Seed traits inheritance in Moench. based on image analysis method.

Common buckwheat ( Moench.) is one of the most important orphan crops worldwide. Various research efforts have been done to improve cultivation methods to enhance important agronomic traits such as productivity and biotic/abiotic resistance.

AMP-activated protein kinase inhibits TGF-β-induced fibrogenic responses of hepatic stellate cells by targeting transcriptional coactivator p300.

Liver fibrosis is a common consequence of various chronic liver injuries, including virus infection and ethanol. Activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) contribute to liver fibrosis through the accumulation of extracellular matrix proteins, including type I alpha collagen (COL1A). The activation of adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) modulates HSCs activation, but its underlying mechanism remains unclear.

Laparoendoscopic single-site bladder diverticulectomy: technique and initial experience.

Purpose: To present our initial experience with the laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) approach to bladder diverticulectomy.

Patients And Methods: Four patients underwent LESS bladder diverticulectomy for the management of diverticula that were associated with persistent symptoms. The median diameter of the diverticula was 8.

Comparative assessment of laparoscopic single-site surgery instruments to conventional laparoscopic in laboratory setting.

Introduction: Laparoendoscopic single-site surgery (LESS) represents the latest innovation in laparoscopic surgery. We compare in dry and animal laboratory the efficacy of recently introduced pre-bent instruments with conventional laparoscopic and flexible instruments in terms of time requirement, maneuverability, and ease of handling.

Materials And Methods: Participants of varying laparoscopic experience were included in the study and divided in groups according to their experience.

Specific tyrosine phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase mediated by Fer tyrosine kinase in suspended hepatocytes.

Cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix (ECM) can activate signaling via focal adhesion kinase (FAK) leading to dynamic regulation of cellular morphology. Mechanistic basis for the lack of effective intracellular signaling by non-attached epithelial cells is poorly understood. To examine whether signaling in suspended cells is regulated by Fer cytoplasmic tyrosine kinase, we investigated the effect of ectopic Fer expression on signaling in suspended or adherent hepatocytes.

O-GlcNAc modulation at Akt1 Ser473 correlates with apoptosis of murine pancreatic beta cells.

O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT)-mediated modification of protein Ser/Thr residues with O-GlcNAc influences protein activity, similar to the effects of phosphorylation. The anti-apoptotic Akt1 is both activated by phosphorylation and modified with O-GlcNAc. However, the nature and significance of the Akt1 O-GlcNAc modification is unknown.

Tetraspanin TM4SF5 mediates loss of contact inhibition through epithelial-mesenchymal transition in human hepatocarcinoma.

The growth of normal cells is arrested when they come in contact with each other, a process known as contact inhibition. Contact inhibition is lost during tumorigenesis, resulting in uncontrolled cell growth. Here, we investigated the role of the tetraspanin transmembrane 4 superfamily member 5 (TM4SF5) in contact inhibition and tumorigenesis.

Cell adhesion-dependent cofilin serine 3 phosphorylation by the integrin-linked kinase.c-Src complex.

Integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is involved in signal transduction by integrin-mediated cell adhesion that leads to dynamic actin reorganization. Actin (de)polymerization is regulated by cofilin, the Ser(3) phosphorylation (pS(3)cofilin) of which inhibits its actin-severing activity. To determine how ILK regulates pS(3)cofilin, we examined the effects of ILK on pS(3)cofilin using normal RIE1 cells.

PKCdelta and cofilin activation affects peripheral actin reorganization and cell-cell contact in cells expressing integrin alpha5 but not its tailless mutant.

Integrin-mediated cell adhesion transduces signaling activities for actin reorganization, which is crucially involved in cellular function and architectural integrity. In this study, we explored the possibility of whether cell-cell contacts might be regulated via integrin-alpha5beta1-mediated actin reorganization. Ectopic expression of integrin alpha5 in integrin-alpha5-null intestinal epithelial cells resulted in facilitated retraction, cell-cell contact loss, and wound healing depending on Src and PI3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) activities by a reagent that affects actin organization.

EGFR phosphorylation-dependent formation of cell-cell contacts by Ras/Erks cascade inhibition.

Cell-cell contacts play important roles in the homeostasis of normal epithelium and in the steps of metastasis of tumor cells, although signaling mechanisms to regulate cell-cell contacts are unclear. In this study, we observed that phenotype of no cell-cell contacts in rat intestinal epithelial cell subline (RIE1-Sca) correlated with increased Erk1/2 signaling activity, compared to that of parental RIE1 cells growing in colonies. Furthermore, cell-cell contacts between RIE1-Sca cells were reformed by treatment with a specific MEK inhibitor (U0126), with translocation of ZO1 and beta-catenin to cell-cell contacts, without changes of their expression levels.