The selective targeting of an integrin αvβ3 receptor using radioligands may enable the assessment of angiogenesis and integrin αvβ3 receptor status in tumors. The aim of this research was to label a peptidomimetic integrin αvβ3 antagonist (PIA) with (99m)Tc(CO)3 and to test its receptor targeting properties in nude mice bearing receptor-positive tumors. PIA was reacted with tris-succinimidyl am...

Background and objectives: The rhizomes of Eremostachys azerbaijanica Rech. f.,as an indigenous plant in East Azerbaijan province of Iran, were studied for isolation and identification of possible phytoconstituents. Methods: The air- dried and ground rhizomes were extracted with n-hexane, dichloromethane (DCM) and methanol (MeOH) using a Soxhlet appara...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain K (PAK) bears polar pili that promote infection by at least six bacteriophages. Moreover, a recently isolated mutant of strain K (PAK/2PfS) is many times more piliated than the wild-type strain and facilitates the preparation of large amounts of pure pili for biochemical studies. The present investigation was carried out to establish the structural relatedness of P...

Risk of transmission of hepatitis C virus (HCV) by clinical plasma remains high in countries with a high prevalence of hepatitis C, justifying the implementation of viral inactivation treatments. In this study, we assessed the extent of inactivation of HCV during minipool solvent/detergent (SD; 1% TnBP / 1% Triton X-45) treatment of human plasma. Luciferase-tagged infectious cell culture-derive...

A member of the p21-activated protein kinase (PAK) family, gamma-PAK has cytostatic properties and is activated by cellular stresses such as hyperosmolarity or DNA damage. We report herein that gamma-PAK is associated in vivo with the nonreceptor protein tyrosine kinase c-Abl. gamma-PAK phosphorylates c-Abl on sites located in the kinase domain, in a region that is implicated in protein-protein...

The precise temporal-spatial regulation of the p21-activated serine-threonine kinase PAK at the plasma membrane is required for proper cytoskeletal reorganization and cell motility. However, the mechanism by which PAK localizes to focal adhesions has not yet been elucidated. Indirect binding of PAK to the focal adhesion protein paxillin via the Arf-GAP protein paxillin kinase linker (PKL) and P...

Fractionation of brain extracts and functional biochemical assays identified PP2Calpha, a serine/threonine phosphatase, as the major biochemical activity inhibiting PAK1. PP2Calpha dephosphorylated PAK1 and p38, both of which were activated upon hyperosmotic shock with the same kinetics. In comparison to growth factors, hyperosmolality was a more potent activator of PAK1. Therefore we character...

The environmental analysis of estrogens and progestogens at physiologically active concentrations (low ng/l range) requires the use of very sensitive and selective methods, which, in most cases, make necessary an extraction/purification step. In this study, various procedures for the determination of several estrogens (estriol, estradiol, ethynyl estradiol, estrone, and diethylstilbestrol) and ...