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Novel View (novel + view)
Selected AbstractsDefining ETS transcription regulatory networks and their contribution to breast cancer progressionJOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007David P. Turner Abstract ETS factors are members of one of the largest families of evolutionarily conserved transcription factors, regulating critical functions in normal cell homeostasis, that when perturbed contribute to tumor progression. The well documented alterations in ETS factor expression and function during breast cancer progression result in pleiotropic effects manifested by the downstream effect on their target genes. Multiple ETS factors bind to the same regulatory sites present on target genes, suggesting redundant or competitive functions. Furthermore, additional events contribute to, or may be necessary for, target gene regulation. In order to advance our understanding of the ETS-dependent regulation of breast cancer progression and metastasis, this prospect article puts forward a model for examining the effects of simultaneous expression of multiple transcription factors on the transcriptome of non-metastatic and metastatic breast cancer. Compared to existing RNA profiles defined following expression of individual transcription factors, the anti- and pro-metastatic signatures obtained by examining specific ETS regulatory networks will significantly improve our ability to accurately predict tumor progression and advance our understanding of gene regulation in cancer. Coordination of multiple ETS gene functions also mediates interactions between tumor and stromal cells and thus contributes to the cancer phenotype. As such, these new insights may provide a novel view of the ETS gene family as well as a focal point for studying the complex biological control involved in tumor progression. J. Cell. Biochem. 102: 549,559, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Striatal susceptibility to a dopaminergic neurotoxin is independent of sex hormone effects on cell survival and DAT expression but is exacerbated by central aromatase inhibitionJOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2007Simon McArthur Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate further the hormone-dependent processes underlying sex differences in neurotoxic responses within the rat nigrostriatal dopaminergic (NSDA) pathway after partial lesioning with 6-OHDA, a state thought to mimic the early stages of Parkinson's disease where, in humans and animal models alike, males appear to be more susceptible. Contrary to our hypotheses, hormone manipulations (gonadectomy ± oestrogen or androgen treatment) failed to alter survival of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive cells in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) after lesioning; this indicates that, unlike inherent sex differences in toxin-induced striatal dopamine depletion, sex differences in cell loss were not hormonally generated, and that hormone-dependent changes in dopamine depletion can occur independently of cell survival. In addition, hormonally induced changes in striatal expression of the dopamine transporter (DAT), an important factor for 6-OHDA toxicity, did not correlate with hormonal influences on striatal dopamine loss and, in males, central inhibition of aromatase prior to 6-OHDA infusion exacerbated striatal dopamine loss with no effect on SNc tyrosine hydroxylase-immunoreactive survival, suggesting locally generated oestrogen is neuroprotective. These results support the novel view that sex steroid hormones produced peripherally and centrally play a significant, sex-specific role within the sexually dimorphic NSDA pathway to modulate plastic, compensatory responses aimed at restoring striatal dopamine functionality, without affecting cell loss. [source] Pseudoatoms and preferred skeletons in crystalsACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION B, Issue 3 2007Angel Vegas The generalization of the Zintl,Klemm concept provides a universal formulation of a crystal structure in terms of universal building skeletons formed by Klemm's pseudoatoms: atoms that behave structurally according to their formal total electron charge. An important difference in this novel view is that charge is considered to be transferred, in the strict Zintl's sense, from the donor cations to the building skeleton as a whole, not specifically to a given atom or ion. Although application is restricted to (IV),(IV) compounds (group 14 structures), the principle seems to be universal and can be applied to understand, to relate and to predict the structure of complex compounds on the basis of more simple structures, e.g. a given AB skeleton provides the building block for A2B, AB2, ABXmetc. compounds of a very different nature. The application of such a principle only requires information on the constituent atoms and on the existing phases of the p -block elements (observed under ambient and high-pressure and/or high-temperature conditions). The ideas introduced here demonstrate, for the first time, that a generalization of the Zintl,Klemm concept is possible and that such a generalization helps to establish a univocal link between chemical composition (in terms of pseudoatoms) and the crystalline structures observed experimentally. [source] Real-time Monitoring of Force Response Measured in Mechanically Stimulated Tissue-Engineered CartilageARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 4 2009Orahn Preiss-Bloom Abstract:, Mechanical stimulation improves tissue-engineered cartilage development both in terms of biochemical composition and structural properties. However, the link between the compositional changes attributed to mechanical stimulation and the changing structural properties of the engineered cartilage is poorly understood. We hypothesize that transient events associated with construct stiffening can be documented and used to understand milestones in construct development. To do this, we designed and built a mechanical stimulation bioreactor that can continuously record the force response of the engineered construct in real time. This study documents the transient changes of the stiffness of tissue-engineered cartilage constructs over the first 14 days of their development under cyclic loading. Compressive strain stimulation (15%, 1 Hz) was applied to poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogels seeded with primary articular chondrocytes. The average compressive modulus of strain-stimulated constructs was 12.7 ± 1.45 kPa after 2 weeks, significantly greater (P < 0.01) than the average compressive moduli of both unstimulated constructs (10.7 ± 0.94 kPa) and nonviable stimulated constructs (11.2 ± 0.91 kPa). The system was able to document that nearly all of the stiffness increase occurred over the last 2 days of the experiment, where live-cell constructs demonstrated a rapid 20% increase in force response. The system's ability to track significant increases in stiffness over time was also confirmed by Instron testing. These results present a novel view of the early mechanical development of tissue-engineering cartilage constructs and suggest that the real-time monitoring of force response may be used to noninvasively track the development of engineered tissue. [source] Imprinting and looping: epigenetic marks control interactions between regulatory elementsBIOESSAYS, Issue 1 2005Yuzuru Kato Gene regulation involves various cis -regulatory elements that can act at a distance. They may physically interact each other or with their target genes to exert their effects. Such interactions are beginning to be uncovered in the imprinted Igf2/H19 domain.1 The differentially methylated regions (DMRs), containing insulators, silencers and activators, were shown to have physical contacts between them. The interactions were changeable depending on their epigenetic state, presumably enabling Igf2 to move between an active and a silent chromatin domain. The study gives us a novel view on how regulatory elements influence gene expression and how epigenetic modifications modulate their long-range effects. BioEssays 27:1,4, 2005. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A novel view on stem cell development: analysing the shape of cellular genealogiesCELL PROLIFERATION, Issue 2 2009I. Glauche Objectives: The analysis of individual cell fates within a population of stem and progenitor cells is still a major experimental challenge in stem cell biology. However, new monitoring techniques, such as high-resolution time-lapse video microscopy, facilitate tracking and quantitative analysis of single cells and their progeny. Information on cellular development, divisional history and differentiation are naturally comprised into a pedigree-like structure, denoted as cellular genealogy. To extract reliable information concerning effecting variables and control mechanisms underlying cell fate decisions, it is necessary to analyse a large number of cellular genealogies. Materials and Methods: Here, we propose a set of statistical measures that are specifically tailored for the analysis of cellular genealogies. These measures address the degree and symmetry of cellular expansion, as well as occurrence and correlation of characteristic events such as cell death. Furthermore, we discuss two different methods for reconstruction of lineage fate decisions and show their impact on the interpretation of asymmetric developments. In order to illustrate these techniques, and to circumvent the present shortage of available experimental data, we obtain cellular genealogies from a single-cell-based mathematical model of haematopoietic stem cell organization. Results and Conclusions: Based on statistical analysis of cellular genealogies, we conclude that effects of external variables, such as growth conditions, are imprinted in their topology. Moreover, we demonstrate that it is essential to analyse timing of cell fate-specific changes and of occurrence of cell death events in the divisional context in order to understand the mechanisms of lineage commitment. [source] | ||||||||||