analyzed its orthologs in vertebrates. Since complex disorders are associated with human SOX3 polyalanine expansions, our investigation focused on both compositional and evolutionary analysis of various homopolymeric amino acid tracts observed in SOX3 orthologs. Our analysis revealed that the observed homopolymeric alanine, glycine, and proline tracts are mammal-specific, except for one polyglycine tract present in birds.

PBX1 and MEIS1 up-regulate SOX3 gene expression by direct interaction with a consensus binding site within the basal promoter region.

Sox3/SOX3 [SRY (sex determining region Y)-box 3] is considered to be one of the earliest neural markers in vertebrates, playing a role in specifying neuronal fate. We have previously reported characterization of the SOX3 promoter and demonstrated that the general transcription factors NF-Y (nuclear factor-Y), Sp1 (specificity protein 1) and USF (upstream stimulatory factor) are involved in transcriptional regulation of SOX3 promoter activity. In the present study we provide the first evidence that the TALE (three-amino-acid loop extension) transcription factors PBX1 (pre-B-cell leukaemia homeobox 1) and MEIS1 (myeloid ecotropic viral integration site 1 homologue) participate in regulating human SOX3 gene expression in NT2/D1 cells by direct interaction with the consensus PBX/MEIS-binding site, which is conserved in all mammalian orthologue promoters analysed.

Regulation of SOX3 gene expression is driven by multiple NF-Y binding elements.

The presented results demonstrate that human SOX3 promoter possesses three CCAAT box control elements involved in the regulation of SOX3 gene expression in NT2/D1 cells. By mutational analysis we have shown that all three elements are of functional relevance for constitutive SOX3 expression. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicate that the active complexes at three sites involve the ubiquitously expressed CCAAT binding protein NF-Y.