Early placental development is critical for successful pregnancy. Recently, we have reported that -70 genes were differentially expressed in human placental villi between 6- and 8- weeks of gestation in cDNA-based expression arrays for -400 PCR products, of which six specific gene products (COL4A4, CXCR4, ERBB2, HDAC1, HPRT1, and TNFRSF1A) appeared intriguing. In the present study we have exami...

Background: Alternative gene transcript splicing permits a single gene to produce multiple proteins with varied functions. Bioinformatic investigations have identified numerous splice variants, but whether these transcripts are translated to functional proteins and the physiological significance of these alternative proteins are largely unknown. Through direct identification of splice variants ...

The role of infection in erythropoietic dysfunction is poorly understood. In children with P. falciparum malaria, the by-product of hemoglobin digestion in infected red cells (hemozoin) is associated with the severity of anemia which is independent of circulating levels of the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis alpha (TNF-α). To gain insight into the common and specific effects of TNF-α and h...

Rab3 proteins (isoforms A, B, C and D) are low molecular weight GTP-binding proteins proposed to be involved in regulated exocytosis. In the present study, Rab3 protein expression and localization was examined in rat parotid gland by reverse transcription (rt) PCR, Western blotting and immunocytochemistry. An approximately 200 bp PCR product was obtained from parotid RNA by rtPCR and this fragm...

The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which was declared a pandemic by WHO in March 2020, has forced scientific community to develop detection tests order detect positive cases and implement containment measures established each country. In this regard, techniques used (RTPCR, antibody test, etc.) have number drawbacks: require specialized personnel, addition to, some cases, obtaining resul...