Background The omega-3 fatty acid (ω-3 fatty acid) such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) is currently used in the clinic as a nutritional supplement in the treatment of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). The present study was designed to investigate the effect of EPA on the expression levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and cytochrome P450 aromatase (encoded by the...

The Herpes Simplex virus thymidine kinase gene (HSV-tk) has been widely used as a suicide gene in cancer gene therapy. Since the f irst demonstration of the abil ity of HSV-tk gene modified tumor cells to generate a bystander effect, a number of clinical trials have been initiated to treat human cancers. However, the mechanism of the HSV-tk mediated bystander tumor kil l ing has remained contro...

A rapidly growing body of experimental evidence indicates that ionizing radiation induces biological effects in non-irradiated bystander cells that have received signals from adjacent or distant irradiated cells. This phenomenon, which has been termed the ionizing radiation-induced bystander effect, challenges the long-standing paradigm that radiation traversal through the nucleus of a cell is ...

PURPOSE Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors have emerged recently as promising anticancer agents. They arrest cells in the cell cycle and induce differentiation and cell death. The antitumor activity of HDAC inhibitors has been linked to their ability to induce gene expression through acetylation of histone and nonhistone proteins. However, it has recently been suggested that HDAC inhibitors ...

BACKGROUND PhiC31 integrase facilitates efficient integration of transgenes into human and mouse genomes and is considered for clinical gene therapy. However recent studies have shown that the enzyme can induce various chromosomal abnormalities in primary human embryonic cells and mammalian cell lines. The mechanisms involved are unknown, but it has been proposed that PhiC31 attachment sites in...

The use of mammalian gene expression vectors has become increasingly important for genetic immunization and gene therapy as well as basic research. Essential for the success of these vectors in genetic immunization is the proper choice of a promoter linked to the antigen of interest. Many genetic immunization vectors use promoter elements from pathogenic viruses including SV40 and CMV. Lymphoki...

Prostate apoptosis response-4 (Par-4) is a tumor-suppressor protein that induces apoptosis in cancer cells, but not in normal cells. The cancer-specific pro-apoptotic action of Par-4 is encoded in its centrally located SAC domain. In this study, to further enhance the anti-cancer effect of Par-4 in order to overcome the limitations of peptide therapy, a recombinant adeno-associated virus was co...

Background: The induction of bystander effect via ionizing radiation has been well proven. However, few studies have investigated the bystander effect following non-ionizing radiation, such as ultrasound waves. Here, the bystander effect after different sonication times on human melanoma cell line (A375), is evaluated by assessing cell viability and apoptosis. Materials and Methods: The cells w...

Analysis of gamma-H2AX foci in blood lymphocytes is a promising approach for rapid dose estimation to support patient triage after a radiation accident but has one major drawback: the rapid decline of foci levels post-exposure cause major uncertainties in situations where the exact timing between exposure and blood sampling is unknown. To address this issue, radiation-induced apoptosis (RIA) in...