Besides lowering circulating cholesterol, statins act as immunomodulators. Although the effects of statins on lymphocyte activation and differentiation have been clearly defined, there is no consensus as to effects of these drugs on phagocytes. We have addressed the outcome of simvastatin treatment on the activation and effector function of human macrophages in the pathophysiologically relevant context of challenge with an opportunistic pathogen. We provide evidence that: simvastatin blocks the biological effects rapidly triggered by IgG-opsonized bacteria (phagocytosis and oxidative burst) while enhancing the delayed effects elicited by FcgammaR stimulation (production of proinflammatory mediators); these opposite effects of simvastatin result from enhancement of the JNK pathway and concomitant impairment of other signaling modules activated by FcgammaR engagement; and these activities are dependent on the capacity of simvastatin to block protein prenylation. The results provide novel mechanistic insight into the activities of statins on phagocytes and are of relevance to the assessment of potential side-effects in patients undergoing long-term hypocholesterolemic therapy.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1189/jlb.0409273 | DOI Listing |
Sci Rep
January 2025
Center of Excellence in Molecular Genetics of Cancer and Human Diseases, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand.
An ideal chemotherapeutic agent damages DNA, specifically in cancer cells, without harming normal cells. Recently, we used Box A of HMGB1 plasmid as molecular scissors to produce DNA gaps in normal cells. The DNA gap relieves DNA tension and increases DNA strength, preventing DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMagn Reson Imaging
January 2025
Institute of Fluid Mechanics, University of Rostock, Rostock, Germany.
Purpose: To improve the current method for MRI turbulence quantification which is the intravoxel phase dispersion (IVPD) method. Turbulence is commonly characterized by the Reynolds stress tensor (RST) which describes the velocity covariance matrix. A major source for systematic errors in MRI is the sequence's sensitivity to the variance of the derivatives of velocity, such as the acceleration variance, which can lead to a substantial measurement bias.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Adv Res
January 2025
Department of Prosthodontics, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, National Laboratory for Digital and Material Technology of Stomatology, Beijing Key Laboratory of Digital Stomatology, National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, 22 Zhongguancun South Avenue, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address:
Introduction: Periodontal diseases are prevalent among middle-aged and elderly individuals. There's still no satisfactory solution for tooth loss caused by periodontal diseases. Human periodontal ligament stem cells (hPDLSCs) is a distinctive subgroup of mesenchymal stem cells, which play a crucial role in periodontal supportive tissues, but their application value hasn't been fully explored yet.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hazard Mater
January 2025
CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China; Laboratory for Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Qingdao Marine Science and Technology Center, Qingdao 266237, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; Center for Ocean Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266404, China.
Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) are emerging environmental pollutants, posing an escalating threat to public health and environmental security worldwide. However, the relationship between ARGs and microbial communities in the environment, as well as their ecological effects on the microbe-mediated materials cycle remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution pattern, influence mechanism, relationship with microorganisms, and their effects on the elemental cycling of ARGs in East China Sea sediments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobiol Res
January 2025
Key Laboratory of Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Institute of Grassland Science, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China; State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecology and Vegetation Restoration, School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China. Electronic address:
Extreme climatic events, such as drought, can significantly alter belowground microbial diversity and species interactions, leading to unknown consequences for ecosystem functioning. Here, we simulated a drought gradient by removing 30 %, 50 %, and 70 % of precipitation in a semi-arid grassland over five years. We assessed the effects of drought on bacterial and fungal diversity, as well as on their species interactions.
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