BACKGROUND Astroglial cells are activated following injury and up-regulate the expression of the intermediate filament proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin. Adult mice lacking the intermediate filament proteins GFAP and vimentin (GFAP(-/-)Vim(-/-)) show attenuated reactive gliosis, reduced glial scar formation and improved regeneration of neuronal synapses after neurotra...

In epithelial and muscle cells, intermediate filaments (IFs) are important for resistance to mechanical stress. The aim of this study was to elucidate whether IFs are also important for providing resistance to mechanical stress in the Müller cells of the retina and whether this has any pathophysiological consequences. We used mice deficient in IF proteins glial fibrillary acidic protein and/or ...

VIM-2 is an Ambler class B metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) capable of hydrolyzing a broad-spectrum of beta-lactam antibiotics. Although the discovery and development of MBL inhibitors continue to be an area of active research, an array of potent, small molecule inhibitors is yet to be fully characterized for VIM-2. In the presented research, a compound library screening approach was used to identi...

INTRODUCTION Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) that present mesenchymal phenotypes can escape standard methods of isolation, thus limiting possibilities for their characterization. Whereas mesenchymal CTCs are considered to be more malignant than epithelial CTCs, factors responsible for this aggressiveness have not been thoroughly defined. This study analyzed the molecular profile related to metas...

The immunohistochemical expression of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and vimentin (VIM) was studied in reactive astrocytes of the rat cerebral cortex 5 days after a brain injury. Seriated Epon semithin sections were immunostained alternatively for GFAP or VIM. Thereafter, both antigens were detected in consecutive sections of the same cell. Bordering the wound, an inner reactive glial l...

A total of 87 Acinetobacter baumannii nonrepetitive consecutive clinical isolates were tested for the presence of metallo-beta-lactamases (MBLs). Results of phenotypic assays (MBL Etest, imipenem/imipenem-EDTA combined-disk test, and imipenem/EDTA double-disk synergy test) were negative in all cases, but molecular testing revealed the presence of two bla(VIM-1)-carrying isolates. One isolate ha...

This study examines metal binding to metallo-β-lactamase VIM-2, demonstrating the first successful preparation of a Co(II)-substituted VIM-2 analogue. Spectroscopic studies of the half- and fully metal loaded enzymes show that both Zn(II) and Co(II) bind cooperatively, where the major species present, regardless of stoichiometry, are apo- and di-Zn (or di-Co) enzymes. We determined the di-Zn VI...

Tremor that occurs as a result of a cerebellar lesion, cerebellar tremor, is characteristically an intention tremor. Thalamic activity may be related to cerebellar tremor because transmission of some cerebellar efferent signals occurs via the thalamus and cortex to the periphery. We have now studied thalamic neuronal activity in a cerebellar relay nucleus (ventral intermediate-Vim) and a pallid...

In this paper a modification of He's variational iteration method (VIM) has been employed to solve Dung and Riccati equations. Sometimes, it is not easy or even impossible, to obtain the first few iterations of VIM, therefore, we suggest to approximate the integrand by using suitable expansions such as Taylor or Chebyshev expansions.