The identification and functional validation of potentially oncogenic mutations in leukemia is an essential step toward a future of personalized targeted therapy. To assess the oncogenic capacity of individual mutations, reliable and scalable in vitro experimental approaches are required. Since 1988, researchers have used the IL-3 dependent Ba/F3 transformation assay to validate the oncogenic p...

BACKGROUND Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory disease affecting the gut with limited treatment success for its sufferers. This suggests the need for better understanding of the different subtypes of the disease as well as nutritional interventions to compliment current treatments. In this study we assess the ability of a hydrophilic feijoa fraction (F3) to ...

The risk of prostate cancer has been increasing in men by degrees. To develop a new prostate cancer therapy, we used a stem cell-derived gene directed prodrug enzyme system using human neural stem cells (hNSCs) that have a tumor-tropic effect. These hNSCs were transduced with the therapeutic genes for bacterial cytosine deaminase (CD), alone or in combination with the one encoding human interfe...

Mcl-1 is a member of the Bcl-2 family protein; its degradation is required for the initiation of apoptosis. The mechanism, however, is not yet clearly known. Previously, it was reported that Mcl-1 is degraded through the ubiquitination-mediated pathway and the PEST domain is the motif responsible for promoting this degradation. We found evidence that this may not be true. We generated several M...

BACKGROUND Despite advances in its treatment, CNS lymphoma remains a devastating disease. Taking advantage of the tumour-tropic properties of neural stem cells (NSCs) is a novel therapeutic strategy. To apply this strategy to the treatment of CNS lymphoma, we investigated the role of NSCs expressing carboxyl esterase (HB1.F3.CE), which activates irinotecan. MATERIALS AND METHODS In order to f...

IONOMYCIN-INDUCED Ca CYTOSOLIC INCREASE IS NOT INDUCING MASSIVE APOPTOSIS OF Ba/F3 CELLS (Abstract): It was shown that a novel immunotherapy using ex vivo activated splenocytes is capable of promoting survival and hematopoietic recovery after syngeneic and semiallogeneic bone marrow transplantation in BALB/c mice subjected to a lethal dose of total body irradiation. We tested the hypothesis tha...

BACKGROUND Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic environmental contaminants and known endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Previous studies demonstrated that developmental exposure to the weakly estrogenic PCB mixture Aroclor 1221 (A1221) in Sprague-Dawley rats altered sexual development, adult reproductive physiology and body weight. The current study tested the hypothesis ...

BACKGROUND A previously reported expression signature of three genes (IGFBP3, F3 and VGLL3) was shown to have potential prognostic value in estimating overall and cancer-specific survivals at diagnosis of prostate cancer in a pilot cohort study using freshly frozen Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) samples. METHODS We carried out a new cohort study with 241 prostate cancer patients diagnosed from ...

This study investigated fluoride release, acid resistance and shear bond strength (SBS) of new 4-META/MMA-TBB-based fluoride-containing resin adhesive (Super-Bond/F3). Super-Bond, Transbond Plus and Fuji Ortho LC were selected for comparison. Fluoride release into distilled water during 6-month period was measured using disk-shaped specimens. Brackets were bonded to human premolars with each ma...