The endosomal sorting complex required for transport repairs the membrane to delay cell death.

The endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) machinery plays a key role in the repair of damaged plasma membranes with puncta form and removes pores from the plasma membrane in regulated cell death, apoptosis, necroptosis, pyroptosis, ferroptosis, and autophagy. ESCRT-I overexpression and ESCRT-III-associated charged multivesicular body protein (CHMP) 4B participate in apoptosis, and the ESCRT-1 protein TSG 101 maintains low levels of ALIX and ALG-2 and prevents predisposition to apoptosis. The ESCRT-III components CHMP2A and CHMP4B are recruited to broken membrane bubble sites with the requirement of extracellular Ca, remove membrane vesicles from cells, and delay the time required for active MLKL to mediate necroptosis, thus preserving cell survival.

Urinary 6-sulfatoxymelatonin level in diabetic retinopathy patients with type 2 diabetes.

Melatonin is a powerful antioxidant. Decreased melatonin excretion has been reported to be associated with several oxidative stress-related diseases. The urinary metabolite of melatonin, 6-sulfatoxymelatonin (aMT6s), has proved to be a very reliable index of melatonin production.

Calcium mediates high glucose-induced HIF-1α and VEGF expression in cultured rat retinal Müller cells through CaMKII-CREB pathway.

Aim: To investigate the effects of high glucose (HG) medium on expression of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in cultured rat retinal Müller cells and to determine the signaling pathways mediating the effects.

Methods: Primary cultures of retinal Müller cells were prepared from Sprague-Dawley rats, and incubated in a medium containg HG (30 mmol/L) in the presence of the membrane-permeable Ca(2+) chelator BAPTA-AM (10 μmol/L) or the CaMKII inhibitor KN93 (10 μmol/L). The levels of CaMKII, p-CaMKII, CREB, p-CREB, HIF-1α, and VEGF proteins were measured with Western blotting, while HIF-1á and VEGF mRNA levels were determined using real-time RT-PCR.

Ginseng total saponins enhance neurogenesis after focal cerebral ischemia.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Ginseng, the root of Panax ginseng C.A. Meyer, is one of the most commonly used healing herbs for stroke and chronic debilitating conditions in China.

Beyond water channel: aquaporin-4 in adult neurogenesis.

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a key molecule for maintaining water and ion homeostasis associated with neuronal activity in the central nervous system, but the roles of AQP4 in adult neurogenesis remain largely unexplored. Based on preliminary evidences over the past years, AQP4 appears to emerge as an important player regulating the multiple steps of adult neurogenesis. In this mini-review, we discuss the recent findings that reveal a specific functional role of AQP4 in regulating the adult neurogenesis, including proliferation of neural progenitors/neural stem cells, fate specification and differentiation, neuronal migration, and the potential mechanisms.