Mutations in human Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) have recently been reported to be responsible for increased fetal hemoglobin (HbF) and hemoglobin A2 (HbA2). As increased HbF and HbA2 levels are important features of β-thalassemia, we examined whether there is any relationship between KLF1 mutation and β-thalassemia in China. For this, we first studied the incidence of KLF1 mutations in two Chin...

Mutations in human Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) have recently been reported to be responsible for increased fetal hemoglobin (HbF) and hemoglobin A2 (HbA2). Because increased HbF and HbA2 levels are important features of β-thalassemia, we examined whether there is any relationship between KLF1 mutation and β-thalassemia in China. To do this, we first studied the incidence of KLF1 mutations in 2...

Thermophilic enzymes have many potential benefits in industrial production with increased flexibility related to process configurations. A thermostable β-glucosidase from Thermotoga naphthophila RUK-10 was found to possess catalytic activity for cellobiose hydrolysis with a high potential for application in biomass conversion. The aggregation of cellobiose often has an inhibitory effect on cell...

Using the subcutaneous chamber model of infection, we showed previously that a mixture of four endodontic pathogens (EP: P. intermedia, F. nucleatum, S. intermedius and P. micra) are able to persist without clearance for up to seven days, while a non-pathogenic oral species, S. mitis, was substantially cleared in this time. Here we have compared the cytokine response inside the chambers against...

Immunocytochemical identification of the different cell types in the pituitary gland of Bagrus bayad was performed using antisera against mammalian (human and rat) and piscine hormones. The adenohypophysis was composed of rostral pars distalis (RPD), proximal pars distalis (PPD) and pars intermedia (PI). Prolactin and adrenocorticotrophic cells were located in the rostral pars distalis of the p...

CNTO 530 is an erythropoietin receptor agonist MIMETIBODYTM construct. CNTO 530 has been shown to be active in a number of rodent models of acquired anemia (e.g. renal insufficiency and chemotherapy induced anemia). We investigated the efficacy of CNTO 530 in murine models of β-thalassemia and sickle cell anemia (Berkeley mice). β- thalassemic mice are deficient in expression of α-globin chain ...

This paper describes a quantitative fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) assay for the differential identification of Prevotella intermedia and Prevotella nigrescens in clinical samples, and compares its performance with less discriminatory culture and quantitative immunofluorescence (IF) assays. Fluorescence-labelled oligonucleotide probes directed to specific 16S rRNA sequences of P. inte...

BACKGROUND Medicinal plants are possible sources for future novel antioxidant compounds in food and pharmaceutical formulations. Recent attention on medicinal plants emanates from their long historical utilisation in folk medicine as well as their prophylactic properties. However, there is a dearth of scientific data on the efficacy and stability of the bioactive chemical constituents in medici...

UNLABELLED Thalassemias are the most common genetic disorder on a wordwide basis. β-thalassemia is a severe hemolytic anemia which results from genetic defects in the synthesis of the hemoglobin β-chain. Various endocrine abnormalities have been described in patients with thalassemia major. Endocrine disturbances have also been observed in patients with thalassemia intermedia (TI). In this stud...

PURPOSE In addition to regulating body weight, leptin is also recognized for its role in the regulation of immune function and inflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of leptin on Prevotella (P.) intermedia lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha production in differentiated THP-1 cells, a human monocytic cell line. METHODS LPS from P. ...