Publications by authors named "Sonia Apostolova"

Diabetic neuropathy (DN) is a common complication of long-lasting type 1 and type 2 diabetes, with no curative treatment available. Here, we tested the effect of the incretin mimetic liraglutide in DN in mice with early-stage type 1 diabetes bred in a standard laboratory or enriched environment. With a single i.

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The Smc5/6 complex is a highly conserved molecular machine involved in the maintenance of genome integrity. While its functions largely depend on restraining the fork remodeling activity of Mph1 in yeast, the presence of an analogous Smc5/6-FANCM regulation in humans remains unknown. We generated human cell lines harboring mutations in the NSE1 subunit of the Smc5/6 complex.

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Betulinic acid (BA) is a natural pentacyclic triterpene with diverse biological activities. However, its low water solubility limits its pharmaceutical application. The conversion of pharmaceutically active molecules into ionic liquids (ILs) is a promising strategy to improve their physicochemical properties, stability, and/or potency.

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Background: Common butterbur ( L.) is a traditional medicinal plant with numerous therapeutic properties among which is its recently uncovered anti-tumor activity. The present study aims to examine the activity of a standardized Bulgarian L.

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Fluorescent micellar carriers with controlled release of a novel anticancer drug were developed to enable intracellular imaging and cancer treatment simultaneously. The nanosized fluorescent micellar systems were embedded with a novel anticancer drug via the self-assembling behavior of well-defined block copolymers based on amphiphilic poly(acrylic acid)-block-poly(n-butyl acrylate) (PAA-b-PnBA) copolymer obtained by Atom Transfer Radical Polymerization (ATRP) and hydrophobic anticancer benzimidazole-hydrazone drug (BzH). Through this method, well-defined nanosized fluorescent micelles were obtained consisting of a hydrophilic PAA shell and a hydrophobic PnBA core embedded with the BzH drug due to the hydrophobic interactions, thus reaching very high encapsulation efficiency.

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One of the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) associated with its progression that contributes to β-amyloid (Aβ) generation is oxidative stress (OS). Clinical data suggest that melatonin is a potent antioxidant that might be effective in the adjunctive therapy of this neurodegenerative disease. The present study aimed to explore the role of melatonin on behavioral changes and markers of OS in three rat models, namely, pinealectomy (pin) model of melatonin deficit, intracerebroventricular (icv)Aβ model of AD, and combination of both pin and Aβ model (pin+icvAβ).

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Replication of a damaged DNA template can threaten the integrity of the genome, requiring the use of various mechanisms to tolerate DNA lesions. The Smc5/6 complex, together with the Nse2/Mms21 SUMO ligase, plays essential roles in genome stability through undefined tasks at damaged replication forks. Various subunits within the Smc5/6 complex are substrates of Nse2, but we currently do not know the role of these modifications.

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Angiogenesis is one of the key processes during development, wound healing and tumor formation. Prerequisite for its existence is the presence of endogenous electrical fields (EFs) generated by active ion transport across polarized epithelia and endothelia, and appearance of the transcellular potentials. During angiogenesis cellular factor as endothelial growth factor (VEGF), synthesis of adhesive proteins and membrane metalloproteinases (MMPs) govern the angiogenic response to different external stimuli as biomaterials interactions and/or exogenous EF.

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The partial efficacy and high toxicity of the current anticancer chemotherapeutics as well as the development of multiple drug resistance are the major problems in cancer therapy. Therefore, there is an emergency need for the development of novel well-tolerated anticancer agents with different mode of action that could be successfully used in combination with other drugs as an adjuvant therapy. The inhibition of intracellular signaling pathways associated with cancer growth and invasiveness is a main therapeutic approach in cancer treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • This study explores how imidazolium-based amino acid ionic liquids (ILs) modify the structure and stability of hemocyanin from the marine snail Rapana thomasiana.
  • The research found that even small additions of these ILs significantly changed the protein's secondary structure and reduced its thermal stability, shifting denaturation temperatures to lower levels.
  • Notably, the IL-RtH complexes showed enhanced anti-proliferative effects on breast cancer cells (MCF-7), with some complexes inhibiting cell viability by over 60%, while being less toxic to normal fibroblast cells (3T3), indicating potential cancer treatment applications.
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