Efforts to improve melanoma response rates to temozolomide (TMZ) have thus far been unsuccessful. We screened a library of 2,000 marketed drugs and natural products to identify agents with the potential to sensitize melanoma cells to the effects of TMZ. Celastrol (CEL), a natural compound found in the Thunder of God vine, was identified based on its ability to enhance cell death in TMZ-resistan...

BACKGROUND/AIMS CEL-MODY is a monogenic form of diabetes and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency due to mutations in the carboxyl-ester lipase (CEL) gene. We aimed to investigate endocrine and exocrine pancreatic function in CEL knockout mice (CELKO). METHODS A knockout mouse model with global targeted deletion of CEL was investigated physiologically and histopathologically, and compared to lit...

Previous studies using chemical modification approach have shown the importance of arginine residues in bile salt activation of carboxyl ester lipase (CEL) activity. However, the x-ray crystal structure of CEL failed to show the involvement of arginine residues in CEL-bile salt interaction. The current study used a site-specific mutagenesis approach to determine the role of arginine residues 63...

Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) in food products may pose health risks, and thermal processing of foods accelerates the formation of AGEs. The effects of heat treatments (65-100 °C, 0-60 min) on the formation of AGEs including N(ε)-carboxymethyllysine (CML) and N(ε)-carboxyethyllysine (CEL) in ground beef were investigated. The levels of CML and CEL in ground beef steadily increased with ...

An RNA probe complementary to the endoglucanase 3 gene (cel-3) of Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 hybridized to chromosomal DNAs from isolates representing the genetic diversity of the genus. The probe was subsequently used to identify putative cel-3-containing clones from genomic libraries of representative Fibrobacter isolates. Comparative sequence analyses of the cloned cel-3 genes confirmed th...

We found that CEL-I, a GalNAc-specific C-type lectin isolated from the marine invertebrate Holothuroidea (Cucumaria echinata), induces inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) expression and NO production in RAW264.7 cells. The NO production was inhibited by an iNOS inhibitor, L-NAME, but was not by a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inhibitor, polymyxin B. In the presence of 0.1-M GalNAc, increased NO p...

CEL-III is a Ca(2+)-dependent lectin from a marine invertebrate, Cucumaria echinata, which shows strong hemolytic activity toward human and rabbit erythrocytes. After binding to carbohydrate receptors, CEL-III oligomerizes in the erythrocyte membrane to form ion-permeable pores, leading to the colloid osmotic rupture of the cells. Since hemolysis was greatly increased in the alkaline pH, especi...

Lepromatous leprosy patients experiencing erythema nodosum lepro­ sum (ENL) have been reported to have an increase in the ratio of circulating T -helper to T -suppressor cel ls ( H : S ratio) . Thal idomide is an effect ive drug in the management of ENL . To determine if thal idomide affected cells of the immunoregulatory system, B cel ls , T cel ls , T-suppressor cel ls , T-helper and natural ...

A composite containing cellulose (CEL) and chitosan (CS) synthesized by a simple and recyclable method by using butylmethylimmidazolium chloride, an ionic liquid, was found to exhibit remarkable enantiomeric selectivity toward the adsorption of amino acids. The highest adsorption capacity and enantiomeric selectivity are exhibited by 100% CS. A racemic amino acid can be enantiomerically resolve...