Collagenolysis-dependent DDR1 signalling dictates pancreatic cancer outcome.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a highly desmoplastic, aggressive cancer that frequently progresses and spreads by metastasis to the liver. Cancer-associated fibroblasts, the extracellular matrix and type I collagen (Col I) support or restrain the progression of PDAC and may impede blood supply and nutrient availability. The dichotomous role of the stroma in PDAC, and the mechanisms through which it influences patient survival and enables desmoplastic cancers to escape nutrient limitation, remain poorly understood.

Biomolecular Analysis of Beta Dose-Dependent Cutaneous Radiation Injury in a Porcine Model.

While cutaneous radiation injury (CRI) is generally referenced as a consequence of a nuclear attack, it can also be caused by less dangerous events such as the use of dirty bombs, industrial radiological accidents, or accidental overexposure of beta (β) particle or gamma (γ) radiation sources in medical procedures. Although the gross clinical consequences of these injuries have been well documented, relatively little is known about the molecular changes underlying the progression of pathology. Here we describe a porcine model of cutaneous radiation injury after skin was exposed to strontium-90 b particle at doses of 16-42 Gy and characterize the anatomical and molecular changes over 70 days.

Pilot study of mitochondrial bioenergetics in subjects with acute porphyrias.

Background And Aims: The acute porphyrias are characterized by defects in heme synthesis, particularly in the liver. In some affected patients, there occurs a critical deficiency in a regulatory heme pool within hepatocytes that leads to up-regulation of 5-aminolevulinic acid [ALA] synthase-1, which is the first and normally rate-controlling enzyme in the pathway. In earlier work, we described defects in mitochondrial functions in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with acute intermittent porphyria [AIP].

Alfalfa-derived HSP70 administered intranasally improves insulin sensitivity in mice.

Heat shock protein (HSP) 70 is an abundant cytosolic chaperone protein that is deficient in insulin-sensitive tissues in diabetes and unhealthy aging, and is considered a longevity target. It is also protective in neurological disease models. Using HSP70 purified from alfalfa and administered as an intranasal solution, we tested in whether the administration of Hsp70 to diet-induced diabetic mice would improve insulin sensitivity.