Neurosteroids represent a class of endogenous steroids that are synthesized in the brain, the adrenals, and the gonads and have potent and selective effects on the GABAA-receptor. 3α-hydroxy A-ring reduced metabolites of progesterone, deoxycorticosterone, and testosterone are positive modulators of GABA(A)-receptor in a non-genomic manner. Allopregnanolone (3α-OH-5α-pregnan-20-one), 5α-androsta...

FOXA1 (also known as hepatocyte nuclear factor 3α, or HNF-3α) is a protein of the FKHD family transcription factors. FOXA1 has been termed as a pioneer transcription factor due to its unique ability of chromatin remodeling in which the chromatin can be decompacted to allow genomic access by nuclear hormone receptors, including androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER). In this review, w...

(25R)-3β-Hydroxy-5α-spirostan-12-one (hecogenin) and 11α-hydroxypregn-4-ene-3,20-dione (11α-hydroxyprogesterone) were used as starting materials for the synthesis of a series of 11- and 12-substituted derivatives of 5ξ-pregnanolone (3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one and 3α-hydroxy-5β-pregnan-20-one), the principal neurosteroid acting via γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). These analogues were designed to s...

Two key reactions of hydrostatic nuclear burning in stars have recently been revised by new experimental data – the N(p, γ)O and 3α reaction rates. We investigate how much the new rates influence the evolution of low-mass, metal-poor and metal-free, stars and of an intermediate-mass star of solar-type composition. We concentrate on phases of helium ignition or thermally unstable helium burning....

We study 4α linear-chain states in 16 O in comparison with 3α states in 12 C by using the Generator Coordinate Method within a microscopic N α-cluster model. It is shown to be very important to solve relative motion of α-clusters by taking into account the orthogonality between the linear-chain states and other low-lying states including the ground state. For 12 C, the 3α chain state disappears...

The title compound, C(29)H(37)NO(2), crystallized with two independent mol-ecules in an asymmetric unit in which the conformation of the cyclo-hexyl ring of the pregnene moiety bonded to the 3α-(1,3-dioxoisoindolin-2-yl)- ring system differs: in one mol-ecule it is in a chair conformation, while in the other it exhibits a half-chair conformation. The other six-membered rings in the pregnene moi...

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) has recently caused high mortality in suckling piglets with subsequent large economic losses to the swine industry. Many intracellular signaling pathways, including the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt pathway, are activated by viral infection. The PI3K/Akt pathway is an important cellular pathway that has been shown to be required for virus replic...

Hypoxia is a general event in solid tumor growth. Therefore, induced cellular responses by hypoxia are important for tumorigenesis and tumor growth. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as important regulators of hypoxia induced cellular responses. Here we report that miR-147a is a novel and crucial hypoxia induced miRNA. HIF-1α up-regulates the expression of miR-147a, and miR-147a in turn ...