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Biomedical subjects

A Loidl

Publications and source records attributed to A Loidl.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Oncogene- and tumor-suppressor gene-related proteins in plants and fungi.

Protooncogene- and tumor-suppressor gene proteins serve essential functions in the regulation of proliferation and differentiation of cells. Abnormal regulation or mutation of these genes, or transformation with retroviral homologs, may lead to tumor development in animals. In contrast to vertebrates, only few data on these genes exist in plants and fungi. Plant nuclear protooncogene homologs, such as myb and myc have multiple regulatory functions in metabolic pathways not existing in mammalian cells; they are involved in the complex regulation of anthocyanin (purple pigment) and phlobaphene (red pigment) biosynthesis, lignin production, trichome differentiation, dehydration stress gene expression and seed development. Apart from these well-characterized roles in plant-specific pathways, few experimental data have been reported on a functional significance in growth and development. A screening for nuclear protooncogene- and tumor-suppressor gene-related proteins in the myxomycete Physarum polycephalum revealed the existence of homologs of vertebrate c-myc, c-fos, c-jun, p53, and retinoblastoma proteins during the synchronous cell cycle or sclerotization. The p53 homologs of Physarum and Zea mays were shown to be specific for quiescent stages of their life cycles. Plants and lower eukaryotes, such as fungi, may be useful experimental systems to elucidate novel functions of protooncogene- and tumor-suppressor proteins in cell cycle regulation and development, or to reveal target genes that might be difficult to identify in complex mammalian systems. Recent data indicate that oncogenes and tumor suppressors in animals have more cellular targets than originally proposed; some of these might be as unexpected as in plant secondary metabolism.

Animals↗

Does the combination of ACE inhibitor and calcium antagonist control hypertension and improve quality of life? The LOMIR-MCT-IL study experience.

The LOMIR-MCT-IL study was designed to investigate the effects of different antihypertensive drugs on the quality of life (QoL) of men with mild-to-moderate hypertension. This report focuses on the subgroup of patients treated with the combination of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor captopril and the calcium antagonist isradipine. The LOMIR-MCT-IL was a double-blind multicenter, placebo-controlled, one-year follow-up study in which 368 hypertensive men, aged 40-65 years, were randomly allocated to receive either isradipine, methyldopa or placebo at three titration levels. If diastolic blood pressure (DBP) remained > 90 mmHg, captopril was added openly. The QoL evaluation introduced a qualitative self-structured subjective measure in addition to prestructured quantitative measures. The quality of life was assessed at baseline, after 6 months and at the end of the study. Methyldopa normalized DBP in 50% of patients when given as monotherapy and an additional 34% with the addition of captopril (84% total). With placebo, 36% normalized DBP and another 39% on addition of captopril (75% total) and, with isradipine, 64% normalized DBP and an additional 26% with added captopril (90% total). Assessment of QoL showed that both the placebo and the isradipine+captopril groups showed significant improvement in semantic memory after antihypertensive treatment. The isradipine+captopril group showed a clear tendency towards lower depression scores, better quality of sleep, better subjective evaluation of QoL and a more positive evaluation of personal life events in comparison to the other groups.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗