Oxysterols constitute a class of cholesterol derivatives that exhibit broad biological effects ranging from cytotoxicity to regulation of nuclear receptors. The role of oxysterols such as 7-ketocholesterol (7-KC) in the development of retinal macular degeneration and atheromatous lesions is of particular interest, but little is known of their metabolic fate. We establish that the steroid/sterol...

BACKGROUND In this study, 293T cells were genetically engineered to secrete tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP2) and encapsulated into alginate microcapsules to continuously release TIMP2 protein. METHODS The anti-invasive potential of the microcapsules was studied in vitro using brain tumor cells. The TIMP2 gene was transfected to 293T cells, and genetically engineered 293TIMP2 ce...

BACKGROUND Infected cells recognize viral replication as a DNA damage stress and elicit the host surveillance mechanism to anti-virus infection. Modulation of the activity of tumor suppressor p53 is a key event in the replication of many viruses. They could manipulate p53 function through phosphorylation modification for their own purpose. But there is rarely research about p53 phosphorylation ...

The analysis of HIV-1 envelope carbohydrates is critical to understanding their roles in HIV-1 transmission as well as in binding of envelope to HIV-1 antibodies. However, direct analysis of protein glycosylation by glycopeptide-based mass mapping approaches involves structural simplification of proteins with the use of a protease followed by an isolation and/or enrichment step before mass anal...

OBJECTIVE The leukocyte immunoglobulin-like receptor (LILR) family includes inhibitory and stimulatory members which bind to classical and non-classical HLA-class I. The ligands for many LILR including LILRB5 have not yet been identified. METHODS We generated C-terminal eGFP and N-terminal FLAG-tagged fusion constructs for monitoring LILR expression. We screened for LILR binding to HLA-class ...

Although microRNAs have been recognized as central cellular regulators, there is an evident lack of knowledge about their targets. Here, we analyzed potential target genes for miR-148a functioning in Ras signaling in B cells, including SOS1 and SOS2. A dual-luciferase reporter assay showed significantly decreased luciferase activity upon ectopic overexpression of miR-148a in HEK-293T cells that...

The expression of 4 pluripotency genes (Oct4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts can reprogramme them to a pluripotent state. We have investigated the expression of these pluripotency genes when human somatic 293T cells are permeabilized and incubated in extracts of mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Expression of all 4 genes was induced over 1-8 h. Gene expression was associate...

APOBEC4 (A4) is a member of the AID/APOBEC family of cytidine deaminases. In this study we found a high mRNA expression of A4 in human testis. In contrast, there were only low levels of A4 mRNA detectable in 293T, HeLa, Jurkat or A3.01 cells. Ectopic expression of A4 in HeLa cells resulted in mostly cytoplasmic localization of the protein. To test whether A4 has antiviral activity similar to th...

To investigate the effect and mechanism of the CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) in the proliferation and migration of breast cancer, a short-hairpin RNA (shRNA) eukaryotic expression vector targeting CXCR4 was constructed, and the impact of such on the proliferation, adhesion and migration of human breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells was observed. The fragments of CXCR4-shRNA were synthesized and cl...

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1) is a non-selective cation channel gated by noxious heat, playing major roles in thermoregulation. Forsythoside A (FT-A) is the most abundant phenylethanoid glycosides in Fructus Forsythiae, which has been prescribed as a medicinal herb for treating fever in China for a long history. However, how FT-A affects pyrexia and what is the underlying mol...