The neutral type 2 sphingomyelinase (nSMase2) hydrolyzes sphingomyelin and generates ceramide, a major bioactive sphingolipid mediator, involved in growth arrest and apoptosis. The role of nSMase2 in apoptosis is debated, and apparently contradictory results have been observed on fibroblasts isolated from nSMase2-deficient fragilitas ossium (homozygous fro/fro) mice. These mice exhibit a severe...

Nutritional status is often impaired in ambulatory rehabilitation patients. Wasting conditions can be classified as starvation, sarcopenia or cachexia but differences between these are not well defined, and misdiagnosis may lead to inappropriate intervention. A secondary analysis of data from 187 ambulatory rehabilitation patients aged >=60 years aimed to identify patients with one or more wast...

Pregnancy is a diabetogenic state characterized by relative insulin resistance, enhanced lipolysis, elevated free fatty acids and increased ketogenesis. In this setting, short period of starvation can precipitate ketoacidosis. This sequence of events is recognized as "accelerated starvation." Metabolic acidosis during pregnancy may have adverse impact on fetal neural development including impai...

The effects of serum deprivation on several general cellular biochemical processes ("pleiotypic response") related to the growth of normal fibroblasts can be mimicked by treatment of these cells with prostaglandin E(1) in the presence of serum. N(6),O(2)'-Dibutyryl adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate and theophylline inhibit the membrane transport processes without much effect on other pleioty...

The cell cycle is divided into the active phase (G1/S/G2/M) and G0-phase (G0) in which division stops with respect to division. Low gene expression level common G0 due stops, whereas G0-unique characteristics are known liver nerves. Therefore, we investigated G0-specific Normal human dermal fibroblasts (HFs) has been reported many of them G1/G0 when contacting collagen scaffold. In this study, ...

Intramyocellular lipid content (IMCL) serves as a good biomarker of skeletal muscle insulin resistance (IR). However, intracellular fatty acid metabolites [malonyl-CoA, long-chain acyl-CoA (LCACoA)] rather than IMCL are considered to be responsible for IR. This study aimed to investigate dynamics of IMCL and fatty acid metabolites during fed-to-starved-to-refed transition in lean and obese (IR)...

The SIL gene was discovered at the site of a cancer-associated interstitial deletion in which its promoter assumed the regulation of a second gene, SCL. The human SIL gene encodes a 1287-amino acid cytosolic protein that has been found to be highly conserved in the mouse. SIL is expressed in proliferating cells and is down-regulated when cellular proliferation ceases because of serum starvation...