The cytochrome P450 epoxygenase-dependent arachidonic acid metabolites, epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), are potent survival factors and mitogens for renal epithelial cells, but the molecular identity in the cells that initiates the mitogenic signaling of EETs has remained elusive. We screened kidney cell lines for the expression of G-protein-coupled receptor 40 (GPR40) and found that the porc...

teratomas are rare germline tumors that originate from one or more embryonic germ cell layers. teratoma of the kidney is extremely rare, and less than 30 cases of primary intrarenal teratomas have been published to date. we report the main radiologic features of an unusual case of mature cystic teratoma arising from the left kidney in a two-year-old boy. a left-sided abdominal mass was detected...

Owing to the pharmacological potential of ATRA (all trans-retinoic acid), a series of retinamides and a 1-(retinoyl)-1,3-dicyclohexylurea compound were prepared by reacting ATRA with long chain alkyl or alkenyl fatty amines by using a 4-demethylaminopyridine (DMAP)-catalyzed N,N¢-dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) coupling. The successful synthesis of the target compounds was demonstrated using a r...

Deregulated expression of C-terminal-binding protein 2 (CTBP2) has been observed previously in a number of tumors, such as hepatocellular carcinoma and prostatic cancer, in the colorectal cancer SW480 cell line and in the human embryonic kidney 293 cell line. In the present study, western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry were performed to investigate whether gliomas exhibit deregulated CT...

We recently identified a novel calcium-regulated gene, HCaRG, that is highly expressed in the kidney and maps to a chromosomal locus determining kidney weight in rats. The mRNA levels of HCaRG negatively correlate with the proliferative status of the kidney cells. To investigate its role in renal epithelial cellular growth directly, we studied the human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK-293) stab...

Human amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs) can be grown in large quantities, have a low risk for tumour development and harbour a high differentiation potential. They are a very promising new fetal stem cell type for cell-based therapy approaches and for studying differentiation processes without raising the ethical concerns associated with embryonic stem cells. Recently, a protocol for studies o...