Molecules and cells
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Molecules and cells · Nov 2012
Quantitative analyses of postmortem heat shock protein mRNA profiles in the occipital lobes of human cerebral cortices: implications in cause of death.
Quantitative RNA analyses of autopsy materials to diagnose the cause and mechanism of death are challenging tasks in the field of forensic molecular pathology. Alterations in mRNA profiles can be induced by cellular stress responses during supravital reactions as well as by lethal insults at the time of death. Here, we demonstrate that several gene transcripts encoding heat shock proteins (HSPs), a gene family primarily responsible for cellular stress responses, can be differentially expressed in the occipital region of postmortem human cerebral cortices with regard to the cause of death. ⋯ By contrast, HSPA7 and A13 gene transcripts were much higher in the TI group than in the ASP and sudden cardiac death (SCD) groups. More importantly, relative abundances between such HSP mRNA species exhibit a stronger correlation to, and thus provide more discriminative information on, the death process than does routine normalization to a housekeeping gene. Therefore, the present study proposes alterations in HSP mRNA composition in the occipital lobe as potential forensic biological markers, which may implicate the cause and process of death.
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Molecules and cells · Jun 2012
Differential patterns of serum concentration and adipose tissue expression of chemerin in obesity: adipose depot specificity and gender dimorphism.
Chemerin, a recognized chemoattractant, is expressed in adipose tissue and plays a role in adipocytes differentiation and metabolism. Gender- and adipose tissue-specific differences in human chemerin expression have not been well characterized. Therefore, these differences were assessed in the present study. ⋯ Interestingly, we found a significant negative correlation between circulating chemerin levels and chemerin mRNA expression in subcutaneous fat. Among the subjects studied, circulating chemerin levels were associated with obesity markers but not with markers of insulin resistance. At the tissue level, fat depot-specific differential regulation of chemerin mRNA expression might contribute to the distinctive roles of subcutaneous vs. visceral adipose tissue in human obesity.
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Gliomas, much like other cancers, are composed of a heterogeneous mix of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cells that include both native and recruited cells. There is extensive diversity among the tumor cells, with differing capacity for in vitro and in vivo growth, a property intimately linked to the cell's differentiation status. ⋯ However the exact identity and cell(s) of origin of the so-called glioma cancer stem cell remain elusive. Here we review the current understanding of glioma cancer stem cell biology.
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Pain is an unpleasant sensation experienced when tissues are damaged. Thus, pain sensation in some way protects body from imminent threat or injury. Peripheral sensory nerves innervated to peripheral tissues initially respond to multiple forms of noxious or strong stimuli, such as heat, mechanical and chemical stimuli. ⋯ The main channels responsible for inward membrane currents in nociceptors are voltage-activated sodium and calcium channels, while outward current is carried mainly by potassium ions. In addition, activation of non-selective cation channels is also responsible for the excitation of sensory neurons. Thus, excitability of neurons can be controlled by regulating expression or by modulating activity of these channels.
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Molecules and cells · Oct 2003
Regional differences in enhanced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult rats after transient forebrain ischemia.
Neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus occurs throughout life. We observed regional differences in neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult rats following transient forebrain ischemia. Nine days after ischemic-reperfusion or sham manipulation, rats were given 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine-5'-monophosphate (BrdU), a marker for dividing cells. ⋯ At 28 days after BrdU injection, numbers of BrdU-positive cells were higher in four subregions in the ischemic group, the exceptions being the rostral suprapyramidal and middle infrapyramidal blades. At 28 days after BrdU injection, the percentages of BrdU positive cells that expressed a neuronal marker (NeuN) were the same in the dentate granule cell layers of ischemic and control rats. Our data thus demonstrate regional differences in enhanced neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of adult rats after transient forebrain ischemia.