The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) was first characterized in 1970 as a membrane receptor of a neurotransmitter and an ion channel. nAChRs have been shown to be involved in smoking-induced cancer formation in multiple types of human cancer cells. In vitro and in vivo animal studies have shown that homopentameric nAChR inhibitors, such as methyllycaconitine and a-Bgtx, can attenuate ni...

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) was first characterized in 1970 as a membrane receptor of a neurotransmitter and an ion channel. nAChRs have been shown to be involved in smoking-induced cancer formation in multiple types of human cancer cells. In vitro and in vivo animal studies have shown that homopentameric nAChR inhibitors, such as methyllycaconitine and α-Bgtx, can attenuate ni...

Hyperplasia or hypertrophy of adipose tissues plays a crucial role in obesity, which is accompanied by the release of leptin. Recently, obesity was determined to be associated with various pulmonary diseases including asthma, acute lung injury, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. However, how obesity contributes to pulmonary diseases and whether leptin directly regulates lung inflammatio...

AIMS Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is produced by endothelial cells (EC) and is responsible for the removal of intravascular fibrin deposits. We investigated whether expression of t-PA by EC is under epigenetic control. METHODS AND RESULTS Methylation analysis of the proximal t-PA promoter revealed a stretch of unmethylated CpG dinucleotides from position -121 to +59, while upstrea...

Cryptococcus neoformans is an environmental fungus and an opportunistic human pathogen. Previous studies have demonstrated major alterations in its transcriptional profile as this microorganism enters the hostile environment of the human host. To assess the role of chromatin remodeling in host-induced transcriptional responses, we identified the C. neoformans Gcn5 histone acetyltransferase and ...