I Wayan Sumardika^*†, Chen Youyi^*, Eisaku Kondo^‡, Yusuke Inoue^§, I Made Winarsa Ruma^*†, Hitoshi Murata^*, Rie Kinoshita^*, Ken-Ichi Yamamoto^*, Shuta Tomida^¶, Kazuhiko Shien^#, Hiroki Sato^#, Akira Yamauchi^**, Junichiro Futami^††, Endy Widya Putranto^‡‡, Toshihiko Hibino^§§, Shinichi Toyooka^¶#¶¶, Masahiro Nishibori^##, Masakiyo Sakaguchi^*

Oncology Research, Vol.26, No.3, pp. 431-444, 2018, DOI:10.3727/096504017X15031557924123

Abstract We previously identified novel S100A8/A9 receptors, extracellular matrix metalloproteinase inducer (EMMPRIN), melanoma cell adhesion molecule (MCAM), activated leukocyte cell adhesion molecule (ALCAM), and neuroplastin (NPTN) β, that are critically involved in S100A8/A9-mediated cancer metastasis and inflammation when expressed at high levels. However, little is known about the presence of any cancerspecific mechanism(s) that modifies these receptors, further inducing upregulation at protein levels without any transcriptional regulation. Expression levels of glycosyltransferase-encoding genes were examined by a PCRbased profiling array followed by confirmation with quantitative real-time PCR. Cell migration and invasion were assessed using a Boyden chamber.… More >

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 21-36, 2018, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2018.015.021

Abstract Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent professional antigen presenting cells as now known, which play critical roles in the initiation, programming and regulation of the immune response. Transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁), one of the major suppressive cytokines in tumor microenvironment, can deteriorate the biomechanical characteristics and motility of mature dendritic cells (mDCs)，but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well defined. In this study, the effects of TGF-β₁ on the motilities and T cell priming capabilities of mDCs as well as the molecular regulatory mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the cytoskeleton (F-actin) organizations of mDCs More >

Khaled Madbouly¹, Ahmed Isa², Mohamad Habous³, Raed Almannie⁴, Basim Abu-Rafea², Saleh Binsaleh⁴

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.24, No.3, pp. 8847-8852, 2017

Abstract Introduction: Pregnancy rates after intrauterine insemination (IUI) varies greatly. We aimed to identify pre and post processing semen analysis parameters that may be predictive of successful pregnancy in couples undergoing IUI.
Materials and methods: A retrospective study of the records of all couples underwent IUI for a 2 year period at our infertility center. Different characteristics of female subjects, pre and post processing semen parameters and treatment parameters were compared statistically.
Results: Thirty-two clinical pregnancies followed 526 IUI cycles in 294 couples, for a clinical pregnancy rate of 6.1% per cycle and a 10.9% per couple. The mean… More >

Yan Li^*, Shan Ji^†, Li-Ye Fu^*, Tao Jiang^*, Di Wu^*, Fan-Dong Meng^*

Oncology Research, Vol.25, No.5, pp. 721-731, 2017, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14772375848616

Abstract Cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 3 (CDKN3) has been reported to promote tumorigenesis. Since it is unclear whether CDKN3 participates in the development of human gastric cancer, this study assessed the association between CDKN3 expression and cell biological function and demonstrated the clinical significance and prognosis of CDKN3 in human gastric cancer. In this study, we found that CDKN3 showed a high expression in 35 paired human gastric cancer tissues and was correlated with poor patient survival, AJCC clinical staging, and recurrence. Silencing of CDKN3 in human gastric cancer cells can significantly reduce proliferation, migration, invasion, and More >

Yandong Lu^*1, Fangguo Li^*1, Tao Xu^†, Jie Sun^*1

Oncology Research, Vol.23, No.4, pp. 155-163, 2015, DOI:10.3727/096504016X14519157902681

Abstract Chondrosarcoma (CHS) is the second most common malignant bone sarcoma with increased risk of invasion and metastasis. However, the regulatory mechanisms of CHS tumorigenesis remain unknown. Here we investigated the novel role of miR-497 in regulating chondrosarcoma cell growth and cell cycle arrest. RT-PCR analysis showed that the expression of miR-497 is aberrantly downregulated in human chondrosarcoma samples and cells. After transfection with miR-497 mimic or antagomir, the proliferation and apoptosis of JJ012 and OUMS-27 chondrosarcoma cells were determined by CCK-8 assay and flow cytometric analysis, respectively. Results showed that the proliferation capacity of JJ012… More >

RANDI ZUKAS¹, ALEX J. CHANG¹, MARIAN RICE², AMY L. SPRINGER^1*

BIOCELL, Vol.36, No.3, pp. 133-142, 2012, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2012.36.133

Abstract Trypanosoma brucei is a protozoan flagellate that causes African sleeping sickness. Flagellar function in this organism is critical for life cycle progression and pathogenesis, however the regulation of flagellar motility is not well understood. The flagellar axoneme produces a complex beat through the precisely coordinated firing of many proteins, including multiple dynein motors. These motors are found in the inner arm and outer arm complexes. We are studying one of the inner arm dynein motors in the T. brucei flagellum: dynein-f. RNAi knockdown of genes for two components of dynein-f: DNAH10, the α heavy chain,… More >

QINGXIN LIU^1§ , XIANGGUI CHEN^2§, GUOLIN YANG¹ , XUEWEN MIN³ , AND MAOXIAN DENG^1,*

BIOCELL, Vol.35, No.3, pp. 71-80, 2011, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2011.35.071

Abstract Apigenin, a nonmutagenic flavonoid, has been shown to possess free radical scavenging activities, anticarcinogenic properties, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. Recently, apigenin was reported to cause gastric relaxation in murine. To assess possible effects of apigenin on migration of bladder smooth muscle (SM) cell, we isolated SM cells from peri-cancer tissue of human bladder and established a cell model that was capable to overexpress transiently MEKK1 (MEK kinase 1). Results showed that overexpression of active human MEKK1 by adenoviruses infection induced migration of human bladder smooth muscle (hBSM) cells and phosphorylation of MAPKs, ERK, JNK and More >

ROBERTO YUNES, PEDRO FERNÁNDEZ, GUSTAVO F. DONCEL, ANÍBAL A. ACOSTA

BIOCELL, Vol.29, No.3, pp. 287-293, 2005, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2005.29.287

Abstract Our objective was to determine the effect of phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibition on: 1) tyrosine phosphorylation of human spermatozoa at the tail level; and 2) sperm motion parameters and hyperactivated motility. The study was conducted with normozoospermic and asthenozoospermic samples incubated under in vitro capacitating conditions. The main outcome measures were computer-assisted sperm motion analysis and fluorescent immunodetection of phosphotyrosine-containing proteins. Pentoxifylline (PTX) was used as PDE inhibitor because of its wide use in the clinic. PTX-treatment significantly increased sperm velocity, hyperactivated motility and tyrosine-phosphorylation, both in normo and asthenozoospermic samples. Tyrosine-phosphorylation of tail proteins was highly More >

A.L. Brock, D.E. Ingber¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.2, No.3, pp. 135-144, 2005, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2005.002.135

Abstract The direction in which cells extend new motile processes, such as lamellipodia and filopodia, can be controlled by altering the geometry of extracellular matrix adhesive islands on which individual cells are cultured, thereby altering mechanical interactions between cells and the adhesive substrate [Parker (2002)]. Here we specifically investigate the intracellular molecular signals that mediate the mechanism by which cells selectively extend these processes from the corners of polygonal-shaped adhesive islands. Constitutive activation of the small GTPase Rac within cells cultured on square-shaped islands of fibronectin resulted in the elimination of preferential extension from corners. This… More >

Hong Qian¹

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.1, No.4, pp. 267-278, 2004, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2004.001.267

Abstract In recent single-particle tracking (SPT) measurements on Listeria monocytogenes motility in cells [Kuo and McGrath (2000)], the actin-based stochastic dynamics of the bacterium movement has been analyzed statistically in terms of the mean-square displacement (MSD) of the trajectory. We present a stochastic analysis of a simplified polymerization Brownian ratchet (BR) model in which motions are limited by the bacterium movement. Analytical results are obtained and statistical data analyses are investigated. It is shown that the MSD of the stochastic bacterium movement is a monotonic quadratic function while the MSD for detrended trajectories is linear. Both the More >