Publications by authors named "Ruth Muchekehu"

Poor drug delivery and penetration of antibody-mediated therapies pose significant obstacles to effective treatment of solid tumors. This study explored the role of pharmacokinetics, valency, and molecular weight in maximizing drug delivery. Biodistribution of a fibroblast growth factor receptor 4 (FGFR4) targeting CovX-body (an FGFR4-binding peptide covalently linked to a nontargeting IgG scaffold; 150 kDa) and enzymatically generated FGFR4 targeting F(ab)2 (100 kDa) and Fab (50 kDa) fragments was measured.

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Cervical mucus thinning and release during the female reproductive cycle is thought to rely mainly on fluid secretion. However, we now find that mucus released from the murine reproductive tract critically depends upon concurrent bicarbonate (HCO(3)(-)) secretion. Prostaglandin E(2) (PGE(2))- and carbachol-stimulated mucus release was severely inhibited in the absence of serosal HCO(3)(-), HCO(3)(-) transport, or functional cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR).

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Background And Aims: Steroid hormones target K+ channels as a means of regulating electrolyte and fluid transport. In this study, ion transporter targets of Estradiol (E2) were investigated in the human eccrine sweat gland cell line NCL-SG3.

Results: Whole cell patch-clamp studies revealed E2 (10 nM) rapidly activates a whole cell K+ conductance, which is abolished by clotrimazole (30 microM), an inhibitor of the intermediate conductance calcium activated K+ channel (IKCa).

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We describe a novel rapid non-genomic effect of 17beta-estradiol (E2) on intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) signalling in the eccrine sweat gland epithelial cell line NCL-SG3. E2 had no observable effect on basal [Ca2+]i, however exposure of cells to E2 in the presence of the microsomal Ca2+ ATPase pump inhibitor, thapsigargin, produced a secondary, sustained increase in [Ca2+]i compared to thapsigargin treatment alone, where cells responded with a transient single spike-like increase in [Ca2+]i. The E2-induced increase in [Ca2+]i was not dependent on the presence of extracellular calcium and was completely abolished by ryanodine (100 microM).

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