Annona montana-mediated inhibitory effect on both human and murine adipogenesis was shown to be exerted via a significant decrease in the accumulation of lipid content by both a dramatic reduction of size and number of lipid droplets. Annona montana leaves’ extract strongly attenuated the expression of HMGB2, which correlate with the decrease of the expression of CEBPα, and PPARγ via the modulation of the Akt signaling pathway. Thus, Annona montana leaves’ extract blocks adipogenesis of fibroblasts by selectively altering expression of several adipogenic factors.
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IVY LEUNG1, MARIA-LUISA VEISAGA2, MARGARITA ESPINAL1, WEI ZHANG1, ROBERT BARNUM1, MANUEL ALEJANDRO BARBIERI1,2,3,4,*
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 567-578, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.014009
Abstract The Annona genus is a member of Annonaceae, one of the largest families of plants across tropical and sub-tropical regions. This family has been used in several ethnomedicinal practices to treat a multitude of human diseases. However, the molecular mechanism underlying its effect on the lipid droplet formation and on the expression of adipogenic markers of this plant remain to be investigated. In this study, we examined whether the extracts from the aerial part of Annona montana affect in vitro differentiation of preadipocytes. For our investigations, both mouse embryo fibroblast 3T3-L1 and normal human primary subcutaneous preadipocytes were incubated with… More >
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SERGIU PASCA1,*, ANCUTA JURJ2
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 579-581, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017926
Abstract Ten eleven translocation (TET) enzymes are composed of three representatives: TET1/2/3 which are involved in the hydroxymethylation of methylated cytosines. Because of the wide array of processes that are governed by these epigenetic marks, there have been a wide range of clinical effects associated with TET alterations. Even though many research groups have focused on analyzing the effect of TET alterations within certain cells, few have taken into consideration the effect of TET in the context of intercellular communication. One important entity through which intercellular communication occurs is represented by exosomes. Thus, in the current viewpoint we discussed the direct… More >
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RUXIN ZHANG1, CHENGGANG LI2, RUOCHEN DU1, YITONG YUAN1, BICHUN ZHAO1, YUJUAN ZHANG1, CHUNFANG WANG1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 583-592, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017248
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Cell-Based Regenerative Therapies)
Abstract Extracellular β-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) are the pathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Studies have shown that aggregates of extracellular Aβ can induce neuroinflammation mediated neurotoxic signaling through microglial activation and release of pro-inflammatory factors. Thus, modulation of Aβ might be a potential therapeutic strategy for modifying disease progression. Recently, a large number of reports have confirmed the beneficial effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on AD. It is believed to reduce neuroinflammation, reduce Aβ amyloid deposits and NFTs, increase acetylcholine levels, promote neurogenesis, reduce neuronal damage, and improve working memory and cognition. In this review, we… More >
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REVIEW
LIPING WANG1,2, ZHOU LUO1, MINMIN SUN3, QIUYUE YUAN4, YINGGANG ZOU5, DEYUAN FU1,*
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 595-606, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017337
Abstract This work aimed to improve current prognostic signatures based on clinical stages in identifying high-risk patients of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), to allow patients with a high-risk score for specific treatment decisions. In this study, 396 TNBC samples from TCGA and GEO databases were included in genome-wide transcriptome analysis. The relationship between normalized gene expression values and survival data of patients was determined by Cox proportional hazards models in each dataset. The overlapped genes among all datasets were considered as a potential prognostic signature. The risk score was constructed based on individual genes and validated with three separate data sets… More >
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MARCELO P. HERNANDO1,2, IRENE R. SCHLOSS3,4,5,*, FLORENCIA DE LA ROSA6,7, MARLEEN DE TROCH8
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 607-621, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017309
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Oxidative Stress in Aquatic Organisms)
Abstract Under the present changing climate conditions and the observed temperature increase, it is of high importance to understand its effects on aquatic microbial life, and organisms’ adaptations at the biochemical level. To adjust to temperature or salinity stress and avoid cell damage, organisms alter their degree of fatty acids (FAs) saturation. Thus, temperature is expected to have strong effects on both the quantity and quality of FAs in aquatic microorganisms. Here we review some recent findings about FAs sensitivity to climate change in contrasting environments. Overall, heat waves may induce changes in the relative abundance of polyunsaturated FAs (PUFA). However,… More >
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REVIEW
HAKIM MANGHWAR1,#,*, AMJAD HUSSAIN2,#
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 623-632, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017316
Abstract Plants are recurrently exposed to myriads of biotic and abiotic stresses leading to several biochemical and physiological variations that cause severe impacts on plant growth and survival. To overcome these challenges, plants activate two primary defense mechanisms, such as structural response (cell wall strengthening and waxy epidermal cuticle development) and metabolic changes, including the synthesis of anti-microbial compounds and proteins, especially the pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. PR proteins are members of a super large family of defense proteins that exhibit antimicrobial activities. Their over-expression in plants provides tolerance to many abiotic and biotic stresses. PR proteins have been classified into 17… More >
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RAFAEL SCAF DE MOLON1,2,*, ERICA DORIGATTI DE AVILA2, JONI AUGUSTO CIRELLI2, JOAO PAULO STEFFENS3
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 633-638, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018031
Abstract The periodontium comprises all structures surrounding the teeth, including gingiva, root cementum, periodontal ligament and alveolar bone. Those tissues aim to protect and support the teeth and are challenged by a residing microbiota that leads to subclinical inflammation even in physiological conditions. Periodontitis, a prevalent multicausal inflammatory and destructive disease, develops as a result from complex host-parasite interactions. This unique physiologic and pathologic scenario enables the development of research methods which allows conclusions beyond the simple understanding of periodontal homeostasis. The aim of this viewpoint was to explore potential contributions of periodontal research to a wide array of basic science… More >
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LUCÍA VELOZ1,2, SANTIAGO A. BOSCH1,3, GONZALO APARICIO1,2,*, FLAVIO R. ZOLESSI1,2,*
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 639-644, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018798
(This article belongs to this Special Issue: Tumor Microenvironment and Cytoskeletal Dynamics)
Abstract Cell extrusion is an active mechanism to eliminate non-viable or supernumerary cells in healthy epithelia. It also plays a role in carcinogenesis, both in tumor growth (apical extrusion) and metastasis (basal extrusion). Embryonic tissues like the neuroepithelium, on the other hand, present rates of proliferation comparable to that of carcinomas, without the occurrence of cell extrusion. However, the downregulation or phosphorylation of actin-modulating proteins like MARCKS, causes extensive neuroepithelial apical cell extrusion. As changes in MARCKS proteins phosphorylation and expression have also been correlated to carcinogenesis, we propose here an integrated model for their functions in epithelial integrity. More >
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FATIMA CVRČKOVÁ*, HANA KONRÁDOVÁ
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 645-649, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.018114
Abstract The possibility of associative learning in plants is a topic of ongoing controversy. In one published study, growing pea plants were reported to associate two stimuli (airflow and light) and thereafter use one (airflow) as an indicator for the other (light), similar to dogs in Pavlov’s famous experiments. However, this observation could not be independently repeated. Here we examine a possible reason for the failure of a published reproduction attempt, which used substantially different light quality during plant cultivation prior to experimental treatments than in the original study. This could have resulted in dramatically different growth characteristics. While the relevance… More >
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ANTONIO JUÁREZ-MALDONADO*
BIOCELL, Vol.46, No.3, pp. 651-654, 2022, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2022.017350
Abstract The use of nanomaterials has spread and has been applied in different industries, including agriculture. Here, the possibilities presented by NMs are very varied, from the biostimulation of favorable responses, or the control of pests and diseases, to the monitoring of characteristics of interest with the use of nanosensors. Particularly the biostimulation of agricultural crops with the use of nanomaterials is very relevant, since from this process stress tolerance, higher content of biocompounds, etc., can be induced. Although the positive impacts on crops are clear, there is not enough information to determine the long-term impacts, both on ecosystems and on… More >