PURPOSE To measure serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels and NPC1L1 mRNA and protein as an index of cholesterol absorption during the development of chronic rejection (CR) in a rat model of intestinal transplantation. METHODS Rats were randomly divided into two groups: Group 1 (n=20) underwent syngenic Lewis-to-Lewis transplantation and Group 2 (n=20) underwent allogenic F344-to-Lewis tra...

The cellular apoptosis susceptibility (CSE1L) gene has been demonstrated to regulate multiple cellular mechanisms including the mitotic spindle check point as well as proliferation and apoptosis. However, the importance of CSE1L in human colon cancer is largely unknown. In the present study, we examined expression levels of CSE1L mRNA by semiquantitative RT-PCR. A lentivirus-mediated small inte...

The molecular mechanisms potentially related to tumorigenesis induced by anti-benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (anti-BPDE) were investigated by suppression subtractive hybridization of the human bronchial epithelial cells (16HBE) carcinoma induced by BPDE-transformed 16HBE cells (16HBE-C). The 67 kD laminin receptor gene (67LR1) is one of the screened overexpressed genes in 16HBE-C cells wh...

The cDNA encoding stathmin is identified from the brain and spinal cord cDNA library of Gekko japonicus. It contains a 450 bp open-reading-frame, corresponding to a deduced protein of 149 amino acids. At amino acid level. gecko stathmin shares more than 76.4% identities with vertebrate stathmins, and especially, it shares 100% identity with human stathmin, suggesting that the selective pressure...

BACKGROUND Exact aetiology of infertility in stage I/II endometriosis patients is not known. Interleukin 11 (IL-11) and leukaemia-inhibitory factor (LIF) are factors associated with implantation window in human eutopic endometrium. We decided to test whether there is an altered secretion of these factors, which could explain receptivity defect in patients with minimal endometriosis. METHODS U...

Interleukin (IL)-10, a potent anti-inflammatory cytokine, limits the severity of acute pancreatitis and downregulates transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta release by inflammatory cells on stimulation. Proinflammatory mediators, reactive oxygen species, and TGF-beta can activate pancreatic stellate cells and their synthesis of collagen I and III. This study evaluates the role of endogenous IL-1...

OBJECTIVE To demonstrate the roles of p16(INK4a) in the senescence of human chondrocytes and the progression of osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Immunohistochemistry and reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) were performed to examine p16(INK4a) expression in fetal, normal age-matched and OA cartilage, and Western blot was used in primary cultured chondrocytes from different ori...

Emphasis has recently been placed on the roles of chemotactic cytokines called chemokines to explain the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the lung that may precede or accompany pulmonary fibrosis in interstitial lung diseases. We hypothesized that RANTES, a member of the C-C chemokines, is one such chemokine. Bronchoalveolar lavage was done in 20 patients with sarcoidosis, 10 patients with...