Biomedical subjects

Y Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Y Liu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2006

A novel mitochondrial DNA missense mutation at G3421A in a family with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness.

OBJECTIVE: Mutations in mtDNA are thought to be responsible for the pathogenesis of maternally inherited diabetes. Here, we report a family with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness whose members did not harbour the mtDNA A3243G mutation, the most frequent point mutation in mitochondrial diabetic patients. This study aimed to investigate a possible other mtDNA mutation and its prevalence in type 2 diabetic patients. METHODS: Height, body weight, waistline, and hip circumference were measured and serum biochemical marks determined in all members of the family. In addition, a 75 g oral glucose tolerance test and electric listening test were conducted in these members. Genomic DNA was prepared from peripheral leukocytes. Direct sequencing of PCR products was used to detect the mtDNA mutation in this family. The prevalence of mtDNA G3421A nucleotide substitutions was investigated by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 1350 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients recruited by random cluster sampling from the central city area of Shanghai, China. RESULTS: (1) A new missense homoplasmic mutation of mtDNA G3421A was found in a maternally inherited diabetic family and existed neither in 1350 unrelated type 2 diabetic patients nor in 50 non-diabetic individuals. (2) The mode of mutation and diabetes transmission was typical maternal inheritance in this family. (3) All diabetic family members were found to have an onset at 35-42 years of age, accompanied by deafness of varying degrees. CONCLUSION: mtDNA G3421A (Val39Ile) found in a family with maternally inherited diabetes and deafness is a novel missense mutation. Whether this is a diabetogenic mutation and its effect on mitochondrial function needs to be further studied.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

C57BL/6J mice exhibit reduced dopamine D3 receptor-mediated locomotor-inhibitory function relative to DBA/2J mice.

Previous reports have identified greater sensitivity to the locomotor-stimulating, sensitizing, and reinforcing effects of amphetamine in inbred C57BL/6J mice relative to inbred DBA/2J mice. The dopamine D3 receptor (D3R) plays an inhibitory role in the regulation of rodent locomotor activity, and exerts inhibitory opposition to D1 receptor (D1R)-mediated signaling. Based on these observations, we investigated D3R expression and D3R-mediated locomotor-inhibitory function, as well as D1R binding and D1R-mediated locomotor-stimulating function, in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice. C57BL/6J mice exhibited lower D3R binding density (-32%) in the ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens/islands of Calleja), lower D3R mRNA expression (-26%) in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmentum, and greater D3R mRNA expression (+40%) in the hippocampus, relative to DBA/2J mice. There were no strain differences in DR3 mRNA expression in the ventral striatum or prefrontal cortex, nor were there differences in D1R binding in the ventral striatum. Behaviorally, C57BL/6J mice were less sensitive to the locomotor-inhibitory effect of the D3R agonist PD128907 (10 microg/kg), and more sensitive to the locomotor-stimulating effects of novelty, amphetamine (1 mg/kg), and the D1R-like agonist +/- -1-phenyl-2,3,4,5-tetrahydro-(1H)-3-benzazepine-7,8,-diol hydrochloride (SKF38393) (5-20 mg/kg) than DBA/2J mice. While the selective D3R antagonist N-(4-[4-{2,3-dichlorphenyl}-1 piperazinyl]butyl)-2-fluorenylcarboxamide (NGB 2904) (0.01-1.0 mg/kg) augmented novelty-, amphetamine-, and SKF38393-induced locomotor activity in DBA/2J mice, it reduced novelty-induced locomotor activity in C57BL/6J mice. Collectively, these results demonstrate that C57BL/6J mice exhibit less D3R-mediated inhibitory function relative to DBA/2J mice, and suggest that reduced D3R-mediated inhibitory function may contribute to heightened sensitivity to the locomotor-stimulating effects of amphetamine in the C57BL/6J mouse strain. Furthermore, these data demonstrate that comparisons between C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mouse strains provide a model for elucidating the molecular determinants of genetic influence on D3R function.

2,3,4,5-Tetrahydro-7,8-dihydroxy-1-phenyl-1H-3-ben↗

PubMed2006

Depth profiling of charging effect of Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO2: a study of charge diffusion among Si nanocrystals.

Si nanocrystal (nc-Si) embedded in SiO2 thin film is synthesized with low-energy Si ion implantation. Depth profiling of the charging effect of the nc-Si is determined from X-ray photoemission measurement. It is observed that there is a strong correlation between the depth profile of the charging effect and the nc-Si depth distribution. The charging effect is found to decrease with the increase of nc-Si concentration and to vanish when a densely stacked nanocrystal layer is formed. The phenomenon is attributed to the charge diffusion among the nanocrystals. The charge diffusion in the nanocrystal layer may have an important implication for nanocrystal flash memory. When such a layer is used as the charge-storage layer in the memory cells, the stored charges could be lost due to the rapid charge diffusion among the nc-Si if a single defect exists in the tunneling oxide, causing a reliability problem in data retention.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

The role of ataxin 10 in the pathogenesis of spinocerebellar ataxia type 10.

BACKGROUND: Spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 (SCA10) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by cerebellar ataxia and seizures. SCA10 is caused by an expansion of an ATTCT pentanucleotide repeat in intron 9 of the ataxin 10 (ATXN10) gene encoding an approximately 55-kd protein of unknown function. However, how this mutation leads to SCA10 is unknown. METHODS: In an effort to understand the pathogenic mechanism of SCA10, the authors conducted a series of experiments to address the effect of repeat expansion on the transcription and RNA processing of the ATXN10 gene. In addition, we generated Sca10 (mouse ataxin 10 homolog)-null mice and addressed the role of Sca10 gene dosage on the cerebellum. RESULTS: Mutant ATXN10 allele is transcribed at the normal level, and the pre-mRNA containing an expanded repeat is processed normally in patient-derived cells. Sca10-null mice exhibited embryonic lethality. Heterozygous mutants were overtly normal and did not develop SCA10 phenotype CONCLUSION: A simple gain of function or loss of function of ATXN10 is unlikely to be the major pathogenic mechanism contributing to the spinocerebellar ataxia type 10 phenotype.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2006

NMDA receptor activation induces mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress and apoptosis in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Glutamate is a well-characterized excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, glutamate receptors (GluRs) were also found in peripheral tissues, including the heart. However, the function of GluRs in peripheral organs remains poorly understood. In the present study, we found that N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) could increase intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)]i) level in a dose-dependent manner in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. NMDA at 10(-4) M increased the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), cytosolic cytochrome c (cyto c), and 17-kDa caspase-3, but depolarized mitochondrial membrane potential, leading to cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In addition, NMDA treatment induced an increase in bax mRNA but a decrease in bcl-2 mRNA expression in the cardiomyocytes. The above effects of NMDA were blocked by the NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-5-methyl-10,11-dihydro-5H-dibenzo[a,d]cyclohepten-5,10-imine hydrogen maleate (MK-801), and by ROS scavengers glutathione (GSH) and N-acetylcystein (NAC). These results suggest that stimulation of NMDA receptor in the cardiomyocyte may lead to apoptosis via a Ca(2+), ROS, and caspase-3 mediated pathway. These findings suggest that NMDA receptor may play an important role in myocardial pathogenesis.

Acetylcysteine↗

PubMed2006

Water chemistry and ecotoxicity of an acid mine drainage-affected stream in subtropical China during a major flood event.

Field and laboratory work was carried out to investigate the chemistry and ecotoxicity of stream water affected by acid mine drainage in a tributary catchment of the Pearl River in subtropical China during a major flood that corresponded to a return period of 100 years. The results indicate that stream water was affected by acid mine drainage from the Dabaoshan mine at least to a distance of 25 km downstream of the mine water discharge point. It appears that H(+) generated from sulfide oxidation in the waste rock dumps was readily available for exporting. The amount of H(+) being discharged into the receiving stream depended on the volume of out-flowing waters. However, there was a lag time for the discharges of the metals. This may be attributed to the slower release of metals, relative to H(+), because it might take more time for the dissolution of heavy metal-bearing compounds, particularly the sparsely soluble jarosites. Fe, Zn and Al were the major metals of potential toxicity contained in the AMD-affected stream water, followed by Mn, Cu, Pb, As, Cd and Ni. The concentrations of these metals in the water decreased rapidly down the stream. This corresponds with an increase in the concentrations of reactive heavy metal fractions in benthic mud down the stream, reflecting the precipitation of heavy metal compounds with increasing pH and their subsequent deposition in the streambed. Toxicity tests show that the AMD-affected stream water at 3.5 km downstream of the discharge point was highly toxic to the test organism. At 25 km downstream of the discharge point where stream water pH was as high as 5.75, marked toxic responses of the test organism were still observed.

China↗

PubMed2006

High prevalence of albuminuria in population-based patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in the Shanghai downtown.

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of albuminuria and the risk factors associated with albuminuria were evaluated among the Chinese patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes aged over 30 in the Shanghai downtown. We also evaluated the variability of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) among the three measurements and the relationship between diabetic retinopathy (DR) and albuminuria. METHODS: The 1039 Chinese patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes aged over 30 were investigated by randomized cluster sampling in the Shanghai downtown and 1018 patients were analyzed in this study. Body mass measurements including height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference, resting blood pressure, fasting blood measures, urinary ACR and the digitally stored fundus images were investigated. The prevalence of albuminuria was calculated and the risk factors associated with albuminuria were evaluated by stepwise logistic regression. The concordance of urinary ACR was evaluated by observed agreement. The relationship between albuminuria and DR was also evaluated. RESULTS: (1) The mean age of all patients was 66.10+/-11.54 years and the duration of diabetes was 7.89+/-7.16 years. (2) The prevalence of albuminuria was 49.6% among the Chinese patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes aged over 30 in the Shanghai downtown, 41.4% with microalbuminuria and 8.2% with macroalbuminuria. (3) Microalbuminuria was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure, gender and waist circumference. Macroalbuminuria was significantly associated with systolic blood pressure and duration of diabetes. (4) Observed agreement among the three urinary ACR measurement for albuminuria staging was 73.3% (first versus second), 64.5% (first versus third) and 77.5% (second versus third). Observed agreement in the albuminuria staging between the single urinary ACR measurement and all three urinary ACR measurements was 85.8% (first versus all three), 87.6% (second versus all three) and 81.9% (third versus all three). (5) The percentage of DR in the macroalbuminuric group (59.2%) was significantly higher than that in the normalbuminuria group (16.1%) and microalbuminuria group (24.6%). (6) The macroalbuminuric patients with DR had significantly increased fasting blood glucose and HbA1c compared with the macroalbuminuric patients without DR. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of microalbuminuria observed in the Chinese patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes aged over 30 in the Shanghai downtown reached up to 41.4% though the observations in our study might be representative of the diabetic patients of the Shanghai downtown. We agreed that at least two of the three urinary collections were done in a 3- to 6-month period because of the day-to-day variability in albumin excretion. The percentage of DR among the patients with macroalbuminuria was 59.2%, and the macroalbuminuric patients with the significantly high plasma glucose and DR were prone to diagnose DN.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Systemic co-administration of depsipeptide selectively targets transfection enhancement to specific tissues and cell types.

Depsipeptide, a histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, kills tumor cells much more effectively than normal cells, and can produce significant antitumor activity in human cancer patients. Depsipeptide also increases the expression of lipoplex-delivered genes in cultured tumor cells, as well as following direct intra-tumoral injection. We now show that co-intravenous (i.v.) injection of depsipeptide with polyethylenimine (PEI):DNA complexes significantly increases the expression of PEI-delivered genes in normal, as well as in tumor-bearing mice. At the tissue level, depsipeptide-mediated enhancement of gene expression was selectively targeted to the lung, liver and spleen. At the cellular level, depsipeptide significantly increased the expression of the i.v., PEI co-delivered wild-type human p53 gene in metastatic breast cancer cells, but not in adjacent normal cells. Thus, the ability of depsipeptide to enhance the expression of systemically delivered genes is selectively targeted at both the tissue and cellular levels, without requiring the use of ligand- or promoter-based approaches. Analyzing HDAC-based targeting of gene expression may identify host genes that control the expression of systemically delivered genes.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

RPS6KA2, a putative tumour suppressor gene at 6q27 in sporadic epithelial ovarian cancer.

We had previously defined by allele loss studies a minimal region at 6q27 (between D6S264 and D6S297) to contain a putative tumour suppressor gene. The p90 ribosomal S6 kinase-3 gene (p90 Rsk-3, RPS6KA2) maps in this interval. It is a serine-threonine kinase that signals downstream of the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. It is expressed in normal ovarian epithelium, whereas reduced or absent in tumours or cell lines. We show that RPS6KA2 is monoallelically expressed in the ovary suggesting that loss of a single expressed allele is sufficient to cause complete loss of expression in cancer cells. Further, we have identified two new isoforms of RPS6KA2 with an alternative start codon. Homozygous deletions were identified within the RPS6KA2 gene in two cell lines. Re-expression of RPS6KA2 in ovarian cancer cell lines suppressed colony formation. In UCI101 cells, the expression of RPS6KA2 reduced proliferation, caused G1 arrest, increased apoptosis, reduced levels of phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase and altered other cell cycle proteins. In contrast, small interfering RNA against RPS6KA2 showed the opposite effect in 41M cells. The above results suggest that RPS6KA2 is a putative tumour suppressor gene to explain allele loss at 6q27.

Adenocarcinoma, Clear Cell↗

PubMed2006

Evaluation of adenovirus vectors containing serotype 35 fibers for tumor targeting.

There is growing evidence from in vitro studies that subgroup B adenoviruses (Ad) can overcome the limitations in safety and tumor transduction efficiency seen with commonly used subgroup C serotype 5-based vectors. In this study, we confirm that the expression level of the B-group Ad receptor, CD46, correlates with the grade of malignancy of cervical cancer in situ. We also demonstrate the in vivo properties of Ad5-based vectors that contain the B-group Ad serotype 35 fiber (Ad5/35) in transgenic mice that express CD46 in a pattern and at a level similar to humans. Upon intravenous and intraperitoneal injection, an Ad5/35 vector did not efficiently transduce normal tissue, but was able to target metastatic or intraperitoneal tumors that express CD46 at levels comparable to human tumors. When an oncolytic Ad5/35-based vector was employed, in both tumor models antitumor effects were observed. Furthermore, injection of Ad5/35 vectors into CD46 transgenic mice caused less innate toxicity than Ad5 vectors. Our data demonstrate that Ad vectors that target CD46 offer advantages over Ad5-based vectors for treatment of cancer.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2006

Acceleration of cerebral ventricular expansion in the Cardiovascular Health Study.

Interactions between prevalent late-life medical conditions and expansion of the cerebral ventricles are not well understood. Thirty elderly subjects received three magnetic resonance (MR) scans each, in 1997-1999, 2002-2004, and 2003-2005. A linear expansion model of MR-measured lateral ventricle volume was estimated for each subject by fitting a line to a plot of their 1997-1999 and 2002-2004 volumes as a function of time. Acceleration in ventricular expansion was defined as the deviation between the 2003-2005 volumes measured from MR and the 2003-2005 volumes predicted by the linear expansion model. Ventricular acceleration was analyzed in a multivariate model with age, race, history of heart disease, diabetes, and hypertension as fixed effects. Ventricular acceleration was significantly higher in non-whites, diabetics, and those without heart disease (p<0.05). Ventricular acceleration was higher in subjects with a history of hypertension, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.08). Acceleration of ventricular expansion in the elderly may be related to demographic and cardiovascular factors.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

In vitro anti-bacterial and biological properties of magnetron co-sputtered silver-containing hydroxyapatite coating.

Bacterial infection after implant placement is a significant rising complication. In order to reduce the incidence of implant-associated infections, several biomaterial surface treatments have been proposed. In this study, the effect of in vitro antibacterial activity and in vitro cytotoxicity of co-sputtered silver (Ag)-containing hydroxyapatite (HA) coating was evaluated. Deposition was achieved by a concurrent supply of 10 W to the Ag target and 300 W to the HA target. Heat treatment at 400 degrees C for 4 h was performed after 3 h deposition. X-ray diffraction, contact angles measurements, and surface roughness were used to characterize the coating surfaces. The RP12 strain of Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC 35984) and the Cowan I strain of Staphylococcus aureus were used to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the Ag-HA coatings, whereas human embryonic palatal mesenchyme cells, an osteoblast precursor cell line, were used to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxicity of the coatings. X-ray diffraction analysis performed in this study indicated peaks corresponding to Ag and HA on the co-sputtered Ag-HA surfaces. The contact angles for HA and Ag-HA surfaces were observed to be significantly lower when compared to Ti surfaces, whereas no significant difference in surface roughness was observed for all groups. In vitro bacterial adhesion study indicated a significantly reduced number of S. epidermidis and S. aureus on Ag-HA surface when compared to titanium (Ti) and HA surfaces. In addition, no significant difference in the in vitro cytotoxicty was observed between HA and Ag-HA surfaces. Overall, it was concluded that the creation of a multifunctional surface can be achieved by co-sputtering the osteoconductive HA with antibacterial Ag.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMed2006

ATR-dependent checkpoint modulates XPA nuclear import in response to UV irradiation.

In response to DNA damage, mammalian cells activate various DNA repair pathways to remove DNA lesions and, meanwhile, halt cell cycle progressions to allow sufficient time for repair. The nucleotide excision repair (NER) and the ATR-dependent cell cycle checkpoint activation are two major cellular responses to DNA damage induced by UV irradiation. However, how these two processes are coordinated in the response is poorly understood. Here we showed that the essential NER factor XPA (xeroderma pigmentosum group A) underwent nuclear accumulation upon UV irradiation, and strikingly, such an event occurred in an ATR (Ataxia-Telangiectasia mutated and RAD3-related)-dependent manner. Either treatment of cells with ATR kinase inhibitors or transfection of cells with small interfering RNA targeting ATR compromised the UV-induced XPA nuclear translocation. Consistently, the ATR-deficient cells displayed no substantial XPA nuclear translocation while the translocation remained intact in ATM (Ataxia-Telangiectasia mutated)-deficient cells in response to UV irradiation. Moreover, we found that ATR is required for the UV-induced nuclear focus formation of XPA. Taken together, our results suggested that the ATR checkpoint pathway may modulate NER activity through the regulation of XPA redistribution in human cells upon UV irradiation.

Active Transport, Cell Nucleus↗

PubMed2006

RNA polymerase II transcription is required for human papillomavirus type 16 E7- and hydroxyurea-induced centriole overduplication.

Aberrant centrosome numbers are detected in virtually all human cancers where they can contribute to chromosomal instability by promoting mitotic spindle abnormalities. Despite their widespread occurrence, the molecular mechanisms that underlie centrosome amplification are only beginning to emerge. Here, we present evidence for a novel regulatory circuit involved in centrosome overduplication that centers on RNA polymerase II (pol II). We found that human papillomavirus type 16 E7 (HPV-16 E7)- and hydroxyurea (HU)-induced centriole overduplication are abrogated by alpha-amanitin, a potent and specific RNA pol II inhibitor. In contrast, normal centriole duplication proceeded undisturbed in alpha-amanitin-treated cells. Centriole overduplication was significantly reduced by siRNA-mediated knock down of CREB-binding protein (CBP), a transcriptional co-activator. We identified cyclin A2 as a key transcriptional target of RNA pol II during HU-induced centriole overduplication. Collectively, our results show that ongoing RNA pol II transcription is required for centriole overduplication whereas it may be dispensable for normal centriole duplication. Given that many chemotherapeutic agents function through inhibition of transcription, our results may help to develop strategies to target centrosome-mediated chromosomal instability for cancer therapy and prevention.

Amanitins↗

PubMed2006

Toroidal symmetry of the geodesic acoustic mode zonal flow in a tokamak plasma.

The toroidal symmetry of the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) zonal flows is identified with toroidally distributed three step Langmuir probes at the edge of the HuanLiuqi-2A (commonly referred to as HL-2A) tokamak plasmas for the first time. High coherence of both the GAM and the ambient turbulence for the toroidally displaced measurements along a magnetic field line is observed, in contrast with the high coherence of the GAM but low coherence of the ambient turbulence when the toroidally displaced measurements are not along the same field line. The radial and poloidal features of the flows are also simultaneously determined. The nonlinear three wave coupling between the high frequency turbulent fluctuations and the flows is demonstrated to be a plausible formation mechanism of the flows.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

Blood pressure and heart rate changes during fibreoptic orotracheal intubation: a comparison of children and adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Autonomic circulatory regulation and airway anatomy in children are significantly different from those in adults. There is no available published data to compare whether there is a clinically relevant difference in the haemodynamic responses to fibreoptic orotracheal intubation (FOI) under the same conditions between children and adults. In this randomized clinical study, we compared the blood pressure (BP) and heart rate (HR) changes during FOI in 40 children aged 3.5-9 yr and 40 adults aged 21-57 yr, ASA 1 scheduled for elective plastic surgery under general anaesthesia requiring orotracheal intubation. METHODS: Anaesthesia was induced with intravenous (i.v.) injection of fentanyl and propofol, and face mask inhalation of isoflurane before FOI. Noninvasive BP and HR were recorded before induction (baseline values), after induction (postinduction values), at intubation and for 5 min after intubation at 1-min intervals. The percentage changes of BP and HR at each time point were calculated. RESULTS: In children and adults, HR at intubation and 1-3 min after intubation were significantly higher than baseline and postinduction values. In adults, BP at intubation increased significantly compared to the postinduction values but did not exceed baseline values. In children, BP at intubation and 1 min after intubation were significantly higher than postinduction and baseline values. As compared to adults, FOI caused a more significant pressor response in children. The percentage changes of BP at intubation and 1 min after intubation were larger in children than in adults. However, there was no significant difference in the percentage change of HR during the observation between children and adults. CONCLUSIONS: Under general anaesthesia, FOI might cause a more significant pressor response in children than in adults.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Combinatorial synergy induced by adenoviral-mediated mda-7 and Herceptin in Her-2+ breast cancer cells.

The melanoma differentiation-associated gene-7 (mda-7) is a member of the interleukin-10 cytokine family and a novel tumor suppressor gene. Adenoviral-mediated mda-7 (Ad-mda7) gene transfer has tumor-specific growth inhibitory and proapoptotic effects in a broad spectrum of cancer cells. In breast cancer cells, adenoviral-induced mda-7 expression triggers antiproliferative effects by downregulation of survival signals, such as Bcl-2 and Akt. The anti-human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (Her-2) monoclonal antibody, Trastuzumab (Herceptin), increases the sensitivity of Her-2/neu-overexpressing breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic agents and radiotherapy. In this study, we evaluate the effects of treatment with Ad-mda7 and Herceptin combination therapy in a panel of Her-2/neu-overexpressing cell lines, and in established tumors in nude mice. Compared to individual treatments, the combination of Ad-mda7 and Herceptin elicits supra-additive antitumor activity in Her-2/neu-overexpressing tumor cell lines: increased cell death, cell cycle block and apoptosis. The Ad-mda7 and Herceptin interaction was shown to be synergistic by isobologram analysis. Ad-mda7 does not alter cell surface Her-2/neu levels, but the combination of Ad-mda7+Herceptin results in increased expression of cell surface E-cadherin with concomitant translocation of beta-catenin from the nucleus to the cell membrane. In vivo, the combination of Ad-mda7 and Herceptin showed significantly increased antitumor activity (P<0.003) against Her-2/neu-overexpressing tumors. These data suggest that the combination of Ad-mda7 with Herceptin may be a novel therapy for breast cancer patients whose tumors overexpress Her-2/neu. The observed synergistic effect may improve treatment options for otherwise poorly responsive, Her-2-positive, breast cancer patients.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed2006

Diverse signals converge at MAPK cascades in plant.

Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) are important signal transducing enzymes that connects diverse receptors/sensors to a wide range of cellular responses in mammals, yeasts and plants. In recent years, a large number of different components of plant MAPK cascades were isolated. Molecular and biochemical studies have revealed that plant MAPKs play important role in the response to a broad variety of biotic and abiotic stresses, including wounding, pathogen infection, temperature, drought, salinity, but also in the signaling of plant hormones and the cell division. This review briefly summaries the recent research results about the cross-talk and complexity of MAP kinase cascades in plant obtained from functional analyses.

Acclimatization↗