Cell Biochemistry and Function

Interleukin 6 (IL6) is an multifunctional cytokine that modulates several biological responses, including glucose metabolism. However, its acute effects on hepatic glucose release are still uncertain. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of IL6 on gluconeogenesis from several glucose precursors (alanine, pyruvate and glutamine) and on the suppressive action of insulin on cAMP-stimulated glycogen catabolism in rat liver. IL6 effect on insulin peripheral sensitivity was also evaluated...

Numerous signaling pathways are well-known in osteoblastic differentiation of human bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs), including transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway, which sends signals through specific type I and II serine/threonine kinase receptors. However, the key role of TGF-β signaling during bone formation and remodeling is yet to be studied. A TGF-β type I receptor inhibitor, SB505124, discovered through a screening of a small molecule library for their effect of osteoblast differentiation of hBMSCs...

Among gynecological malignancies, ovarian cancer has the highest mortality rate and has sparked widespread interest in studying the mechanisms underlying ovarian cancer development. Based on TCGA and GEO databases, we investigated the highly expressed autophagy-related genes that determine patient prognosis using limma differential expression and Kaplan-Meier survival analyses. The biological processes associated with these genes were also predicted using GO/KEGG functional enrichment analysis. CCK-8, cell scratch, and transwell assays were used to investigate the effects of PXN on the proliferation, migration, and invasion abilities of ovarian cancer cells...

Bone formation is regulated by numerous factors, such as transcription factors, cytokines, and extracellular matrix molecules. Human hormone nuclear receptors (hHNR) are a family of ligand-regulated transcription factors that are activated by steroid hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, and various lipid-soluble signals, including retinoic acid, oxysterols, and thyroid hormone. We found that an hHNR called NR4A1 was the most highly expressed after human MSC differentiation into osteoblasts by whole-genome microarray...

Inflammation is an innate reaction of the body of an individual when subjected to the noxious factors repeatedly. Pharmacological approaches focused at disrupting cytokine signaling networks have become significant therapeutic alternatives for the treatment of inflammatory illnesses, cancer and autoimmune disorders. High levels of inflammatory mediators, particularly interleukin IL-1, IL-6, IL-18, IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor alpha leads to a cytokine storm in the body. Among all the released cytokines in a patient suffering from inflammatory disorder, IL-6 mediator has a pivotal role in this inflammatory cascade which progresses to a cytokine storm...

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder, and the etiology is unknown. Metabolic dysfunction is present in patients with ASD. In the current study, untargeted metabolomics was employed to screen the differential metabolites in the liver of BTBR mouse model of autism, and MetaboAnalyst 4.0 was used for metabolic pathway analysis. Mice were killed, and liver samples were collected for untargeted metabolomics analysis and examination of histopathology. Finally, 12 differential metabolites were identified...

Cancer and diabetes mellitus (DM) are among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the global arena. Lately, several studies demonstrated that DM could promote cancer. However, the exact mechanism(s) highlighting this association are largely untouched and require comprehensive detailing. In the present review, we aimed to explore and decipher the possible mechanism of DM an cancer association. Hyperglycemia could be a subordinate plausible explanation of carcinogenesis in the diabatic patient. It is well known that high glucose levels may help in cancer proliferation...

Phenylketonuria (PKU) was the first genetic disease to have an effective therapy, which consists of phenylalanine intake restriction. However, there are patients who do not adhere to treatment and/or are not submitted to neonatal screening. PKU patients present L-carnitine (L-car) deficiency, compound that has demonstrated an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory role in metabolic diseases. This study evaluated the effect caused by exposure time to high Phe levels in PKU patients at early and late diagnosis, through pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, as well as the L-car effect in patients under treatment...

PDZ-LIM domain-containing Protein 2 (PDLIM2) has been reported to be downregulated in ovarian cancer. However, its exact function and mechanism in regulating ovarian cancer progression have not been elucidated. This work researched the exert effect and mechanism of PDLIM2 on ovarian cancer progression. Briefly, PDLIM2 expression in clinical tissues of ovarian cancer patients and cells was investigated by qRT-PCR and Western blot. The function of PDLIM2 on the proliferation, colony formation, migration and invasion of ovarian cancer cells was explored via cell counting kit-8, colony formation and Transwell assays...

Cachexia is characterized by losses in lean body mass and its progression results in worsened quality of life and exacerbated outcomes in cancer patients. However, the role and impact of fibrosis during the early stages and development of cachexia in under-investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine if fibrosis occurs during cachexia development, and to evaluate this in both sexes. Female and male C57BL6/J mice were injected with phosphate-buffered saline or Lewis Lung Carcinoma (LLC) at 8-week of age, and tumors were allowed to develop for 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks...

The ultimate driving force, stress, promotes adaptability/evolution in proliferating organisms, transforming tumorigenic growth. Estradiol (E2) regulates both phenomena. In this study, bioinformatics-tools, site-directed-mutagenesis (human estrogen-sulfotransferase/hSULT1E1), HepG2 cells tested with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC/thiol-inducer) or buthionine-sulfoxamine (BSO/thiol-depletory) were evaluated for hSULT1E1 (estradiol-sulphating/inactivating) functions. Reciprocal redox regulation of steroid sulfatase (STS, E2-desulfating/activating) results in the Cys-formylglycine transition by the formylglycine-forming enzyme (FGE)...

Since late December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been rapidly spread across the globe. The early, safe, sensitive, and accurate diagnosis of viral infection is required to decrease and control contagious infection and improve public health surveillance. The diagnosis generally is made by detecting SARS-CoV-2-related agents, including a range of nucleic acid detection-based, immunoassay-based, radiographic-based, and biosensor-based methods...

High salinity in agricultural lands is one of the predominant issues limiting agricultural yields. Plants have developed several mechanisms to withstand salinity stress, but the mechanisms are not effective enough for most crops to prevent and persist the salinity stress. Plant salt tolerance pathways involve membrane proteins that have a crucial role in sensing and mitigating salinity stress. Due to a strategic location interfacing two distinct cellular environments, membrane proteins can be considered checkpoints to the salt tolerance pathways in plants...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

The cardiotoxic effect of chemotherapeutic agents as cisplatin has become a major issue recently. Interference with mitochondrial dynamics, biogenesis, redox status, and apoptosis are the most possible underlying mechanisms. Semaglutide is a human glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist (GLP-1R), which is used primarily for the treatment of DM. Various recent studies have investigated (GLP-1R) role in cardiovascular diseases due to antiapoptotic and antioxidant effects. The current study aimed to investigate the curative role of semaglutide's against cisplatin- induced cardiotoxicity and its relation to mitochondrial functions, dynamics, biogenesis, apoptosis, and redox status pathways...

Autophagy is a physiological event in mammalian cells to promote cell survival and efficiency in tissues, but it may turn to be a pathological process in disease conditions such as in diabetes. Chronic hyperglycemia induces aberrant autophagy and promotes cellular death as a main underlying cause of diabetes-related complications. Therefore, autophagy-modifying therapy may be of value to prevent the development of complications. Sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) are a class of newly introduced antidiabetic drugs that achieve normoglycemia through causing overt glycosuria...

Despite significant advancements in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine during the last two decades, the fabrication of proper scaffolds with appropriate cells can still be considered a critical achievement in this field. Hypoxia is a major stumbling block to chronic wound healing, which restrains tissue engineering plans because a lack of oxygen may cause cell death. This study evaluated the cocultured human keratinocytes and human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AMSCs) on a multilayer oxygen-releasing electrospun scaffold based on PU/PCL...

The development and progression of sepsis are multifactorial and influence the immunological, endocrine, and cardiovascular systems of the body. Our knowledge of the key mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis has expanded exponentially, yet this still needs to be translated into effective targeted therapeutic regimes. In the present study, we aimed to determine whether resveratrol has positive effects in the experimental sepsis rat model. Twenty-eight male Spraque-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 7) as follows: control, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (30 mg/kg dose), resveratrol, and LPS and resveratrol...

Inertial microfluidics is a high-throughput and high-efficiency cell separation approach to which attention has been progressively paid in recent years. However, research on the influencing factors that compromise the efficiency of cell separation is still lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the cell separation efficiency by changing the influencing factors. A four-ring inertial focusing spiral microchannel was designed to separate two kinds of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from blood...

In the last 2 years, different pharmacological agents have been indicated as potential inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 in vitro. Specifically, drugs termed as functional inhibitors of acid sphingomyelinase (FIASMAs) have proved to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 replication using different types of cells. Those therapeutic agents share several chemical structure characteristics and some well-known representatives are fluoxetine, escitalopram, fluvoxamine, and others. Most of the FIASMAs are primarily used as effective therapeutic agents to treat different pathologies, therefore, they are natural drug candidates for repositioning strategy...