The Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway is one of the key regulators of metazoan development. Hh proteins have been shown to play roles in many developmental processes and have become paradigms for classical morphogens. Dysfunction of the Hh pathway underlies a number of human developmental abnormalities and diseases, making it an important therapeutic target. Interest in Hh signalling thus extend...

The protective effects of Mucuna pruriens seed extract (MPE) against the cardio-respiratory depressant and neuromuscular paralytic effects induced by injection of Calloselasma rhodostoma (Malayan pit viper) venom in anaesthetized rats were investigated. While MPE pretreatment did not reverse the inhibitory effect of the venom on the gastrocnemius muscle excitability, it significantly attenuated...

The world’s marine resources have long been viewed as inexhaustible supplies of protein and other products for the human population. However, as the adverse effects of human activity on marine and coastal ecosystems have become better understood, views of the sustainability of resource use have changed. Globally, there are increasing concerns about the sustainability of marine and coastal fishe...

From a search of the available literature, a database of 22 drugs of all charge types and several different therapeutic classes was compiled to compare rat and human biliary clearance data. Dog biliary excretion data were also found for nine of the drugs. For 19 of the 22 drugs (86%), rat unbound biliary clearance values, when normalized for body weight, exceeded those for humans by factors ran...

1 Department of Animal Health, Estonian Agricultural University, Kreutzwaldi 62, 51014, Tartu, Estonia, Phone: Andres Aland: 372 7 313221; Jaan Praks: 372 7 313202; Fax: 372 7 422259; 2 – Institute of Animal Science, Estonian Agricultural University, Kreutzwaldi 1, 51014, Tartu, Estonia, Phone: 372 7 313448; Fax: 372 7 313429; 3 – Department of Food Technology, Estonian Agricultural University,...

The finding of small penises among PCB-exposed human males tends to confirm that humans and wildlife are affected similarly by exposure to "endocrine-disrupting chemicals" such as PCBs, dioxin, DDT, and dozens of others. (See RHWN #249, #263, #264, #323, #327, #334, #337, #364, #365.) The endocrine system, in wildlife and humans, is a complex set of bodily organs and tissues whose activities ar...

Dysregulation of microRNA (miRNA) expression in various cancers and their role in cancer progression is well documented. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biological role of miR-372 in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma (HPAC). We collected 20 pairs of HPAC tissues and adjacent non-cancerous tissues to detect miR-372 expression levels. We transfected BXPC-3 and PANC-1 cells with miR...

UNLABELLED MicroRNA-372 (miR-372) acts as either an oncogenic miRNA or an anti-oncomiR in various human malignancies. However, its roles in gliomas have not been elucidated. To address this problem, we here detected miR-372 expression in human gliomas and non-neoplastic brain tissues by real-time quantitative RT-PCR assay. The association of miR-372 expression with clinicopathological factors o...