objective: hexavalent chromium [cr (vi)] compounds are well-known environmental contaminants  generated from industrial processes. several studies have reported the harmful effects of cr (vi) on different organs, however, little is known about neurotoxic effects of cr (vi). the aim of this study is to investigate the toxic effects of cr (vi) on pc12 cells. methods: pc12 cells were cultured foll...

Background Carbonic anhydrases (CAs) are ubiquitous, essential enzymes which catalyze the conversion of carbon dioxide and water to bicarbonate and H+ ions. Vertebrate genomes generally contain gene loci for 15-21 different CA isoforms, three of which are enzymatically inactive. CA VI is the only secretory protein of the enzymatically active isoforms. We discovered that non-mammalian CA VI cont...

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a soluble carcinogen that has caused widespread contamination of soil and water in many industrial nations. Bacteria have the potential to aid remediation as certain strains can catalyze the reduction of Cr(VI) to insoluble and less toxic Cr(III). Here, we examine Cr(VI) reducing Microbacterium spp. (Cr-K1W, Cr-K20, Cr-K29, and Cr-K32) isolated from contaminated ...

The synthesis of Vi polysaccharide, a major virulence determinant in Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi (S. Typhi), is under the control of two regulatory systems, ompR-envZ and rscB-rscC, which respond to changes in osmolarity. Some S. Typhi isolates exhibit over-expression of Vi polysaccharide, which masks clinical detection of LPS O-antigen. This variation in Vi polysaccharide and O-antigen ...

Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (MPS VI) is an autosomal recessive multisystem lysosomal storage disorder, which is characterized by the deficiency of the enzyme arylsulfatase B encoded by the ARSB gene. Treatment of this disease with enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT) improves the clinical status of and generates hope for MPS VI patients. However, only few reports on patients with MPS VI treated b...

Traditional methods for detection and serotyping of enterovirus infections are virus isolation and immunofluorescence assay (VI-IFA), which are labor-intensive and time-consuming. Recently, VP1 gene has been targeted to develop a CODEHOP-based RT-PCR (VP1-CODEHOP) for the same purpose. In this study, we conducted a 5-year enterovirus surveillance comparing the VI-IFA and VP1-CODEHOP tests. Thro...

BACKGROUND Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) type VI is a rare autosomal recessive bone fragility disorder that is caused by inactivating mutations in SERPINF1, the gene that encodes pigment-epithelium derived factor (PEDF). Determining PEDF serum levels might facilitate the diagnosis of OI type VI. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study was to assess whether lack of circulating PEDF is a specific m...

B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2) is an antiapoptotic protein known to be important in the regulation of apoptosis in various cell types. However, its role in malignant transformation and tumorigenesis of human lung cells is not well understood. We previously reported that chronic exposure of human lung epithelial cells to the carcinogenic hexavalent chromium Cr(VI) caused malignant transformation and ...

Cutaneous neurofibromas, characteristic lesions of neurofibromatosis 1, are composed of an abundant extracellular matrix and nerve connective tissue-derived cell types: Schwann cells, perineurial cells, and fibroblasts. In this study, the extracellular matrix gene expression by these cells was examined under culture conditions that allowed them to be metabolically active and readily identifiabl...