Fibroblast CEBPD/SDF4 axis in response to chemotherapy-induced angiogenesis through CXCR4.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) play an essential role in supporting cancer progression. However, the details and consequent effects in response to the communication between CAFs and angiogenesis remain largely uninvestigated, especially in anticancer drug treatments. We found that cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil could induce fibroblast differentiation toward myofibroblasts via CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein delta (CEBPD) and consequently promote proliferation, migration, and in vitro tube formation of vascular endothelial cells and angiogenesis in vivo.

Comparative Genomics of Sequence Type 219 Clones From the Same Patient: Evolution of the IncI1 -Carrying Plasmid .

This study investigates the evolution of an sequence type 219 clone in a patient with recurrent urinary tract infection, comparing isolate EC974 obtained prior to antibiotic treatment and isolate EC1515 recovered after exposure to several β-lactam antibiotics (ceftriaxone, cefixime, and imipenem). EC974 had a smooth colony morphology, while EC1515 had a rough colony morphology on sheep blood agar. RAPD-PCR analysis suggested that both isolates belonged to the same clone.

Lrp, a global regulator, regulates the virulence of Vibrio vulnificus.

Background: An attenuated mutant (designated NY303) of Vibrio vulnificus, which causes serious wound infection and septicemia in humans, was isolated fortuitously from a clinical strain YJ016. This mutant was defective in cytotoxicity, migration on soft agar and virulence in the mouse. The purpose of this study was to map the mutation in this attenuated mutant and further explore how the gene thus identified is involved in virulence.

Comprehensive screening of alternative lengthening of telomeres phenotype and loss of ATRX expression in sarcomas.

According to cytogenetic aberrations, sarcomas can be categorized as complex or simple karyotype tumors. Alternative lengthening of telomeres is a telomere-maintenance mechanism common in sarcomas. Recently, this mechanism was found to be associated with loss of either α-thalassemia/mental retardation syndrome X-linked (ATRX) or death domain-associated (DAXX) protein.

Co-opting sulphur-carrier proteins from primary metabolic pathways for 2-thiosugar biosynthesis.

Sulphur is an essential element for life and is ubiquitous in living systems. Yet how the sulphur atom is incorporated into many sulphur-containing secondary metabolites is poorly understood. For bond formation between carbon and sulphur in primary metabolites, the major ionic sulphur sources are the persulphide and thiocarboxylate groups on sulphur-carrier (donor) proteins.

Increase of zinc finger protein 179 in response to CCAAT/enhancer binding protein delta conferring an antiapoptotic effect in astrocytes of Alzheimer's disease.

Reactive astrogliosis is a cellular manifestation of neuroinflammation and occurs in response to all forms and severities of the central nervous system (CNS)'s injury and disease. Both astroglial proliferation and antiapoptotic processes are aspects of astrogliosis. However, the underlying mechanism of this response remains poorly understood.

AlgaePath: comprehensive analysis of metabolic pathways using transcript abundance data from next-generation sequencing in green algae.

Background: Algae are important non-vascular plants that have many research applications, including high species diversity, biofuel sources, and adsorption of heavy metals and, following processing, are used as ingredients in health supplements. The increasing availability of next-generation sequencing (NGS) data for algae genomes and transcriptomes has made the development of an integrated resource for retrieving gene expression data and metabolic pathway essential for functional analysis and systems biology. In a currently available resource, gene expression profiles and biological pathways are displayed separately, making it impossible to easily search current databases to identify the cellular response mechanisms.