BACKGROUND Regarding preclinical evidence for antidiabetic effects of Boswellia serrata, we evaluated anti-hyperglycemic and lipid-lowering effects of Boswellia serrate gum resin in type 2 diabetic patients in a double-blind randomized placebo-control trial. METHODS Fifty-six diabetic patients were randomly allocated to two groups to receive 250 mg of the Boswellia serrate gum resin or placeb...

Notch is the receptor in a signalling pathway that operates in a diverse spectrum of developmental processes. Its ligands (e.g. Serrate) are transmembrane proteins whose signalling competence is regulated by the endocytosis-promoting E3 ubiquitin ligases, Mindbomb1 and Neuralized. The ligands also inhibit Notch present in the same cell (cis-inhibition). Here, we identify two conserved motifs in...

The receptor Notch and its ligands of the Delta/Serrate/LAG2 (DSL) family are the central components in the Notch pathway, a fundamental cell signaling system that regulates pattern formation during animal development. Delta is directly ubiquitinated by Drosophila and Xenopus Neuralized, and by zebrafish Mind bomb, two unrelated RING-type E3 ubiquitin ligases with common abilities to promote De...

Linguatula serrata (Pentastomida: order Porocephalida, family Linguatulidae) is a cosmopolitan parasite inhabiting as adults the nasal passages and frontal sinuses of wild and domestic canids (dogs, foxes), which serve as definitive hosts. Cattle, sheep, goats, camels, rabbits, and other animals serve as intermediate hosts, in which fully developed nymphs, the parasitic stage infective for carn...

human linguatulosis poses an important medical and veterinary concern in en-demic countries. animals, as reservoir host, play a major role in transmission of infestation and epidemiology of the disease. this study reports a case of human linguatulosis caused by linguatula serrata in the city of kerman, south-eastern iran. a woman suffering from upper respiratory symptoms is presented. the pa-ti...

We present a case of intraocular pentastomiasis in a 12-year-old Israel Arab boy. A single secondary pentastomid larva, most likely of Linguatula serrata, was found in the anterior chamber of the right eye, attached loosely to the pupil's border by a fibrinous mass. Associated conditions were iritis, subluxation of the lens, and secondary glaucoma. This is the first documentation of human penta...

We cloned and analyzed the two genes of the 1-hydroxy-2-methyl-2-(E)-butenyl-4-diphosphate reductase (HDR) gene family from Huperzia serrate. The two transcripts coding HDR, named HsHDR1 and HsHDR2, were discovered in the transcriptome dataset of H. serrate and were cloned by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The physicochemical properties, protein domains, protein secon...

Notch and its ligands mediate short-range cell interactions that play a conserved role in inducing cell fate specification. Several regulatory mechanisms have been described to ensure robust polarized signaling from signal-sending to signal-receiving cells. High levels of ligand expression activate Notch in nearby cells and exert a cell-autonomous dominant-negative effect on Notch activity. Thi...

How alternative splicing (AS) is regulated in plants has not yet been elucidated. Previously, we have shown that the nuclear cap-binding protein complex (AtCBC) is involved in AS in Arabidopsis thaliana. Here we show that both subunits of AtCBC (AtCBP20 and AtCBP80) interact with SERRATE (AtSE), a protein involved in the microRNA biogenesis pathway. Moreover, using a high-resolution reverse tra...

Dorsoventral axis formation in the Drosophila wing depends on the activity of the selector gene apterous. Although selector genes are usually thought of as binary developmental switches, we find that Apterous activity is negatively regulated during wing development by its target gene dLMO. Apterous-dependent expression of Serrate and fringe in dorsal cells leads to the restricted activation of ...