BACKGROUND Klotho is known to function as a cofactor for the phosphatonin, fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-23 at the kidney. FGF-23 levels rise in chronic kidney disease (CKD) despite progression of accelerated vascular calcification. There are currently conflicting data on whether FGF-23 may exhibit direct vasculoprotective effects in CKD. METHODS AND RESULTS In this study, we describe for th...

BACKGROUND Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) represent a surrogate source of tissue and conceptually represent a "real-time" biopsy. We previously reported that the number of CTCs mirrors disease progression in hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC). To improve characterization of CTCs we further investigated whether in vitro transcription-based multigene reverse transcription-PCR expression pr...

Klotho is a putative aging suppressor gene encoding a single-pass transmembrane co-receptor that makes the fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor specific for FGF-23. In addition to multiple endocrine organs, Klotho is expressed in kidney distal convoluted tubules and parathyroid cells, mediating the role of FGF-23 in bone-kidney-parathyroid control of phosphate and calcium. Klotho(-/-)mice di...

The effect of aging on GABAB binding was investigated in rat brain. Receptor autoradiography was used to investigate both GABAB and GABAA binding at 2 months, 3 months, 13 months, and 23 months. GABAB binding decreases significantly between 2 months and 23 months of age, as does GABAA binding, with was investigated in rat brain. Receptor autoradiography was used to investigate both GABAB and GA...

conclusions this study suggests that decrease in levels of tlr3 and tlr7 expression is a mechanism that may enable hcv to evade the host innate immune response. results in both groups, we had 13 males and 12 females with a mean age of 48.7 ± 16. tlr3 (6.23 ± 0.91 vs. 3.89 ± 0.85, p < 0.001) and tlr7 (1.48 ± 0.82 vs-1.33 ± 1.18, p < 0.001) expressions were significantly lower in patients with ch...

introduction: previous studies have indicated that stress levels of glucocorticoid hormones induce impairment of long term memory retrieval, but the underlying mechanisms (genomic or non-genomic) are not clear. to clarify this issue, we investigated the involvement of brain corticosteroid receptors and protein synthesis in the glucocorticoid-induced impairment of memory retrieval. methods: 140 ...

conclusions anesthesiologists need to be aware of dextromethorphan’s clinical pharmacology because recreational abuse of the drug has become increasingly common in adolescents and young adults. case presentation a 30-year-old man with a history of a nasal fracture was scheduled to undergo an elective septorhinoplasty. he reported daily consumption of large quantities (1440 to 1800 mg) of dextro...

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) mediates a variety of physiological effects through its interaction with ANP-A, ANP-B or ANP-C receptors. However, controversies exist regarding the involvement of ANP-C receptor and adenylyl cyclase/cAMP signal-transduction systems to which these receptors are coupled in mediating these responses. In the present studies, we have employed an antisense approach t...