In bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), alveolar septa are thickened with collagen and α-smooth muscle actin-, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-positive myofibroblasts. We examined the biochemical mechanisms underlying myofibroblastic differentiation, focusing on the role of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β)/β-catenin signaling pathway. In the cytoplasm, β-catenin is phosphorylated on the NH(...

Curcumin has been reported to inhibit the generation of Aβ, but the underlying mechanisms by which this occurs remain unknown. Aβ is thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The amyloid hypothesis argues that aggregates of Aβ trigger a complex pathological cascade that leads to neurodegeneration. Aβ is generated by the processing of APP (amyloid precurs...

INTRODUCTION The function of Glycogen Synthase Kinases 3β (GSK-3β) has previously been shown to be necessary for normal secondary palate development. Using GSK-3ß null mouse embryos, we examine the potential coordinate roles of Wnt and Hedgehog signaling on palatal ossification. METHODS Palates were harvested from GSK-3β, embryonic days 15.0-18.5 (e15.0-e18.5), and e15.5 Indian Hedgehog (Ihh)...

The outer part of a tree, known as the bark, protects internal tissues from external conditions and attacks microorganisms. Its antifungal activities are due to presence chemicals in this bark. This study aimed at evaluating toxicity triterpenoids steroids bark Pinus merkusii against Phanerochaete chrysosporium (white-rot). were isolated n-hexane extract through column chromatography. Then, act...

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of genistein and equol on 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (3β-HSD) and 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase 3 (17β-HSD3) in human and rat testis microsomes. These enzymes (3β-HSD and 17β-HSD3), along with two others (cytochrome P450 side-chain cleavage enzyme and cytochrome P450 17α-hydroxylase/17-20 lyase), catalyze the reactions th...

Alphaviruses, including Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis Virus (VEEV), cause disease in both equine and humans that exhibit overt encephalitis in a significant percentage of cases. Features of the host immune response and tissue-specific responses may contribute to fatal outcomes as well as the development of encephalitis. It has previously been shown that VEEV infection of mice induces transcrip...

In this research, aerial parts of Euphorbia denticulata Lam were collected from Sanandaj city in Kurdistan province at the West of Iran. It was extracted by maceration using acetone as solvent. Isolation of compounds were carried out with repeated column chromatography using silica gel and normal preparative HPLC using YMC-Pack-Sil column and hexane: ethyl acetate as mobile phase. The structure...

Ingestion of ethanol (ETOH) during pregnancy induces grave abnormalities in developing fetal brain. We have previously reported that ETOH induces programmed cell death 4 (PDCD4), a critical regulator of cell growth, in cultured fetal cerebral cortical neurons (PCNs) and in the cerebral cortex in vivo and affect protein synthesis as observed in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD). However, th...

We hypothesized that prostacyclin (PGI2) protects vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) against apoptosis and phenotypic switch through peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) activation and 14-3-3 upregulation. Here we showed that transfection of rat aortic VSMC, A-10, with PGI2-producing vectors, Ad-COPI, resulted in attenuated H2O2-induced apoptosis accompanied by a selective incre...

Downlo rotensin, a gut peptide, stimulates the growth of colorectal cancers that possess the high-affinity neuin receptor (NTR1). Sodium butyrate (NaBT) is a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACi) that s growth arrest, differentiation, and apoptosis of colorectal cancers. Previously, we had shown that increases nuclear GSK-3β expression and kinase activity; GSK-3β functions as a negative ...