BACKGROUND AND AIMS Axon growth is crucial for injured neural tissue to recover; however it is difficult to achieve in general. Axon outgrowth is inhibited by the activation of the Nogo receptor (NgR) by one of three different ligands. The present study aimed to suppress the inhibitory effect of the three inhibitory proteins to facilitate axon outgrowth. METHODS A lentiviral vector, siNgR199 ...

RNAi-based strategies provide a great therapeutic potential for treatment of various human diseases including kidney disorders, but face the challenge of in vivo delivery and specific targeting. The chitosan delivery system has previously been shown to target siRNA specifically to the kidneys in mice when administered intravenously. Here we confirm by 2D and 3D bioimaging that chitosan formulat...

We investigated the importance of HMGN5, a nuclear protein that binds to nucleosomes, unfolds chromatin, and affects transcription, in the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. We also examined the molecular mechanisms that promote apoptosis of LNCaP cells after infection with small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting HMGN5 (siRNA-HMGN5). The androgen-dependent LNCaP human prostate cancer cells were i...

Intermolecular interactions of ncRNAs are at the core of gene regulation events, and identifying the full map of these interactions bears crucial importance for ncRNA functional studies. It is known that RNA-RNA interactions are built up by complementary base pairings between interacting RNAs and high level of complementarity between two RNA sequences is a powerful predictor of such interaction...

A amphiphilic block copolymer composed of conventional monomethoxy (polyethylene glycol)-poly (d,l-lactide-co-glycolide)-poly (l-lysine) (mPEG-PLGA-b-PLL) was synthesized. The chemical structure of this copolymer and its precursors was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), (1)H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance ((1)H NMR) and Gel Permeation Chromatography (GPC). The copolymer wa...

Proteasome inhibitors are a novel class of molecular-targeted anti-cancer drugs that suppress the degradation of malfolded proteins, trigger endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and activate apoptosis signals. Glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78), a major ER chaperone, is one of the most important molecules for transduction of unfolded protein response (UPR) signals. In accordance with past findi...

Transcriptional gene silencing has been reported with siRNA targeting the promoter region of genes. We tested several siRNAs directed against the human VEGF promoter. Of these, siVFp(-992) exhibited > or =50% suppression of VEGF production in two human cell lines. To determine the specificity of this siRNA-mediated suppression, plasmids were prepared to express a luciferase reporter under the c...

CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing is a next-generation strategy for genetic modifications, not only for single gene targeting, but also for multiple targeted mutagenesis. To make the most of the multiplexity of CRISPR/Cas9, we established a system for constructing all-in-one expression vectors containing multiple guide RNA expression cassettes and a Cas9 nuclease/nickase expression cassette. ...

OBJECTIVE Targeted down-regulation of TGF-β expression inhibits invasion and metastasis in breast cancer cells. However, the mechanism that TGF-β functions by remains largely unknown. In the present study we report the mechanism of ERK1/2 dependant S100A4 regulation by TGF-β and its possible role in TGF-β-mediated tumour invasion in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS Small interfering RNA targeting...

The type I insulin-like growth factor receptor (IGF1R) and insulin receptor (IR) are structurally and functionally related heterotetrameric receptors. Activation of IGF1R has been shown to regulate breast cancer cell biology, and it has become an attractive therapeutic target. Most strategies have focused on targeting IGF1R alone without affecting IR levels given the known physiologic functions...