Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2) regulates mitochondrial function by increasing proton leak across the inner membrane to dissociate respiration from ATP synthesis and reduce reactive oxygen species generation. A number of studies have shown that UCP-2 expression protects cells from oxidative stress mediated injuries. In the current study, we show UCP-2-mediated reduction in mitochondrial function c...

A new cellular model for the study of brown adipocyte development and differentiation in vitro is presented. Preadipocytes isolated from brown adipose tissue (BAT) of the djungarian dwarf hamster Phodopus sungorus are able to proliferate and differentiate in vitro into true brown adipocytes able to express the BAT marker protein the uncoupling protein (UCP). Whereas basal UCP expression is very...

Uncoupling protein (UCP), the mitochondrial protein specific to brown adipose tissue, is activated transcriptionally in response to cold and adrenergic agents. We studied the role of triiodothyronine (T(3)) on the adrenergic stimulation of UCP mRNA expression by use of primary cultures of rat brown adipocytes. Basal UCP mRNA levels are undetectable. Norepinephrine (NE) increases UCP mRNA during...

Purpose: To evaluate CD4þ helper functions and antitumor effect of promiscuous universal cancer peptides (UCP) derived from telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT). Experimental Design: To evaluate the widespread immunogenicity of UCPs in humans, spontaneous T-cell responses against UCPs were measured in various types of cancers using T-cell proliferation and ELISPOT assays. The humanized HLA-D...

Model-driven software development requires adequate tool support in order to be practicable. The existing tool support in the Unified Communication Platform (UCP) already covered many parts of the GUI development process, but some important aspects still had to be done manually. The objective of this work was to improve the tool support in UCP to make it cover the whole process. In order to sat...

Pattern recognition receptors (PRR), Toll-like receptors (TLR), and nucleotide-oligomerization domain-containing proteins (NOD) play critical roles in mediating inflammation and modulating functions in white adipocytes in obesity. However, the role of PRR activation in brown adipocytes, which are recently found to be present in adult humans, has not been studied. Here we report that mRNA of TLR...

AIM The aim of this study was to determine whether the use of transcervical balloon catheter (TCBC) for induction of labor (IOL) is a risk factor for cerebral palsy (CP) associated with umbilical cord prolapse (UCP-CP) in singleton pregnancies with cephalic presentation. MATERIAL AND METHODS Among all 102 infants with CP who were preliminarily determined as caused by antenatal and/or intrapar...

Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP-2) is expressed in the inner mitochondrial membrane and modulates mitochondrial function by partially uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation, and it has been reported to modulate cell death. Cyanide is a potent neurotoxin that inhibits complex IV to alter mitochondrial function to induce neuronal death. In primary rat cortical cells KCN produced an apoptotic death at 200...

Contractile and energetic performance of bundles of muscle fibres from the soleus of mice overexpressing uncoupling protein 3 (UCP-3tg) were compared with the performance of bundles from wild-type mice. Force and heat production were measured during a series of thirty 0.2 s isometric tetani at L(o), the length optimal for force. UCP-3tg fibres were as strong as the wild-type and maintained forc...

The brown fat-specific mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP) provides a mechanism for generating heat by uncoupling respiration and oxidative phosphorylation. It has been suggested that this system of thermogenesis can provide a defense against obesity. To test this idea, we created a transgenic mouse in which the fat-specific aP2 gene promoter directed Ucp expression in white fat and provided...