The purpose of this study was to characterize the hepatobiliary disposition of timosaponin B2 (TB-2), a natural saponin. Although TB-2 has multiple pharmacologic activities, the mechanism of its hepatobiliary disposition has not been explored. Because the metabolism of TB-2 is limited and the accumulation of TB-2 in primary hepatocytes is highly temperature dependent (93% of its accumulation is...

Organic anion transporting polypeptides (rodents, Oatps; human, OATPs) are primarily involved in the transmembrane transportation of a wide range of endogenous and exogenous compounds. Multiple mouse Oatp1 isoforms are closely located on chromosome 6, where each isoform shows distinct tissue distribution; Oatp1b2, Oatp1a6, and Oatp1c1 are expressed exclusively in the liver, kidney, and cerebrum...

Signaling through the T cell antigen receptor leading to elimination (negative selection) or differentiation (positive selection) of developing thymocytes generates a self-tolerant T cell repertoire. Here we report that the serine-threonine kinase MINK selectively connects the T cell receptor to a signaling pathway that mediates negative but not positive selection. Analysis of this pathway sugg...

The rapid increase in the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases over the past two decades cannot be explained solely by genetic and adult lifestyle factors. There is now considerable evidence that the fetal and early postnatal environment also strongly influences the risk of developing such diseases in later life. Human studies have shown that low birth weight is associated with an inc...

Objective: a fetus with a ring chromosome 20 is presented. Methods: at 16 weeks’ gestation, ultrasound examination evidenced no apparent structural malformation. Amniocentesis was performed for maternal anxiety. Results: chromosome analysis identified a ring chromosome 20 and array-CGH demonstrated that the ring including micro-deletion of the short arm in 20p13, that was extended for about 632...

To investigate the effect of surgical treatment of hydrosalpinx on the expressions of estrogen receptor (ER) and progesterone receptor (PR) in the endometrium in implantation window, a total of 60 patients with hydrosalpinx and 30 patients with fallopian tube obstruction were recruited. In the implantation window, immnohistochemistry was carried out to detect the expressions of ER and PR in the...