In this study, oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation (OGDR) was applied to cultured endometrial cells to mimic ischemic-reperfusion injuries. We also tested the potential effect of Ginseng Rh2 (GRh2) against the process. In established T-HESC human endometrial cells and primary murine endometrial cells, GRh2 largely inhibited OGDR-induced viability reduction and cell death. Remarkably, OGDR...

Cyclophilins are peptidyl-prolyl cis/trans isomerases (PPIase) that catalyse the interconversion of the peptide bond at proline residues. Several cyclophilins play a pivotal role in the life cycle of a number of viruses. The existing cyclophilin inhibitors, all derived from cyclosporine A or sanglifehrin A, have disadvantages, including their size, potential for side effects unrelated to cyclop...

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) constitutes a critical host defense against tuberculosis, but its excess is also implicated in tuberculosis pathogenesis in zebrafish and humans. Using the zebrafish, we elucidate the pathways by which TNF mediates tuberculosis pathogenesis. TNF excess induces mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) in infected macrophages through RIP1-RIP3-dependent pathways. Wh...

The bacterial chaperonin GroEL/GroES assists folding of a broad spectrum of denatured and misfolded proteins. Here, we explore the limits of this remarkable promiscuity by mapping two denatured proteins with very different conformational properties, rhodanese and cyclophilin A, during binding and encapsulation by GroEL/GroES with single-molecule spectroscopy, microfluidic mixing, and ensemble k...

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) replication is limited by cyclophilin inhibitors but it remains unclear how viral genetic variations influence susceptibility to cyclosporine (cyclosporine A, CsA), a cyclophilin inhibitor. In this study HCV from liver transplant patients was sequenced before and after CsA exposure. Phenotypic analysis of NS5A sequence was performed by using HCV sub genomic replicon to d...

An improved understanding of the role of extracellular factors in controlling the embryonic stem cell (ESC) phenotype will aid the development of cell-based therapies. While the role of extracellular factors in controlling the pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has been the subject of much investigation, the identity and role of extrinsic factors in modulating ESC g...

The mitochondrial phosphate carrier (PiC) is a mitochondrial solute carrier protein, which is encoded by SLC25A3 in humans. PiC delivers phosphate, a key substrate of oxidative phosphorylation, across the inner mitochondrial membrane. This transport activity is also relevant for allowing effective mitochondrial calcium handling. Furthermore, PiC has also been described to affect cell survival m...

An improved understanding of the role of extracellular factors in controlling the embryonic stem cell (ESC) phenotype will aid the development of cell-based therapies. While the role of extracellular factors in controlling the pluripotency and differentiation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) has been the subject of much investigation, the identity and role of extrinsic factors in modulating ESC g...

Two novel metabolites, cymbimicins A and B, were isolated from the culture broth of a strain of Micromonospora sp. by screening for cyclophilin binding metabolites from actinomycete strains. Cymbimicin A binds to cyclophilin A with a high affinity six fold lower than to that of cyclosporin A. The binding affinity of cymbimicin B is about 100 times lower. The taxonomy of the producing strain, fe...

Plant pathogens secrete an arsenal of effector proteins to impair host immunity. Some effectors possess enzymatic activities that can modify their host targets. Previously, we demonstrated that a Phytophthora sojae RXLR effector Avr3b acts as a Nudix hydrolase when expressed in planta; and this enzymatic activity is required for full virulence of P. sojae strain P6497 in soybean (Glycine max). ...