The radiosensitizing effects of PR-350, a nitroimidazole derivative, were examined concerning the cell killing of human pancreatic cancer cell lines exposed to high doses of gamma-ray irradiation in vitro. The percentages of dead cells were analyzed with a multiwell plate reader to measure the fluorescence intensity of propidium iodide before and after a digitonin treatment. The sensitizing eff...

Hexagonal mesoporous silica (SBA-15) was prepared and then functionalized by(3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane. The obtained 3-mercaptopropyl functionalized SBA-15 (SBA-Pr-SH) was then oxidized using H2O2 in methanol under an acidic condition to give sulfonic acid functionalized mesoporous silica (SBA-Pr-SO3H). Th...

Background: The in vivo radiation-induced bystander effects (RIBE) at the developmental, genetic, and epigenetic levels have been well demonstrated using model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana). However, the mechanisms underlying RIBE in plants are not clear, especially lacking a comprehensive knowledge about the genes and biological pathways involved in the RIBE in plants. Materials and...

PFKFB (6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase) catalyses the synthesis and degradation of Fru-2,6-P2 (fructose-2,6-bisphosphate), a key modulator of glycolysis and gluconeogenesis. The PFKFB3 gene is extensively involved in cell proliferation owing to its key role in carbohydrate metabolism. In the present study we analyse its mechanism of regulation by progestins in breast cancer...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short non-coding RNA molecules characterized by their regulatory roles in cancer and gene expression. We analyzed the expression of miR-21, miR-205, and miR-342 in 59 patients with breast cancer. Samples were divided into three different groups according to their immunohistochemistry (IHC) classification: ER-positive and/or PR-positive group (ER+ and/or PR+; group I); HER...

Osmotin-like protein (OLP) is a neutral isoform in the group 5 pathogenesis-related (PR) tobacco proteins. The OLP gene, like the basic PR protein genes, is constitutively expressed in tobacco roots and cultured cells. OLP is not naturally present in intact healthy leaves, but ethylene treatment induces a high accumulation there. To study the mechanism of OLP gene expression as induced by ethyl...

Background. Proliferation and differentiation of the endometrium are regulated by estrogen and progesterone. The enormous regenerative capacity of the endometrium is thought to be based on the activity of adult stem cells. However, information on endocrine regulatory mechanisms in human endometrial stem cells is scarce. In the present study, we investigated the expression of ERα, ERβ, and PR in...

Lactofen belongs to the diphenylether class of herbicides, which targets protoporphyrinogen oxidase, which in turn causes singlet oxygen generation. In tolerant plants like soybean (Glycine max), the chemical nonetheless causes necrotic patches called "bronzing" in contact areas. Here it is shown that such bronzing is accompanied by cell death, which was quantified from digital microscopic imag...

There is considerable evidence for non-genomic transmission between generations of phenotypes induced by environmental exposures during development, although the mechanism is poorly understood. We investigated whether alterations in expression of the liver transcriptome induced in F1 offspring by feeding F0 dams a protein-restricted (PR) diet during pregnancy were passed with or without further...