PURPOSE Recent studies indicate that transforming growth factor (TGF)beta is a potent inducer of corneal myofibroblast differentiation and expression of smooth muscle-specific, alpha-actin (alpha-SMA). Although TGFbeta is known to enhance synthesis of extracellular matrix proteins and receptors, little is known about how it modulates the expression of smooth muscle proteins in nonmuscle cells. ...

background bone marrow and adipose tissue are two main sources of mesenchymal stem cells (mscs). some of studies suggest that there are some differences in gene expression profile of mscs-derived from various tissues. to investigate gene expression profile by qrt-pcr, an appropriate reference gene with stable expression level should be chosen for normalizing data.  this study was designed to ev...

Myofibroblasts of the lamina propria of human seminiferous tubules were studied in testes having normal or slightly reduced spermatogenesis by means of electron microscopy, confocal laser microscopy and immunocytochemistry. Myofibroblasts are large, flat individual cells braced in a network of microfibrils and collagen fibrils in the tubular wall. They are arranged in discontinuous cell layers ...

PURPOSE Fusion proteins containing a protein transduction domain (PTD4) are able to cross biological membranes. We tested the applicability of the protein transduction method for study of the aqueous humor trabecular outflow pathway by targeting the actin cytoskeleton, which is known to be involved in outflow facility regulation. METHODS Expression vectors useful for generating fusion protein...

Terminal webs prepared from mouse intestinal epithelial cells were examined by the quick-freeze, deep-etch, and rotary-replication method. The microvilli of these cells contain actin filaments that extend into the terminal web in compact bundles. Within the terminal web these bundles remain compact; few filaments are separated from the bundles and fewer still bend towards the lateral margins of...

In nonneuronal tissues, activation of oxytocin receptors (OTRs), like other Galpha(q/11) type G-protein-coupled receptors (Galpha(q/11)/GPCRs), increase prostaglandin (PG) expression. This is not known for the OTRs expressed by central OT neurons. We examined mechanisms underlying OT's effects on supraoptic nucleus (SON) OT and vasopressin (VP) neurons in hypothalamic slices from lactating rats...

BACKGROUND Absorption of water and Na+ in descending colonic crypts is dependent on the barrier function of the surrounding myofibroblastic pericryptal sheath. Here the effects of high and low Na+ diets and exposure to whole body ionising radiation on the growth and activation of the descending colonic pericryptal myofibroblasts are evaluated. In addition the effect of a post-irradiation treatm...

Immunostaining can be used to pinpont the subcellular localization of a protein antigen, to follow its changing position as cells respond to stumuli, or to compare its position to other proteins in the same cell. Using these methods one can follow an antigen’s distribution during development, mark the location of a particular cell type in a multicellular in vivo setting, or determine the presen...