beta-Ketoacyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthase (KCS) catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-CoA with long-chain acyl-CoA. This reaction is the initial step of the microsomal fatty acyl-CoA elongation pathway responsible for formation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs, or fatty acids with chain lengths > 18 carbons). Manipulation of this pathway is significant for agriculture, because it is the bas...

Epidermal keratinocytes (KCs) express antimicrobial peptides as a part of the innate immune response. It has recently been shown that the culture supernatant of Escherichia coli induces the expression of S100A7c (psoriasin) in KCs and that S100A7c efficiently kills E. coli. Here we have investigated which of the microbial components triggers the up-regulation of S100A7c expression. Exposure of ...

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia is reaching epidemic proportions causing morbidity, mortality, and chronic disease due to relapses, suggesting an intracellular reservoir. Using spinning-disk confocal intravital microscopy to track MRSA-GFP in vivo, we identified that within minutes after intravenous infection MRSA is primarily sequestered and killed by intravascula...

OBJECTIVE Obesity-induced accumulation of ectopic fat in the liver is thought to contribute to the development of insulin resistance, and increased activity of hepatic CB1R has been shown to promote both processes. However, lipid accumulation in liver can be experimentally dissociated from insulin resistance under certain conditions, suggesting the involvement of additional mechanisms. Obesity ...

Cell senescence is a physiological program of terminal growth arrest, which is believed to play an important role in cancer prevention. Senescent cells secrete multiple growth-regulatory proteins, some of which can affect tumor growth, survival, invasion, or angiogenesis. Changes in expression of different senescence-associated genes were analyzed in cultured human skin keratinocytes (KCs) that...

p-Ketoacyl-coenzyme A (COA) synthase (KCS) catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-COA with long-chain acyl-COA. This reaction is the initial step of the microsomal fatty acyl-COA elongation pathway responsible for formation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs, or fatty acids with chain lengths >18 carbons). Manipulation of this pathway is significant for agriculture, because i t is the basis ...

Dry eyes, also known as dry eye disease (DED), syndrome, and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS), are among the most common reasons people visit an doctor. Other names for eyes include: (KCS). Environmental factors that may have a role include, but not limited to, exposure to irritants such chemical vapors, cigarette smoke, pollution, or low humidity. Smoking cigarettes, which is modifiable risk f...

Macrophage production of nitric oxide (.N = O) leads to considerable alterations of vital metabolic pathways in various target cells. The present study tested whether .N = O synthesis by Kupffer cells (KCs), the resident macrophages of the liver, interferes with the secretory function of these cells. As in other macrophage-type cells, the combination of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon-g...

D-serine is an endogenous coagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA)-type glutamate receptor in the central nervous system and its synthesis is catalyzed by serine racemase (SR). Recently, the NMDA receptor has been found to be expressed in keratinocytes (KCs) of the skin and involved in the regulation of KC growth and differentiation. However, the localization and role of SR in the skin rema...

PURPOSE To characterize patients with ocular surface drying and a diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca (KCS). METHODS Patients with a prior diagnosis of KCS and symptoms of dryness or foreign-body sensation who also had vital staining of the interpalpebral fissure ocular surface in the absence of lid and ocular surface inflammation were entered into the study along with normal controls. Pa...