Rationale: Ca 2؉-activated K ؉ channels are present in a wide variety of cells. We have previously reported the presence of small conductance Ca 2؉-activated K ؉ (SK or K Ca) channels in human and mouse cardiac myocytes that contribute functionally toward the shape and duration of cardiac action potentials. Three isoforms of SK channel subunits (SK1, SK2, and SK3) are found to be expressed. Mor...

The mammalian protease plasminogen can be activated by bacterial activators, the three-domain (alpha, beta, gamma) streptokinases and the one-domain (alpha) staphylokinases. These activators act as plasmin(ogen) cofactors, and the resulting complexes initiate proteolytic activity of host plasminogen which facilitates bacterial colonization of the host organism. We have investigated the kinetic ...

The formation of acquired drug resistance is a major reason for the failure of anti-cancer therapies after initial response. Here, we introduce a novel model of acquired oxaliplatin resistance, a sub-line of the non-MYCN-amplified neuroblastoma cell line SK-N-AS that was adapted to growth in the presence of 4000 ng/mL oxaliplatin (SK-N-ASrOXALI4000). SK-N-ASrOXALI4000 cells displayed enhanced c...

Shikonin (SK), a naturally occurring naphthoquinone, exhibits antitumor activity. However, its precise mechanisms of action are unknown. In the present study, the effects of SK on NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells were investigated. It was found that SK reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in the NCI-H460 cells. Additionally, SK inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activ...

Let X1, X2, . . . , Xn be independent random variables and Sk = Pk i=1 Xi. We show that for any constants ak, P( max 1≤k≤n ||Sk| − ak| > 11t) ≤ 30 max 1≤k≤n P(||Sk| − ak| > t). We also discuss similar inequalities for sums of Hilbert and Banach space valued random vectors.

BACKGROUND/AIMS Cochinchina momordica seed extract (SK-MS10) has a gastric protective effect. We aimed to assess the effect of SK-MS10 on gastric acid secretion with morphologic changes in the aged rat. METHODS Acid secretions were evaluated in the male F344 rats of four different ages (6-, 31-, 74-week, and 2-year). The 31-week-old rats were divided to three groups and continuously administe...

Sphingosine kinase (SK) is an oncogenic sphingolipid-metabolizing enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the mitogenic second messenger sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) at the expense of proapoptotic ceramide. Thus, SK is an attractive target for cancer therapy because blockage of S1P formation leads to inhibition of proliferation, as well as the induction of apoptosis in cancer cells. We have rec...

Despite their fundamental importance for growth, the mechanisms that regulate food intake are poorly understood. Our previous work demonstrated that insect sulfakinin (SK) signaling is involved in inhibiting feeding in an important model and pest insect, the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. Because the interaction of SK peptide and SK receptors (SKR) initiates the SK signaling, we have spe...

background: streptokinase, which is injected intravenously with a standard dose of 1.5 miu, is the most widely used thrombolytic agent around the world. what is so important about this bioproduct is the level of antistreptokinase (anti-sk) antibody in the population, which is directly correlated to the incidence of streptococcal infections in that population. objective: since iran is an endemic...

The present work shows that stimulation of peripheral blood lymphocytes with autologous or allogeneic B-cell lines leads to a strong induction of cytotoxic effector cells with spontaneous killer (SK) cell specificity, apart from the specific response directed against the particular stimulating cell. To demonstrate this we have determined a relative target cell specificity in the SK system, defi...