The mitochondrial deacetylase SIRT3 regulates several important metabolic processes. SIRT3 is transcriptionally upregulated in multiple tissues during nutrient stresses such as dietary restriction and fasting, but the molecular mechanism of this induction is unclear. We conducted a bioinformatic study to identify transcription factor(s) involved in SIRT3 induction. Our analysis identified an en...

High rates of stem cell proliferation are important in regenerative medicine and in stem cell banking for clinical use. Ambient oxygen tensions (21% O2) are normally used for in vitro culture, but physiological levels in vivo range between 3% and 6% O2. We compared proliferation of human dental pulp stem cells (hDPSCs) cultured under 21% versus 3% O2. The rate of hDPSC proliferation is signific...

Apoptosis is a component of cardiac remodeling following myocardial ischemia and infarction. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in regulating a range of cellular biological processes, including apoptosis, by regulating gene expression at the post-transcriptional level. Nuclear respiratory factor-1 (NRF-1) is a transcriptional activator of nuclear genes that encode a range of mitochondrial proteins...

The mammalian Nrf/CNC proteins (Nrf1, Nrf2, Nrf3, p45 NF-E2) perform a wide range of cellular protective and maintenance functions. The most thoroughly described of these proteins, Nrf2, is best known as a regulator of antioxidant and xenobiotic defense, but more recently has been implicated in additional functions that include proteostasis and metabolic regulation. In the nematode Caenorhabdit...

In this study liquid phase equilibrium compositions were measured at 298.15 K under atmospheric pressure for (water + propan-1-ol + diethyl carbonate (DEC) + benzene or cyclohexane or heptane) quaternary systems and (water + DEC + propan-1-ol or benzene or cyclohexane) ternary systems. Good correlation of the experimental LLE data was seen for the measured systems by both modified and extended ...

A simple, rapid and sensitive spectrophotometric procedure has been proposed for the assay of fluoroquinolones viz., ciprofloxacin (CPF) and norfloxacin (NRF), and antiallergic drugs viz., methdilazine hydrochloride (MDH) and isothipendyl hydrochloride (IPH) in bulk and pharmaceutical formulations. The method is based on the reaction of selected drugs with Brilliant Blue G (BBG) in NaOAc-AcOH b...

BACKGROUND During programmed cell death, apoptotic cells are rapidly removed by phagocytes. How dying cells are recognized remains poorly understood. RESULTS Here we identify a secreted lipid transfer/LPS-binding family protein, NRF-5, which is required for efficient clearance of cell corpses. We observed that phosphatidylserine (PS), which is externalized to the outer leaflet of plasma membr...

It is well established that serum plays an important role in cell proliferation and differentiation. In this study, we have identified a serum factor that induces rapid neurite retraction of morphologically differentiated NG108-15 cells, cultured in serum-free medium containing 1 mM-dibutyryl cyclic AMP. The serum fraction of Mr greater than 30 x 10(3) induces neurite retraction in a manner ide...

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3β and related enzymes are associated with various forms of neuroinflammation, including spinal cord injury (SCI). Our aim was to evaluate whether lithium, a non-selective inhibitor of GSK-3β, ameliorated SCI progression, and also to analyze whether lithium affected the expression levels of two representative GSK-3β-associated molecules, nuclear factor erythroid 2...