NVP-BEZ235 or JAKi Treatment leads to decreased survival of examined GBM and BBC cells.

Cancer cells almost universally harbor constitutively active Phosphatidylinositol-3 Kinase (PI3K) Pathway activity via mutation of key signaling components and/or epigenetic mechanisms. Scores of PI3K Pathway inhibitors are currently under investigation as putative chemotherapeutics. However, feedback and stem cell mechanisms induced by PI3K Pathway inhibition can lead to reduced treatment efficacy.

Mitochondrial OPA1 cleavage is reversibly activated by differentiation of H9c2 cardiomyoblasts.

Optic atrophy-1 (OPA1) is a dynamin-like GTPase localized to the mitochondrial inner membrane, playing key roles in inner membrane fusion and cristae maintenance. OPA1 is regulated by the mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Δψ): when Δψ is intact, long OPA1 isoforms (L-OPA1) carry out inner membrane fusion. Upon loss of Δψ, L-OPA1 isoforms are proteolytically cleaved to short (S-OPA1) isoforms by the stress-inducible OMA1 metalloprotease, causing collapse of the mitochondrial network and promoting apoptosis.

The PI3K pathway impacts stem gene expression in a set of glioblastoma cell lines.

Background: The PI3K pathway controls diverse cellular processes including growth, survival, metabolism, and apoptosis. Nuclear FOXO factors were observed in cancers that harbor constitutively active PI3K pathway output and stem signatures. FOXO1 and FOXO3 were previously published to induce stem genes such as OCT4 in embryonic stem cells.

Correction to: A protocol for custom CRISPR Cas9 donor vector construction to truncate genes in mammalian cells using pcDNA3 backbone.

The original article [1] contains three erroneous mentions of usage of a restriction enzyme-BstZ17I-in the Methods section as displayed in the following sentences.

Modulation of bone turnover by Cissus quadrangularis after ovariectomy in rats.

In women, age-related bone loss is associated with increased risk of bone fracture. Existing therapies are associated with severe side effects; thus, there is a need to find alternative medicines with less or optimal side effects. Cissus quadrangularis (CQ), an Ayurvedic medicine used to enhance fracture healing, was tested for its bone protective properties and studied to discern the mechanism by which it is beneficial to bone.

Oxidative insults disrupt OPA1-mediated mitochondrial dynamics in cultured mammalian cells.

Objective: To explore the impact of oxidative insults on mitochondrial dynamics. In mammalian cells, oxidative insults activate stress response pathways including inflammation, cytokine secretion, and apoptosis. Intriguingly, mitochondria are emerging as a sensitive network that may function as an early indicator of subsequent cellular stress responses.

A protocol for custom CRISPR Cas9 donor vector construction to truncate genes in mammalian cells using pcDNA3 backbone.

Background: Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) RNA-guided adaptive immune systems are found in prokaryotes to defend cells from foreign DNA. CRISPR Cas9 systems have been modified and employed as genome editing tools in wide ranging organisms. Here, we provide a detailed protocol to truncate genes in mammalian cells using CRISPR Cas9 editing.

Kaposi sarcoma incidence in females is nearly four-fold higher in the Lower Rio Grande Valley compared to the Texas average.

The Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) is located on U.S.-Mexican border with a population that is 90% Hispanic [1].

A threshold of transmembrane potential is required for mitochondrial dynamic balance mediated by DRP1 and OMA1.

As an organellar network, mitochondria dynamically regulate their organization via opposing fusion and fission pathways to maintain bioenergetic homeostasis and contribute to key cellular pathways. This dynamic balance is directly linked to bioenergetic function: loss of transmembrane potential across the inner membrane (Δψ ) disrupts mitochondrial fission/fusion balance, causing fragmentation of the network. However, the level of Δψ required for mitochondrial dynamic balance, as well as the relative contributions of fission and fusion pathways, have remained unclear.

The little big genome: the organization of mitochondrial DNA.

The small (16,569 base pair) human mitochondrial genome plays a significant role in cell metabolism and homeostasis. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) contributes to the generation of complexes which are essential to oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS). As such, mtDNA is directly integrated into mitochondrial biogenesis and signaling and regulates mitochondrial metabolism in concert with nuclear-encoded mitochondrial factors.

Inhibition of neddylation represses lipopolysaccharide-induced proinflammatory cytokine production in macrophage cells.

Cullin-RING E3 ligases (CRLs) are a class of ubiquitin ligases that control the proteasomal degradation of numerous target proteins, including IκB, and the activity of these CRLs are positively regulated by conjugation of a Nedd8 polypeptide onto Cullin proteins in a process called neddylation. CRL-mediated degradation of IκB, which normally interacts with and retains NF-κB in the cytoplasm, permits nuclear translocation and transactivation of the NF-κB transcription factor. Neddylation occurs through a multistep enzymatic process involving Nedd8 activating enzymes, and recent studies have shown that the pharmacological agent, MLN4924, can potently inhibit Nedd8 activating enzymes, thereby preventing neddylation of Cullin proteins and preventing the degradation of CRL target proteins.

Adiposity, biological markers of disease, and insulin resistance in Mexican American adolescents, 2004-2005.

Introduction: Rates of obesity and overweight, which frequently lead to type 2 diabetes, have increased dramatically among US children during the past 30 years. We analyzed associations between insulin resistance and other markers of disease in a sample of Mexican American adolescents from a severely disadvantaged community on the Texas-Mexico border.

Methods: We analyzed results from 325 students from 1 high school in this descriptive study.