Journal of Applied Biomedicine, 2013 (vol. 11), issue 3
Original Research Article
Regulatory effect of β-catenin on proliferation of hair follicle stem cells involves PI3K/Akt pathway
Yi Zhang, Jin Yu, Chunying Shi, Yun Wang, Jin Yang, Tian Yang
J Appl Biomed 11:131-141, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0019-6 
β-catenin signaling is required for hair follicle development and regeneration which are involved in the resuscitation of hair follicle stem cells (HFSCs). To further characterize the role of β-catenin in the regulation of proliferation of HFSCs, the β-catenin expression was measured in the defined stages of hair follicle cycle and the proliferative potency was determined by using an in vitro cell growth assay. Our results showed that activation of β-catenin correlated with HFSCs proliferation, which appeared to be mediated by the nuclear translocation of stabilized β-catenin and the activation of responsible cell cycle...
Computational modeling in the prediction of Dynamic Hip Screw failure in proximal femoral fractures
Maroš Hrubina, Zdeněk Horák, Radek Bartoška, Leoš Navrátil, Jozef Rosina
J Appl Biomed 11:143-151, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0017-8
The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between implant-associated complications and Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) placement in the femoral neck, based on a Finite Element (FE) Analysis. Very diverse implant failures and subsequent complications can be encountered after introduction of the DHS. We evaluated 308 dynamic hip screw osteosyntheses for pertrochanteric fractures in 297 patients. The ABAQUS 6.9 program was used for development of the FE model, and the analyses were performed in 5 modelled situations corresponding to five different screw locations. Complications occurred in 10% of patients and re-operation was necessary in 3.9%. The...
Human colostrum melatonin exhibits a day-night variation and modulates the activity of colostral phagocytes
Adenilda Cristina Honorio-França, Cristiane Castro Pernet Hara, João Victor Silva Ormonde, Gabriel Triches Nunes, Eduardo Luzía França
J Appl Biomed 11:153-162, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0039-2
Some studies report that hormone melatonin can be found in human milk, but the daily variation in colostrum melatonin is not available. This study verified the effects of milk collection time (diurnal/nocturnal) on colostral melatonin levels and the ability of this hormone to modulate colostral phagocyte activity. Colostrum samples were collected from 30 mothers during the day and night, for a total of 60 samples. We determined melatonin levels in colostrum and superoxide release and bacterial killing by colostral phagocytes. Melatonin levels were higher in colostrum samples collected at night. Phagocytes in nocturnal colostrum samples increased spontaneous...
Effects of glucocorticoids on cytochrome P450 1A1 (CYP1A1) expression in isolated human placental trophoblast
Lucie Stejskalová, Radim Vrzal, Alice Rulcová, Zdeněk Dvořák, Petr Pávek
J Appl Biomed 11:163-172, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0022-y
Antenatal glucocorticoid administration is used in cases of fetuses at risk to be born prematurely to enhance fetal pulmonary surfactant production and prevent infant respiratory distress syndrome. The CYP1A1 is the most important xenobiotic-metabolizing cytochrome P450 enzyme in the human placenta. Importantly, CYP1A1 generates reactive species and its placental activity is elevated in smoking women. CYP1A1 expression is mainly controlled by aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) ligands. Glucocorticoid co-regulation of CYP1A1 has been described in various cell types but has not been systematically examined in the human placental trophoblast.We studied...
Application of EPR spectroscopy to examination of free radicals in melanins from A-375 and G-361 human melanoma malignum cells
Ewa Chodurek, Magdalena Zdybel, Barbara Pilawa
J Appl Biomed 11:173-185, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0023-x
Melanins are polymorphous and multifunctional biopolymers with a relatively high concentration of free radicals. EPR spectroscopy was used to study o-semiquinone free radicals in model eumelanins synthesized from 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA) and tyrosine in the presence of tyrosinase, and melanins isolated from A-375 and G-361 human melanoma malignum cells exposed to two compounds: 5,7-dimethoxycoumarin (DMC) and valproic acid (VPA). Changes were determined in the concentrations of free radicals in the individual melanins from tumour cells treated with DMC and VPA. A strong decrease in the concentrations of free radicals characterizes melanins...
Tacrine can suppress immune response to tularemia in BALB/c mouse model
Miroslav Pohanka, Oto Pavlis
J Appl Biomed 11:187-193, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0021-z
Tacrine is an inhibitor of enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE). In the past, it was used for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction during vascular dementia and Alzheimer disease. Some works have concluded that AChE inhibitors can modulate immune response, and for this reason, we decided to investigate the immune response to a model bacterial disease - tularemia - for which both innate and specific immunity are necessary to resolve the disease. We used 64 BALB/c mice divided into eight groups exposed variously to saline, tacrine in a dose of 20.0-500 μg/kg, infection with tularemia and infection with the contemporary application of tacrine. The mice...
Naringenin attenuates testicular damage, germ cell death and oxidative stress in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats: naringenin prevents diabetic rat testicular damage
Souvik Roy, Noorjaman Rahaman, Faiqa Ahmed, Satyajit Metya, Santanu Sannigrahi
J Appl Biomed 11:195-208, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0026-7
The aim of this study was to investigate the protective effect of naringenin on oxidative stress, on pro-inflammatory cytokines like TGF-β1, IL-1β and on programmed cell death in the testicular damage resulting from streptozotocin (STZ) induced diabetes in rats. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal injection of STZ (50 mg/kg), and the rats were treated with naringenin (5 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg) administered once a day orally for 10 weeks, starting 3 days after the STZ injection. At the end of the study, all animals were sacrificed. Testis tissue and blood samples were collected for the assessment of sperm parameters, and for biochemical...
Reviews
Assessing colorectal cancer heterogeneity: one step closer to tailored medicine
Pavel Pitule, Miroslava Čedíková, Vladislav Třeška, Milena Králíčková, Václav Liška
J Appl Biomed 11:115-129, 2013 | DOI: 10.2478/v10136-012-0035-6
Many advances in understanding colorectal cancer heterogeneity and its impact on the variability of treatment efficacy have been achieved in recent years. New methods have also been introduced in colorectal cancer diagnosis and early detection, including molecular biology techniques as well as newly developed or improved imaging techniques. We are currently aware of some aspects of colorectal cancer heterogeneity, such as alterations in the epidermal growth factor receptor signalling or the different behaviours of tumours belonging to different genetic and epigenetic subtypes. In the future, greater attention should also be focused on other signalling...