Kinases: Understanding Their Role in HIV Infection.

Antiviral drugs currently on the market primarily target proteins encoded by specific viruses. The drawback of these drugs is that they lack antiviral mechanisms that account for resistance or viral mutation. Thus, there is a pressing need for researchers to explore and investigate new therapeutic agents with other antiviral strategies.

Estrogen receptor (ER) expression and function in the pregnant human myometrium: estradiol via ERα activates ERK1/2 signaling in term myometrium.

Estrogens are thought to promote labor by increasing the expression of pro-contraction genes in myometrial cells. The specific estrogen receptors ((ERs: ERα and ERβ (also known as ESR1 and ESR2)) and G protein-coupled receptor 30 (GPR30; also known as G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1)) and signaling pathways that mediate these actions are not clearly understood. In this study, we identified the ERs expressed in the pregnant human myometrium and determined a key extranuclear signaling pathway through which estradiol (E(2)) modulates expression of the gene encoding the oxytocin receptor (OXTR), a major pro-contraction protein.