Comprehensive screening of marine metabolites against class B1 metallo-β-lactamases of using two-pronged approach.

The emergence of antibiotic resistance is one of the major global threats in healthcare. Metallo-β-Lactamases (MBL) are a class of enzymes in bacteria that cleave β-lactam antibiotics and confer resistance. MBLs are further divided into subclasses B1, B2 and B3.

Conversion of Gastrointestinal Somatostatin-Expressing D Cells Into Insulin-Producing Beta-Like Cells Upon Misexpression.

Type 1 diabetes results from the autoimmune-mediated loss of insulin-producing beta-cells. Accordingly, important research efforts aim at regenerating these lost beta-cells by converting pre-existing endogenous cells. Following up on previous results demonstrating the conversion of pancreatic somatostatin delta-cells into beta-like cells upon misexpression and acknowledging that somatostatin-expressing cells are highly represented in the gastrointestinal tract, one could wonder whether this -mediated conversion could also occur in the GI tract.

Gfi1 Loss Protects against Two Models of Induced Diabetes.

Although several approaches have revealed much about individual factors that regulate pancreatic development, we have yet to fully understand their complicated interplay during pancreas morphogenesis. Gfi1 is transcription factor specifically expressed in pancreatic acinar cells, whose role in pancreas cells fate identity and specification is still elusive. In order to gain further insight into the function of this factor in the pancreas, we generated animals deficient for specifically in the pancreas.

Role of ghrelin in pancreatic development and function.

Ghrelin is a gastric peptide with anabolic functions. It acutely stimulates growth hormone (GH) secretion from the anterior pituitary glands and modulates hypothalamic circuits that control food intake and energy expenditure. Besides its central activity, ghrelin is also involved in the regulation of pancreatic development and physiology.

Epigenetic Control of Pancreatic Regeneration in Diabetes.

Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes are conditions that are associated with the loss of insulin-producing β-cells within the pancreas. An active research therefore aims at regenerating these β-cells with the hope that they could restore euglycemia. The approaches classically used consist in mimicking embryonic development, making use of diverse cell sources or converting pre-existing pancreatic cells.

Combinations of Activin A or Nicotinamide with the Pancreatic Transcription Factor PDX1 Support Differentiation of Human Amnion Epithelial Cells Toward a Pancreatic Lineage.

The differentiation of multipotent stem cells toward a pancreatic lineage provides us with an alternative cell-based therapeutic approach to type 1 diabetes and enables us to study pancreas development. The current study aims to study the effect of growth factors such as activin A or nicotinamide, alone and in combinations with the transcription factor, PDX1 (pancreatic and duodenal homeobox-1), on human amnion epithelial cells (hAECs) toward a pancreatic lineage. Ectopic expression of Pdx1 followed by treatment of hAECs with nicotinamide for 4 days resulted in strong induction of pancreatic endoderm and pancreatic progenitor genes, including NKX6.

The combined effect of PDX1, epidermal growth factor and poly-L-ornithine on human amnion epithelial cells' differentiation.

Background: It has been suggested that the ectopic expression of PDX1, a dominant pancreatic transcription factor, plays a critical role in the developmental programming of the pancreas even from cells of unrelated tissues such as keratinocytes and amniotic fluid stem cells. In this study we have chosen to drive pancreatic development in human amnion epithelial cells by inducing endogenous PDX1 expression. Further, we have investigated the role of Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) and Poly-L-Ornithine (PLO) on this differentiation process.

Receptors and signaling mechanisms for B-lymphocyte activation, proliferation and differentiation--insights from both in vivo and in vitro approaches.

During the last three decades, a number of B-lymphocyte specific surface antigens have been defined some of which may also show activation/differentiation specific expression. Here, we review the various signaling events and the receptor-ligand interactions for B-cell development, activation and differentiation. Our discussion and presentation include reviewing the in vivo and in vitro mechanisms.

Generation of monoclonal antibodies to mitotic and interphase cytosolic proteins of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells.

Mitotic proteins are well characterized and their cell cycle regulation roles studied extensively. Specific mitotic proteins can be key targets for controlling de regulated cell cycles. In the present study, cytosolic proteins of CHO (Chinese Hamster Ovary) cells were isolated and used for generating a range of monoclonal antibodies.

Generation of monoclonal antibodies to surface proteins of human multiple myeloma employing membrane extracts for murine in vivo immunizations.

Multiple myeloma is a malignancy of plasma cells that accounts for 1% of cancers worldwide and is treatable, yet incurable. U266 is an IgE-secreting, IL-6-producing human multiple myeloma cell line, against whose unique surface markers we have tried to raise monoclonal antibodies (MAbs). Female Balb/c mice (6 weeks old) were immunized through two routes of administration, with three different antigenic concentrations.