edgehog signaling is an evolutionarily conserved Hpathway that is important for tissue patterning and repair and has been implicated in inflammatory responses for several tissues. However, the gene and cellular targets of the Hedgehog signaling pathway that orchestrate the inflammatory responses are not clearly defined. Hedgehog signaling is mediated by 3 different ligands (sonic hedgehog [Shh]...

The face is a reflection of our genome. Facial deformities are oftentimes harbingers of an underlying disease states. For example, decreased Hedgehog activity in the developing craniofacial region causes holoprosencephaly and close-set eyes (hypotelorism). We found that excessive Hedgehog activity, caused by truncating the primary cilia on cranial neural crest cells, led to hypertelorism and fr...

Ocular coloboma is a sight-threatening malformation caused by failure of the choroid fissure to close during morphogenesis of the eye, and is frequently associated with additional anomalies, including microphthalmia and cataracts. Although Hedgehog signaling is known to play a critical role in choroid fissure closure, genetic regulation of this pathway remains poorly understood. Here, we show t...

In zebrafish, skeletal muscle precursors can adopt at least three distinct fates: fast, non-pioneer slow, or pioneer slow muscle fibers. Slow muscle fibers develop from adaxial cells and depend on Hedgehog signaling. We analyzed when precursors become committed to their fates and the step(s) along their differentiation pathway affected by Hedgehog. Unexpectedly, we find that embryos deficient i...

The face is a reflection of our genome. Facial deformities are oftentimes harbingers of an underlying disease states. For example, decreased Hedgehog activity in the developing craniofacial region causes holoprosencephaly and close-set eyes (hypotelorism). We found that excessive Hedgehog activity, caused by truncating the primary cilia on cranial neural crest cells, led to hypertelorism and fr...

INTRODUCTION The lack of efficient treatment options for pancreatic cancer highlights the critical need for the development of novel and effective chemotherapeutic agents. The medicinal properties found in plants have been used to treat many different illnesses including cancers. This study focuses on the anticancer effects of gedunin, a natural compound isolated from Azadirachta indica. METH...

zār is the term used to describe a form of spirit possession common in northern african, eastern african, and some middle-eastern societies. although these regions share some cultural similarities arising from their history of slavery, in these places, zār varies in prevalence, clinical characteristics, and social context. based on a selective review of the literature, this paper looks at the p...

BACKGROUND The loss of sonic hedgehog is an early change that occurs in the mucosa prior to neoplastic transformation and correlates with the type of intestinal metaplasia. Aberrant expression of CDX has also been shown to correlate with the development of intestinal metaplasia. AIM To examine CDX2 expression in the non-cancerous mucosa of patients with gastric cancer and compared it to CDX2 ...

The Hedgehog morphogen aroused an enormous interest since it was characterized as an essential signal for ventral patterning of the spinal cord two decades ago. The pathway is notably implicated in the initial appearance of the progenitors of oligodendrocytes (OPCs), the glial cells of the central nervous system which after maturation are responsible for axon myelination. In accordance with the...