BACKGROUND Accumulation of DNA damage leading to adult stem cell exhaustion has been proposed to be a principal mechanism of aging. Here we tested this hypothesis in healthy individuals of different ages by examining unrepaired DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) in hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells matured in their physiological microenvironment. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To asses DNA dam...

BACKGROUND We have previously demonstrated the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-targeted hybrid plasmonic magnetic nanoparticles (225-NP) produce a therapeutic effect in human lung cancer cell lines in vitro. In the present study, we investigated the molecular mechanism of 225-NP-mediated antitumor activity both in vitro and in vivo using the EGFR-mutant HCC827 cell line. METHODS The g...

Antagonism of CXCR2 receptors, predominately located on neutrophils and critical for their immunomodulatory activity, is an attractive pharmacological therapeutic approach aimed at reducing the potentially damaging effects of heightened neutrophil influx into the lung. The role CXCR2 in lung inflammation in response to cigarette smoke (CS) inhalation using the mutant mouse approach is not known...

The Hedgehog (HH) signaling pathway leads to activation of GLI, which transcriptionally regulate target genes. Regulated HH signaling activity is critical during embryogenesis while aberrantly activated HH signaling is evident in a variety of human cancers. Canonical HH signaling engages the transmembrane receptor Patched (PTCH) and the signaling intermediate Smoothened (SMO) to activate GLI1 a...

Exposure to toxic chemicals, especially chemotherapeutic drugs, may induce several DNA lesions, including DNA interstrand crosslinks. These crosslinks are considered toxic lesions to the dividing cells since they can induce mutations, chromosomal rearrangements, and cell death. Many DNA interstrand crosslinks lesions can be generated by platinum-based chemotherapeutic agents. Satraplatin is a n...