Amyloid-β (Aβ) self-assembly into cross-β amyloidfibrils is implicated in a causative role in Alzheimer’s disease pathology.Uncertainties persist regarding the mechanisms of amyloid self assembly and the role of metastable prefibrillar aggregates. Aβ fibrilsfeature a sheet-turn-sheet motif in the constituent β-strands; as such, turn nucleation has been proposed as a rate-limiting step in the se...

We have recently reported that the attachment of a bulky metabolically stable tert-butyl group at the C-2 position of a quinoline ring in primaquine results in a tremendous improvement in the blood schizontocidal antimalarial activity of 8-quinolinamine. Because free heme released from hemoglobin catabolism in a malarial parasite is highly toxic, the parasite protects itself mainly by crystalli...

An intense stimulus can cause death of odontoblasts and initiate odontoblastic differentiation of stem/progenitor cell populations of dental pulp cells (DPCs), which is followed by reparative dentin formation. However, the mechanism of odontoblastic differentiation during reparative dentin formation remains unclear. This study was to determine the role of β-catenin, a key player in tooth develo...

Porous β-tricalcium phosphate (TCP) displays osteoinductivity in certain animals in the absence of osteoinductive agents. We evaluated whether the microstructure may be an important determinant of osteoinduction, and also investigated how bone formation was promoted using β-TCP combined with bone marrow aspirates. We prepared two types of β-TCP, namely, β-TCP A, which possessed interconnected m...

Wnt/β-catenin signaling plays a critical role in bone formation and regeneration. Dentin and cementum share many similarities with bone in their biochemical compositions and biomechanical properties. Whether Wnt/β-catenin signaling is involved in the dento-alveolar complex formation is unknown. To understand the roles of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the dento-alveolar complex formation, we genera...

Chemical analysis (high-performance liquid chromatography) and bioassay demonstrated the presence of compounds that seem to be components of the Ixodes scapularis arrestment pheromone. Only two purines, guanine and xanthine, were found in acidified saline extracts made from cast skins after molting of fed nymphs, fed larvae, and fecal/excretory exudates deposited by unfed adults on substrates i...

Nitric oxide (NO) is important physiologically as a gaseous messenger in the central nervous system;1 its level is also associated with several disease states.2 The concentration of NO in these cases is in the nanomolar range; therefore accurate and direct detection of NO at these levels is important. NO is also a decomposition product of several explosives3 so detection of trace amounts of exp...

background: bone tissue engineering requires materials that are biocompatible, mechanically suited for bone function, integrated with the host skeleton, and support osteoinduction of the implanted cells for new bone formation. the aim of this study was to compare the osteogenic potential of xenograft with hydroxyapatite/β- tricalcium phosphate (ha/β-tcp) scaffold. methods: new zealand rabbits (...