CURARE, a drug extracted from two main plant sources of the natural orders Manispermaceae and Strychnos, was formerly obtained from S. American Indian tribes who used it as an arrow poison in hunting and warfare. The drug acted by paralysing the victim, a large enough dose being rapidly fatal. The important active principle (C38 H44 06 N2) is designated d-tubo-curarine.t From the ophthalmologis...

Pseudomonas aeruginosa can establish life-long airways chronic infection in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) with pathogenic variants distinguished from initially acquired strain. Here, we analysed chemical and biological activity of P. aeruginosa Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) in clonal strains, including mucoid and non-mucoid phenotypes, isolated during a period of up to 7.5...

The chemokine IL-8 is critically important in inflammatory processes in human tissues, and IL-8 interactions with sulfated glycosaminoglycans have been implicated in modification of inflammatory responses in bronchial epithelium. To determine the role of chondroitin-4-sulfate (C4S) in mediating effects of IL-8, we silenced the enzyme N-acetylgalactosamine-4-sulfatase (arylsulfatase B [ASB]) tha...

The liver plays a central role in the postpartum (PP) energy metabolism of transition dairy cow; however, studies describing metabolome during this period were lacking. aim presented study was therefore to compare alterations and blood cows. For purpose, an on-farm trial with 80 German Holstein cows (mean lactation number: 3.9; range: 2–9) performed, thorough documentation clinical traits chemi...

Fatty Acid Desaturase (FADS) genes and their variants have been associated with multiple metabolic phenotypes including liver enzymes and hepatic fat accumulation but the detailed mechanism remains unclear. We aimed to delineate the role of FADSs in modulating lipid composition in human liver. We performed a targeted lipidomic analysis of a variety of phospholipids, sphingolipids and ceramides ...

The surface coat of the infective larvae of the parasitic nematode Trichinella spiralis was characterized with respect to its biophysical properties, morphology and composition. Labelling of larvae with the fluorescent surface probe PKH26 was lost after activation (by incubation in mammalian medium containing trypsin and bile), or following pronase treatment. Electron microscopical examination ...

Peroxisomes are involved in the synthesis and degradation of complex fatty acids. They contain enzymes involved in the α-, βand ω-oxidation pathways for fatty acids. Investigation of these pathways and the diseases associated with mutations in enzymes involved in the degradation of phytanic acid have led to the clarification of the pathophysiology of Refsum’s disease, rhizomelic chondrodysplasi...

Cultured cell lines LL, B1 6, C26, and C38 establ ished from mouse solid tumors of Lewis lung carcinoma, B1 6 melanoma, and colon adenocarc inomas 26 and 38, respectively, showed inherent ly dif ferent resistance to vincrist ine (VCR) in vitro. The inherent resistance to VCR of these cell lines was related to the abil ity of the cells to accumulate VCR. Verapamil , a calcium antagonist with cor...

There is a long-standing controversy as to whether a single bone marrow (BM)-derived cell can differentiate along both hematopoietic and stromal lineages. Both primitive hematopoietic and stromal progenitor cells in human BM express the CD34 antigen but lack expression of other surface markers, such as CD38. In this study we examined the CD34+, CD38- fraction of human fetal BM by multiparameter...