BACKGROUND MicroRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are post-transcriptional regulators of eukaryotic cells and knowledge of differences in miR levels may provide new approaches to diagnosis and therapy. METHODS The present study measured the levels of nine miRs in head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) and determined whether clinical pathological features are associated with differences in miR lev...

Contact of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb) with the immune system requires interactions between microbial surface molecules and host pattern recognition receptors. Major M.tb-exposed cell envelope molecules, such as lipomannan (LM), contain subtle structural variations that affect the nature of the immune response. Here we show that LM from virulent M.tb (TB-LM), but not from avirulent Myocob...

Most spinal cord injuries lead to permanent paralysis in mammals. By contrast, the remarkable regenerative abilities of salamanders enable full functional recovery even from complete spinal cord transections. The molecular differences underlying this evolutionary divergence between mammals and amphibians are poorly understood. We focused on upstream regulators of gene expression as primary entr...

BACKGROUND The extensive involvement of microRNA (miRNA) in the pathophysiology of psoriasis is well documented. However, in order for this information to be useful in therapeutic manipulation of miRNA levels, it is essential that detailed functional mechanisms are elucidated. miR-125b has previously been shown to be strongly associated with psoriasis, and presents as an obvious candidate for f...

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is a chronic respiratory infectious disease. Certain microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are reported to be involved in regulating TB progression. The present study aimed evaluate the diagnostic potential of miR?125b pulmonary TB. expression levels and Raf1 proto?oncogene serine/threonine protein kinase (RAF1) were analyzed via reverse transcription?quantitative (RT?q)PCR pat...

5-Lipoxygenase (5-LO) is the key enzyme in leukotriene biosynthesis. Leukotrienes are mediators of the innate immune system and inflammatory processes, and they might also be involved in cancer development. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important translational regulators and have been shown to be involved in development, differentiation, and cancer. Unraveling the miRNA network is important for unders...

BACKGROUND Thyrotroph embryonic factor (TEF), a member of the PAR bZIP family of transcriptional regulators, has been involved in neurotransmitter homeostasis, amino acid metabolism, and regulation of apoptotic proteins. In spite of its relevance, nothing is known about the regulation of TEF. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS p53-dependent genotoxic agents have been shown to be much more harmful for PAR bZI...

AIMS Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in men. However, the underlying mechanism is not fully understood. In this study, we aim to research the molecular mechanisms underlying the initiation and progression of PCa. RESULTS Plant homeodomain finger protein 8 (PHF8) is upregulated in human PCa tissues and cell lines. PHF8 knockdown attenuates growth and cellular ...

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important post-transcriptional regulators that have recently introduced an additional level of intricacy to our understanding of gene regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate miRNA-mRNA interactions that may be relevant for bone metabolism by assessing correlations and interindividual variability in miRNA levels as well as global correlations between miRNA and...

Since the identification of microRNAs (miRNAs) involved in regulation Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene, miRNAs known to down-regulate expression CFTR and associated proteins have been investigated as potential therapeutic targets. Here we show that miR-101-3p, targeting 3'-UTR sequence mRNA, can be selectively inhibited by a peptide nucleic acid (PNA) carrying ful...