Nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin is a key event for the development of colorectal cancer. Little is known, however, about the mechanisms underlying translocation of beta-catenin from the cytoplasm or the membrane to the nucleus. The present study examined whether signal transducers and activators of transcription 3 (STAT3) activation is involved in the nuclear accumulation of beta-catenin i...

The Sle1ab genomic interval on murine chromosome 1 mediates the loss of immune tolerance to chromatin resulting in antinuclear Abs (ANA) production in the lupus-prone NZM2410 mouse. Global gene expression analysis was used to identify the molecular pathways that are dysregulated at the initiation of B lymphocyte autoimmunity in B6.Sle1ab mice. This analysis identified that STAT3 and ras-ERK sig...

Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury remains the leading risk factor of disability and mortality worldwide. In this study, the myocardial protective effect of eriodictyol (EDT) and the underlying mechanism in an ex vivo model of global myocardial I/R was investigated. After treatment with different concentrations of EDT, the decreased hemodynamic parameters induced by myocardial I/R inj...

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibition with small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors results in antitumor activity in only a minority of patients whose tumors express EGFR. One hypothesis to explain this suboptimal clinical activity is that multiple growth regulatory pathways are abnormal in most EGFR-expressing cancers. Given the importance of Stat-3 signaling pathway in epidermoi...

BACKGROUND Despite the development and availability of hepatitis A virus (HAV) vaccine, HAV infection is still a major cause of acute hepatitis that occasionally leads to fatal liver disease. HAV internal ribosomal entry-site (IRES) is one of the attractive targets of antiviral agents against HAV. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the impact of La, one of the cellular proteins, on HAV...

Zfp637 is a recently identified zinc finger protein, and its functions remain largely unknown. Here, we innovatively demonstrate the effects of Zfp637 on the differentiation of mouse spermatogonia and on its downstream target gene SOX2 in vitro. Obesity has been recognized as a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to decreased sexual function and sexual development disorders. We observed hig...

Prolactin (PRL) is a secretory cytokine produced by various tissues. Binding to the cognate PRL receptor (PRLR), it activates intracellular signaling via janus kinase (JAK), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) proteins. PRL regulates diverse activities under normal and abnormal conditions, including malignancies. Previous clini...

Mechanical ventilation has been shown to cause ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), probably by overdistending or stretching the lung. Hyaluronan (HA), a component of the extracellular matrix, in low molecular weight (LMW) forms has been shown to induce cytokine production. LMW HA is produced by hyaluronan synthase 3 (HAS 3). We found that HAS 3 mRNA expression was upregulated and that LMW HA...

Recent studies suggest that erythropoietin plays an important role in the process of neoplastic transformation and malignant phenotype progression observed in malignancy. To study the role of erythropoietin and its receptor (EPOR) on the response of cancer cells in vitro, we used two solid tumor cell lines, namely the human malignant glioma cell line U87 and the primary cervical cancer cell lin...

rhEPO is frequently used in clinical practice to treat anemia. However, recently rhEPO has been reported to accelerate tumor growth, progression and metastasis. Many pituitary adenoma patients, particularly those with macroprolactinomas, tend to have anemia and may need rhEPO therapy. To date, whether rhEPO has deleterious effects on pituitary ade...