BACKGROUND Methylnaltrexone, a novel peripherally acting opioid receptor antagonist, is used to treat opiate-induced constipation in cancer patients. Its effects on the activities of chemotherapeutic agents, however, have not been evaluated. In this study, the effect of methylnaltrexone on the action of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was tested in three human cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS T...

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a neuromuscular disorder caused by a CTG expansion in the 3' UTR of the dystrophia myotonica protein kinase (DMPK) gene. It has been hypothesized that the pathogenesis in DM1 is triggered by a toxic gain of function of the expanded DMPK RNA. This expanded RNA is retained in nuclear foci where it sequesters and induces alterations in the levels of RNA-binding p...

Melting curve analysis of fluorescently labeled DNA fragments is used extensively for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). Here, we evaluated a SNP genotyping method by melting curve analysis with the two probe chemistries in a 384-well plate format on a Roche LightCycler 480. The HybProbe chemistry is based on the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) and the SimpleProbe ch...

AnkyrinG 480/270 kDa and three ankyrin-binding integral membrane proteins (neurofascin, NrCAM, and the voltage-dependent sodium channel) colocalize within a specialized domain of the spectrin-actin network found at axonal segments of nodes of Ranvier in myelinated axons. Before myelination in embryonic nerves, ankyrinG 480/270 kDa and the related ankyrin isoform ankyrinB 440 kDa are co-expresse...

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is a genetic disease caused by the pathological expansion of a CTG trinucleotide repeat in the 3' UTR of the DMPK gene. In the DMPK transcripts, the CUG expansions sequester RNA-binding proteins into nuclear foci, including transcription factors and alternative splicing regulators such as MBNL1. MBNL1 sequestration has been associated with key features of DM1. Ho...

BACKGROUND Outbreaks of respiratory tract infections are common in long-term care facilities for older people. The objective of our study was to determine both the frequency of such outbreaks and their clinical and epidemiological features. METHODS Prospective surveillance for outbreaks of respiratory tract infections and a retrospective audit of surveillance records were conducted in 5 nursi...

Historical Background 461 Types of Insulin 461 Rapid-Acting Insulins 461 Intermediate-Acting Insulins 462 Long-Acting Insulins 462 Insulin Purity, Species, and Concentration 463 Beef and Pork Insulins 463 Human Insulin 463 Insulin Concentrations 464 Initiation of Insulin Therapy 464 Coals of Therapy 465 Treatment Strategies 466 Single-Dose Regimens 466 Twice-Daily Regimens 467 Multiple Daily In...

BACKGROUND Gypenosides (Gyp), the main components from Gynostemma pentaphyllum Makino, are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. The present study aimed to investigate the anti-cancer effect and the underlying mechanisms of Gyp on human colorectal cancer cells SW-480. MATERIALS AND METHODS The inhibitory effect of Gyp on SW-480 cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Apoptotic cell death was...