BACKGROUND When multiple endpoints are of interest in evidence synthesis, a multivariate meta-analysis can jointly synthesise those endpoints and utilise their correlation. A multivariate random-effects meta-analysis must incorporate and estimate the between-study correlation (rhoB). METHODS In this paper we assess maximum likelihood estimation of a general normal model and a generalised mode...

BACKGROUND/AIMS Rho GTPases are crucial regulators of the actin cytoskeleton, membrane trafficking and cell signaling and their importance in cell migration and invasion is well- established. The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a widespread pathogen responsible for generally asymptomatic and persistent infections in healthy people. Recent evidence indicates that HCMV gene products are expressed...

We recently reported that the isoprenylation and palmitoylation motif present at the C-terminus of human RhoB protein promotes intraluminal vesicle delivery of proteins in cells from organisms as phylogenetically apart as fungi and humans. Here we build on these observations by showing that chimeras of fluorescent proteins bearing this sequence, namely, CINCCKVL, which become isoprenylated and ...

Rnd proteins are atypical Rho family proteins that do not hydrolyse GTP and are instead regulated by expression levels and post-translational modifications. Rnd1 and Rnd3/RhoE induce loss of actin stress fibres and cell rounding in multiple cell types, whereas responses to Rnd2 are more variable. Here we report the responses of endothelial cells to Rnd proteins. Rnd3 induces a very transient de...

CCL24 is one chemotactic factor extensively studied in airway inflammation and colorectal cancer but less studied in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) retrospectively. So HCC tissue microarray (TMA) was used to estimate relationship between CCL24 and prognosis, cell experiments were conducted to study its influence for HCC cell biological behavior. CCL24 was injected to nude mice to monitor tumor ...

Activation of the serine/threonine kinase Akt contributes to the formation, maintenance, and therapeutic resistance of cancer, which is driving development of compounds that inhibit Akt. Phosphatidylinositol ether lipid analogues (PIA) are analogues of the products of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) that inhibit Akt activation, translocation, and the proliferation of a broad spectrum of cancer...

BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenously expressed small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at post-transcriptional level. The recent discovery of the involvement of these RNAs in the control of angiogenesis renders them very attractive in the development of new approaches for restoring the angiogenic balance. Whereas miRNA-21 has been demonstrated to be highly expressed in end...

Statins, which inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase and thus the synthesis of cholesterol, are remarkably effective in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In addition to their favorable effect on lipid profile, these drugs may also prevent the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle that is characteristic of atherosclerosis. We hypothesize that statins prevent the post-translat...