PURPOSE Enhanced DNA repair activity is often associated with tumor resistance to radiotherapy. We hypothesized that inhibiting DNA damage repair would sensitize tumors to radiation-induced DNA damage. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN A novel strategy for inhibiting DNA repair was tested. We designed small DNA molecules that mimic DNA double-strand breaks (called Dbait) and act by disorganizing damage sig...

BACKGROUND Cassia angustifolia Vahl. (commonly known as senna makkai or cassia senna), native to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen and also extensively cultivated in Pakistan, is a medicinal herb used traditionally to cure number of diseases like liver diseases, constipation, typhoid, cholera etc. This study was conducted to evaluate the in-vitro antimicrobial, antioxidant and anticancer assays and ph...

Previous studies have indicated that 4‑hydroxyisoleucine (4‑HIL) improves insulin resistance, however, the underlying mechanisms remain to be elucidated. In the present study, the molecular mechanisms underlying how 4‑HIL improves insulin resistance in hepatocytes were examined. HepG2 cells were co‑cultured with insulin and a high glucose concentration to obtain insulin‑resistant (IR) HepG2 cel...

BACKGROUND Detection of autoantibodies giving nuclear rim pattern by immunofluorescence (anti-nuclear envelope antibodies - ANEA) in sera from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) is a useful tool for the diagnosis and prognosis of the disease. Differences in the prevalence of ANEA in PBC sera so far reported have been attributed to the methodology used for the detection as well as to ...

Fatty acid synthase (FASN) catalyzes the de novo synthesis of palmitate, a fatty acid utilized for synthesis of more complex fatty acids, plasma membrane structure, and post-translational palmitoylation of host and viral proteins. We have developed a potent inhibitor of FASN (TVB-3166) that reduces the production of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) progeny in vitro from infected human lung epi...

Background and objectives: Helicobacter pylori causes chronic gastritis, peptic ulceration, and is a risk factor for gastric cancer. More than half of the world`s population is infected with this pathogen, however the disease outcome varies. Among the virulence factors of H. pylori, specific adhesions to gastric epithelium may be an important step in the induction of active inflammation. H. pyl...

A 48-year-old male was admitted to our outpatient dermatological clinic complaining of a 2 year-evolution of recurrent urticarial rash and arthralgia on knees and elbows. Physical examination showed evanescent hives in the upper third of the chest and back without associated angioedema (Figure 1a). The patient reported intermittent fever (>38.5 °C) in the outbreaks and swollen neck lymph nodes....

BACKGROUND In this study, the effects of three structural analogues of adenosine upon proliferation of human tumor cells were investigated. Previous research showed a cytotoxic effect of adenosine via A3 receptor and A1 receptor and sometimes this effect was receptor independent. The researches showed a differential cytotoxic effect of adenosine and its A3 agonists on cancerous cells, while oth...

Objective: A number of studies have demonstrated the potential antitumor effects of saffron and its constituents on different malignant cells in vitro. It has been reported that a novel glycoconjugate isolated from corms and callus of saffron possesses cytotoxic activity against different tumor cellswith nitric oxide (NO) production. These data suggest that the cytotoxic effect of saffron extra...

Background: Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) overlap syndromes (SSc with polymyositis / dermatomyositis (PM/DM), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), etc.) still remain a group of very heterogenous and not well studied clinical variants SSc that are characterized by certain immunological features. Objectives: Identify features the SSc-overlap Methods: 80 pts SSc-PM/DM 35 SSc-RA undergoing standard examination la...