Background: During spermatogenesis the sperm nucleus exchange histones against cystein rich protamines, which stabilize the sperm chromatin and protects the DNA against damages. At ejaculation the age of the patient, handling routines, processing of the semen sample and the storage of the final sperm suspension might damage the DNA. Sperm chromatin stability and DNA damages are evaluated with d...

Mehić, M. 2017. Regulation of Hyaluronan Synthesis and Signaling via CD44 in Cancer. Digital Comprehensive Summaries of Uppsala Dissertations from the Faculty of Medicine 1291. 54 pp. Uppsala: Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis. ISBN 978-91-554-9797-2. Hyaluronan is a ubiquitous glycosaminoglycan which is an important constituent of the extracellular matrix (ECM). In addition to organizing the extr...

BACKGROUND Prostate cancer (PC) consistently overexpresses variant the (v) isoform of the cell adhesion protein CD44, and loses expression of the standard (s) isoform. MATERIALS AND METHODS We re-expressed CD44 full-length (exons 1-20) or standard (exons 1-5 + 16-20) or enforced stable RNAi against CD44v, and the examined functional effects on PC. The effect of stable knockout of calcitonin, ...

SPACR (sialoprotein associated with cones and rods), is the major 147-150-kDa glycoprotein present in the insoluble interphotoreceptor matrix of the human retina. Immunocytochemistry localizes SPACR to the matrix surrounding rods and cones (Acharya, S., Rayborn, M. E., and Hollyfield, J. G. (1998) Glycobiology 8, 997-1006). From affinity-purified SPACR, we obtained seven peptide sequences showi...

LYVE-1 (lymphatic vessel endothelial hyaluronan receptor-1) is a homolog of the hyaluronan receptor CD44, and one of the most widely used markers of lymphatic endothelial cells in normal and tumor tissues. However, the physiologic role of LYVE-1 in the lymphatic system still remains unclear. It is well established that fibroblast growth factor 2 (FGF2) induces lymphangiogenesis. Based on the kn...

AIM OF THE STUDY Hyaluronan (HA) is an extracellular matrix (ECM) polymer that may contribute to the emergence of anti-cancer drug resistance. Attempts to reverse drug resistance using small hyaluronan oligomers (oHA) are being made. The initial reports suggest that the oHA fraction may effectively reverse anti-cancer drug resistance in glioma models. However, the reversal effects of oHA of def...