LUCIANA MAZZEI¹, ISABEL MERCEDES GARCÍA¹, VALERIA CACCIAMANI¹, MARÍA EUGENIA BENARDÓN¹ AND WALTER MANUCHA^{1, 2, 3}

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 121-132, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.121

Abstract Wilms tumor gene 1 (wt-1), a key regulator of mesenchymal-epithelial transformation, is downregulated during congenital obstructive nephropathy, leading to apoptosis. There is a functional interaction between WT-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS). In this regard, we reported that after neonatal unilateral ureteral obstruction, rosuvastatin prevents apoptosis through an increase in nitric oxide bioavailability, which in turn is linked to higher Hsp70 expression. Hence, the goal of this study was to determine whether a nitric oxide/Hsp70 interaction is involved in changes in WT-1 mRNA expression after ureteral obstruction. Neonatal rats submitted to experimental ureteral obstruction were… More >

THANDI MQOCO¹, SUMARI MARAIS¹ AND ANNIE JOUBERT

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 113-120, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.113

Abstract 2-Methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate is a bis-sulphamoylated derivative of the naturally occurring 17-beta-estradiol metabolite namely 2-methoxyestradiol. 2-Methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate is regarded as a potential anticancer drug with increased antiproliferative activity when compared to 2-methoxyestradiol. The aim of this pilot in vitro study was to determine the influence of 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate on cell growth, morphology and possible induction of certain types of cell death in the SNO esophageal carcinoma cell line. A dose-dependent study (0.2-1.0μM) was conducted with an exposure time of 24 hours. Data revealed that 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate reduced cell numbers statistically significantly to 74% after exposure to 0.4μM of the drug. Morphological More >

GISELE ORLANDI INTROÍNI¹, FERNANDA MARTINS MAESTER¹, FOSCA Pedini PEREIRA LEITE² AND SHIRLEI MARIA RECCO-PIMENTEL¹

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 103-112, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.103

Abstract Ultrastructural analyses of bivalve spermatozoa are relevant in studies that aim to identify taxonomic traits for the purposes of discriminating species and conducting phylogenetic studies. In the present work, spermatozoa of mussel specimens of the genus Mytella, collected from two populations living in distinct habitats, were examined by electron microscopy. The objective was to identify sperm ultrastructural taxonomic traits that could be used to differentiate Mytella species. The specimens were from populations that live in intertidal zones on the southeast coast of Brazil, either buried in muddy-sand sediment or anchored to rocky substrates. The acrosomal vesicle… More >

GRACIELI DALLA NORA¹, TAMARA PASTORI¹, HAYWOOD DAIL LAUGHINGHOUSE IV^2,3, THAIS SCOTTI DO CANTO-DOROW¹, SOLANGE BOSIO TEDESCO^1*

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.3, pp. 95-102, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.095

Abstract Mikania glomerata is a plant used in Brazilian traditional medicine, known as ‘guaco’. It possesses anti-inflammatory properties and the aqueous extracts of its leaves are indicated for the treatment of diseases of the respiratory tract. This study aimed at evaluating the antiproliferative and genotoxic effect of Mikania glomerata leaf infusions on the cell cycle of onion. The material used was collected in the native environment from Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Aqueous extracts through infusions were prepared in two concentrations: 4g/L (usual concentration) and 16g/L (4x more concentrated) of each of the populations. Two groups of… More >

LIPING ZHOU*, XIAOLIN GUO, JING BA, LIANSHUANG ZHA

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.2, pp. 91-94, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.091

Abstract CXCL-12 and its receptor CXCR4 participate in breast cancer and melanoma cell metastasis to bone and lymphoid nodes. CD44, as a receptor for hyaluronic acid, is involved in lymphocyte recirculation, homing, adhesion and migration. But the role of CD44 in CXCL-12 induced leukemia cell migration still remains unclear. The present study showed that CXCL-12 stimulation induced the rapid internalization of CXCR4 and facilitated the formation of lamellipodia and uropod in acute leukemia cell line HL-60. CXCL12 also induced CD44 translocation into the uropod, while CD44 remained evenly distributed on the untreated cell membranes. Results suggest More >

JUAN CARLOS CAVICCHIA*, GUSTAVO GUEMBE, MABEL FÓSCOLO

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.2, pp. 81-90, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.081

Abstract In a previous paper we described a pronounced increase of apoptotic nuclei in rat corpus luteum of pregnancy whose programmed chromatin degeneration was induced by the progesterone antagonist mifepristone. Those observations encouraged us to study the apoptotic nuclear membrane during pregnancy and after parturition and pup removal, by using a freeze-fracture technique which allows us to observe ‘en face’ the nuclear envelop and also permits nuclear pore counting. This study was complemented with the TUNEL assay (TdT-mediated dUTP nick-end labelling). Changes in nuclear pores during pregnancy begin with an intense reduction in number but still… More >

CHRIS VORSTER, ANNIE JOUBERT

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.2, pp. 71-80, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.071

Abstract In the search for new and improved anticancer therapies, researchers have identified several potentially useful compounds. One of these agents is 2-methoxyestradiol-bis-sulphamate (2ME-BM), a sulphamoylated derivative of 2-methoxyestradiol. The objective of this study was to evaluate 2ME-BM’s in vitro efficacy as antiproliferative agent in the MCF-7 breast adenocarcinoma cell line. Light- and fluorescent microscopy showed decreased cell density, increased apoptotic characteristics and significant ultrastructural aberrations indicative of autophagic cell death after 24 hours of exposure at a concentration of 0.4μM. In addition, mitotic indices revealed that 2ME-BM induces a G₂M block. The latter was confirmed by flow More >

VALERIA C. DENNINGHOFF^1,2*, GEORGINA P. OSSANI¹, ANA M. UCEDA¹, MARIA A. AVAGNINA², BORIS ELSNER², ALBERTO J. MONSERRAT¹

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.2, pp. 65-70, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.065

Abstract Weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed on a choline-deficient diet with hydrogenated vegetable oil and corn oil as lipids develop acute renal failure. Pathogenesis of the latter is controversial and an ischemic mechanism has been proposed. Arachidonic acid derivatives are involved in the regulation of vascular tonus. Vasospasm could be due to an increase in tromboxane A2-mediated vasoconstriction or to a decrease in prostacyclin-induced vasodilatation. Enzymes involved in the synthesis of both compounds are tromboxane A2- and prostacyclin-synthase respectively. The aim of this study was to identify the variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) in the promoter More >

CUIXIA CHEN^1*, LINGLING CUI², XIN SHANG², XIANLU ZENG²

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.2, pp. 57-64, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.057

Abstract L-selectin is a member of the selectin family that play an important role both in mediating the initial capture and subsequent rolling of leukocytes along the endothelial cells. Furthermore, L-selectin can function as a signal molecule. In our previous studies, we reported that L-selectin ligation could regulate CSF-1 (colony-stimulating factor-1) gene transcription, in which AP-1 acts as a crucial transcriptional factor. Here we investigated the function of the NFAT in the CSF-1 gene transcriptional events. We found that overexpression of WT NFAT induce CSF-1 gene transcription greatly in the activated Jurkat cells. Furthermore, we found More >

ALI M.SHARIFI^1,2*, RADBOD DARABI², AND KHOSROW JADIDI³

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 53-55, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.053

Abstract The effects of human versus mouse EGF on cell growth and culture duration were studied to optimize a human limbal stem cells culture method for therapeutical autologous transplantation. Limbal cells were obtained by trypsin digestion and transferred to a culture medium. The time needed to reach full confluence in culture was determined. Specific antibodies to corneal stem cell marker (P63) versus corneal epithelial differentiation marker (K3) were used for histochemical determinations. A high proportion of P63 positive cells (85± 4.6%), and a correspondingly low proportion K3 positive cells (15 ± 3.8%) indicated that most cultured More >