Neurodegenerative disorders are growing burdens in modern societies because of increased life expectancy. Most neurodegenerative disorders commonly possess a similar neuropathological feature--the accumulation of abnormal protein aggregates or inclusions (misfolded proteins) in the brain. One of the main functions of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is to initiate proper protein folding to facilitate...

The antibiotics Streptovirudin and 24010 were tested to determine their effects on the formation of lipid-linked saccharide intermediates associated with glycoprotein biosynthesis in mung bean (Vigna radiata) and suspension-cultured soybean cells (Glycine max cv. Mandarin). In vitro both compounds strongly inhibited the transfer of N-acetyl[(3)H]glucosamine from UDP-N-[(3)H]acetylglucosamine to...

The monovalent ionophore monensin, which interferes with cellular transport pathways, and the antibiotic tunicamycin, which prevents glycosylation of newly synthesized proteins, were used to examine Hantaan virus particle formation and polypeptide synthesis. Viral replication in the presence of either drug resulted in reduced antigen production as well as reduced yields of both intracellular an...

Vascular smooth muscle cell apoptosis and collagen synthesis contribute to aortic stiffening. A cellular signaling mechanism contributing to apoptotic and fibrotic events is endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that induction of ER stress in a normotensive rat would cause profibrotic and apoptotic signaling, thereby contributing to aortic stiffening. Furthe...

Studies suggest that tunicamycin may work as a therapeutic drug to cancer cells by inducing stress in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) through unfolded protein response (UPR) and thereby promoting apoptosis. However, mechanisms of the prolonged activation of the UPR under sustained ER stress in the regulation of cell apoptosis are largely unknown. To delineate the role of candidate genes in the a...

The present study aimed to address the pharmacogenetic role of BAG1 in platinum-based chemotherapy in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in cultured human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells. A total of 108 NSCLC patients (stages I-IIIA) were treated with a standard chemotherapy regimen of cisplatin plus vinorelbine. Additionally, in vitro cultured A549 cells were treated with cisplatin...

Tunicamycin acts on cell aggregation in Dictyostelium discoideum by changing cell movement and by inhibiting the EDTA-stable type of intercellular adhesion. Tunicamycin-treated cells show unco-ordinated pseudopodial activity such that pseudopods are simultaneously extended from all parts of the cell surface, and the cells are unable to move in straight paths. Concurrent with the inhibition of f...

Melanoma is responsible for most deaths among skin cancers and conventional and palliative care chemotherapy are limited due to the development of chemoresistance. We used proteomic analysis to identify cellular responses that lead to chemoresistance of human melanoma cell lines to cisplatin. A systems approach to the proteomic data indicated the participation of specific cellular processes suc...

A-431 cells were treated with inhibitors of either N-linked glycosylation (tunicamycin or glucosamine) or of N-linked oligosaccharide processing (swainsonine or monensin) to examine the glycosylation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors and to determine the effect of glycosylation modification on receptor function. The receptor was found to be an Mr = 130,000 polypeptide to which a relati...