Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) overproduction from inflamed adipose tissue is a major contributor to obesity-related metabolic syndromes. 3T3-L1 embryonic fibroblasts were cultured and differentiated into adipocytes using an established protocol. Adipocytes were treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce inflammation and thus MCP-1 release. At the same time, varying concentrati...

Macrophage cholesterol efflux is important in maintaining cellular lipid homeostasis and preventing the formation of lipid‑laden foam cells. Although radioactive [3H]‑cholesterol is widely used as a tracer in cholesterol efflux assays, the lengthy and labor‑intensive assay procedure, and the radioactivity disposal procedure limit the use of this assay for high‑throughput screening. In the prese...

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and relaxin (RLX) are reported to play an important role in tissue remodeling and wound repair. When macrophages populate wound sites, they secrete biologically active substances, including MMPs. The transcription factor NFB is important in MMP gene regulation in macrophage cells. Thus, a monocyte/macrophage cell line, THP-1, was used to study the molecular mech...

the first step in the prenatal diagnosis of x-linked genetic disorders is determining fetus gender. current invasive methods to obtain the dna source of the fetus instead of its miscarriage risk, has harmful stress for high risk pregnancies. cell free fetal dna (cffdna) circulating in the maternal blood, has now become a useful source of noninvasive prenatal diagnosis. considering limitation of...

Aging is one of the most fundamental biological processes. It results in a decline in physiological function and an increased risk for pernicious diseases such as cancer. Oxidative stress has been proposed as a major cause of aging, but experimental tests of this hypothesis have been discouraging. Calorie restriction (CR) prevents age-related decline, but there are still gaps in our knowledge o...

The present study was designed to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Erythropoietin (EPO) in brain of memory impaired mice. Memory impairment was produced by THP in different groups of animals. Morris water maze (MWM) and Elevated plus maze (EPM) test was employed to assess learning and memory. At the end of study brain anticholinesterase (AchE) activity was estimated. Administration of EPO...

The universal stress protein family is a family of stress-induced proteins. Universal stress proteins affect latency and antibiotic resistance in mycobacteria. Here, we showed that Mycobacterium smegmatis overexpressing M. tuberculosis universal stress protein Rv2624c exhibits increased survival in human monocyte THP-1 cells. Transcriptome analysis suggested that Rv2624c affects histidine metab...

Whether progesterone (P ) and its metabolite, 5a-pregnan-3a-ol-20-one (3a,5a-THP) have anti-seizure effects through actions in the 4 pontine reticular formation (PRF) was investigated. Concentrations of P and 3a,5a-THP in the PRF were greater in proestrous and 4 hormone-primed rats, that are typically more resistant to seizure-induction, than diestrous and males rats. Ovx, Long-Evans rats with ...

During lung infection, Mycobacterium tuberculosis resides in macrophages and subverts the bactericidal mechanisms of these professional phagocytes. Comprehension of this host-pathogen relationship is fundamental for the development of new therapies to cure and prevent tuberculosis. In this work, we analyzed the transcriptional profile of M. tuberculosis infecting human macrophage-like THP-1 cel...

The neurosteroid 3a-hyclroxy-5a-pregnan-20-one (3a,5a-THP) acts as a potent allosteric modulator and a direct activator of the GABA-chloride channel complex. This neurosteroid has also been found to protect against seizures that arise from blockade of the GABA-chloride channel complex. Because 3a,5a-THP protects against excitotoxin-induced seizure activity and because seizure activity has been ...