objective(s): oxidative stress has been established as a key cause of alcohol-induced hepatotoxicity. licochalcone b, an extract of licorice root, has shown antioxidative properties. this study was to investigate the effects and mechanisms of licochalcone b in ethanol-induced hepatic injury in an in vitro study. materials and methods: an in vitro model of ethanol-induced cytotoxicity in brl cel...

Phosphorylation of histone H3 at serine 10 (p-H3S10) is a marker of active gene transcription. Using cognitive models of neural plasticity, p-H3S10 was shown to be downstream of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signalling in the hippocampus. In this study, we show that nociceptive signalling after peripheral formalin injection increased p-H3S10 expression in the ipsilateral dorsal ho...

Pardaxin (PX), an ionophore-peptide neurotoxin isolated from the fish Pardachirus marmoratus, induces neurotransmitter release from neuronal preparations by both calcium-dependent and calcium-independent mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) in pardaxin-induced dopamine (DA) rel...

It is well known that endurance training is effective to attenuate skeletal muscle atrophy. Succinate is a typical TCA metabolite, of which exercise could dramatically increase the content. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of succinate on protein synthesis in skeletal muscle, and try to delineate the underlying mechanism. The in vitro study revealed that succinate dose‑dependen...

Fluid shear stress (FSS) induces many forms of responses, including phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) in endothelial cells (ECs). We have earlier reported rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1) in ECs exposed to FSS. Osmotic changes also induced similar PECAM-1 and ERK phosphorylation with nearly identical kinetics....

Multimodal treatment has improved the outcome of many solid tumors, and in some cases the use of radiosensitizers has significantly contributed to this gain. Activation of the extracellular signaling kinase pathway (MEK/ERK) generally results in stimulation of cell growth and confers a survival advantage playing the major role in human cancer. The potential involvement of this pathway in cellul...

T cells recognizing self-peptides that mediate autoimmune disease and those that are responsible for efficacious immunity against pathogens may differ in affinity for antigen due to central and peripheral tolerance mechanisms. Here we utilize prototypical self-reactive (myelin) and viral-specific (LCMV) T cells from T cell receptor (TCR) transgenic mice (2D2 and SMARTA, respectively) to explore...

Shikonin (SK), a naturally occurring naphthoquinone, exhibits antitumor activity. However, its precise mechanisms of action are unknown. In the present study, the effects of SK on NCI-H460 human lung cancer cells were investigated. It was found that SK reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis in the NCI-H460 cells. Additionally, SK inhibited extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activ...

Recently, we reported the stimulatory effect of ghrelin on ovarian cell proliferation in parallel with the inhibitory action of ghrelin on cell apoptosis. The aim of the presented data propose local activation of extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1 and 2 (ERK 1/2) and phosphoinositide-3 (PI-3) kinase pathways as a mechanism of ghrelin effect in the porcine ovary. To test this hypoth...

There is collecting evidence suggesting that the process of chromatin remodeling such as changes in histone acetylation contribute to the formation of stress-related memory. Recently, the ventrolateral orbital cortex (VLO), a major subdivision of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), was shown to be involved in antidepressant-like actions through epigenetic mechanisms. Here, we further investigated the e...