The patterns of LH and FSH secretion were measured in 4 experimental groups of Finnish Landrace and Scottish Blackface ewes: long-term (18 months) ovariectomized ewes (Group 1), long-term ovariectomized ewes with an oestradiol implant, which has been shown to produce peripheral levels of approximately 5 pg/ml (Group 2), long-term ovariectomized ewes with an oestradiol implant for 18 months whic...

Protein quality control is a balance between chaperone-assisted folding and removal of misfolded proteins from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Cell-based assays have been used to identify key players of the dislocation machinery, including members of the Derlin family. We generated conditional knockout mice to examine the in vivo role of Derlin-2, a component that nucleates cellular dislocation...

CONTEXT Respiratory complications, attributed to the build-up of secretions in the airway, are a leading cause of rehospitalisation for the tetraplegic population. Previously, we observed that the application of Abdominal Functional Electrical Stimulation (AFES) improved cough function and increased demand for secretion removal, suggesting AFES may aid secretion clearance. Clinically, secretion...

Freshly isolated rat hepatocytes synthesize and secrete hepatic lipase (HL). Comparison of secreted HL with intracellular HL indicates a secretion-linked increase in the specific enzyme activity. (a) Immunotitration with polyclonal anti-HL showed a 3-5-fold lower specific enzyme activity of intracellular HL than of secreted HL. This was confirmed by ELISA using a mixture of monoclonal anti-HL's...

Multiple myeloma is associated with unbalanced bone remodeling causing lytic bone lesions. Interleukin-11 (IL-11) promotes osteoclast formation and inhibits osteoblast activity and may, thus, be one factor involved in cancer-induced bone destruction. We have previously shown that myeloma cells produce hepatocyte growth factor (HGF). We now report that HGF induces IL-11 secretion from human oste...

Melatonin was found to improve pancreatic organ function in diseased animals. To study whether pancreatic bicarbonate secretion is stimulated by melatonin, investigations were done in two human ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines MIA PaCa-2 (MIA) and PANC-1 (PANC). Using the fluorescence pH-sensor BCECF-AM, we monitored melatonin effects on basal intracellular pH (pH(i)), and on pH(i) r...

Deregulated accumulation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) is a hallmark of many solid tumors. Directly targeting HIF-1α for therapeutics is challenging. Our finding that HIF-1α regulates secretion of heat shock protein-90α (Hsp90α) for cell migration raises the exciting possibility that targeting the secreted Hsp90α from HIF-1α-positive tumors has a better clinical outlook. Using the HIF...

1. Monitoring of [Ca2+]i and vasopressin secretion in isolated nerve endings from the rat neurohypophysis were studied to determine the relationship between the time course of vasopressin secretion and depolarization-induced changes in [Ca2+]i. 2. Membrane depolarization by increasing the extracellular [K+] led to concentration-dependent, parallel increases in the amount of vasopressin release ...

Cholesterol excess is typical of various diseases including atherosclerosis. We have investigated whether cholesterol accumulation in the ER (endoplasmic reticulum) can inhibit exit of vesicular cargo and secretion of proteins by studying apoE (apolipoprotein E), a significant glycoprotein in human health and disease. CHO (Chinese hamster ovary) cells expressing human apoE under a cholesterol-i...

The proximal duodenal mucosa, exposed to frequent pulses of gastric acid, is functionally "leaky", increasing the importance of defense mechanisms such as the mucus gel layer, cellular acid/base transporters, bicarbonate secretion, and mucosal blood flow. Our laboratory has used a unique in vitro perfused microscopic system to measure thickness of the adherent mucus gel (MGT), intracellular pH ...