Multidrug resistance (MDR) is considered multifactorial and has been associated with overexpression of the multidrug resistance protein (MRP). However, effective compounds for reversal of MRP-related MDR are limited. In the present study, the modulatory activity of the novel pyridine analogue PAK-104P on MRP-mediated resistance to doxorubicin and paclitaxel was investigated in two doxorubicin-s...

OBJECTIVE Death receptor 4 (DR4), an apoptosis-associated gene, plays an important role in the pathophysiology of lumbar disc degeneration (LDD). The present study aimed to determine whether the C626G polymorphism (rs4871857) of the DR4 gene is associated with the risk and severity of LDD in the Chinese Han population. METHODS A total of 296 patients with LDD and 208 healthy controls were enr...

Certain HLA-DR alleles confer strong susceptibility to the autoimmune disease rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We compared RA-associated alleles, HLA-DR*0401, HLA-DR*0404, and HLA-DR*0405, with closely related, non-RA-associated alleles, HLA-DR*0402 and HLA-DR*0403, to determine whether they differ in their interactions with the class II chaperone, invariant chain (Ii). Ii binds to class II molecules...

TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis through its death receptors (DRs) 4 and/or 5 expressed on the surface of target cells. The selectivity of TRAIL towards cancer cells has promoted clinical evaluation of recombinant human TRAIL (rhTRAIL) and its agonistic antibodies in treating several major human cancers including colon and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. However, little i...

Apo-2L/TRAIL (tumor-necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily and has recently been shown to induce apoptosis through engagement of the death receptors TRAIL-R1 (DR4) and TRAIL-R2 (DR5). The transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappa B regulates the expression of genes involved in cancer cell invasion, metastasis, and resistance ...

The cholesterol ester transfer protein (CETP) facilitates the transfer of HDL cholesterol esters from plasma to the liver. Transgenic mice expressing human CETP, controlled by its natural flanking region, increase expression of this gene in response to hypercholesterolemia. We established a CETP promoter-luciferase reporter assay in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocytes to map the sterol upregulator...

TRAIL (TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand) is a member of the tumor necrosis factor superfamily that can induce tumor selective death by up-regulating death receptor 4 (DR4) and DR5 expression. The study aimed to explore the role of RIP and c-FLIP genes in TRAIL induced liver cancer cell HepG2 and Hep3B apoptosis and related mechanism. RIP and c-FLIP silenced HepG2 and Hep3B cell model were ...

A chimeric HLA-DR4-H2-E (DR4) homozygous transgenic mouse line spontaneously develops diverse hematological malignancies with high frequency (70%). The majority of malignancies were distributed equally between T and B cell neoplasms and included lymphoblastic T cell lymphoma (LTCL), lymphoblastic B cell lymphoma (LBCL), diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), the histiocyte/T cell rich variant o...

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common autoimmune disease that afflicts the synovium of diarthrodial joints. The pathogenic mechanisms inciting this disease are not fully characterized, but may involve the loss of tolerance to posttranslationally modified (citrullinated) antigens. We have demonstrated that this modification leads to a selective increase in antigenic peptide affinity for major hi...