Skip Content
You are currently on the new version of our website. Access the old version .

International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Volume 13, Issue 2

2012 February - 80 articles

  • Issues are regarded as officially published after their release is announced to the table of contents alert mailing list .
  • You may sign up for email alerts to receive table of contents of newly released issues.
  • PDF is the official format for papers published in both, html and pdf forms. To view the papers in pdf format, click on the "PDF Full-text" link, and use the free Adobe Reader to open them.

Articles (80)

  • Review
  • Open Access
81 Citations
11,807 Views
19 Pages

Impaired Iron Status in Aging Research

  • Jinze Xu,
  • Zhenhua Jia,
  • Mitchell D. Knutson and
  • Christiaan Leeuwenburgh

22 February 2012

Aging is associated with disturbances in iron metabolism and storage. During the last decade, remarkable progress has been made toward understanding their cellular and molecular mechanisms in aging and age-associated diseases using both cultured cell...

  • Article
  • Open Access
12 Citations
7,395 Views
18 Pages

22 February 2012

Kinase insert domain receptor (KDR) inhibitors have been proved to be very effective anticancer agents. Molecular docking, 3D-QSAR methods, CoMFA and CoMSIA were performed on pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives as non-ATP competitive KDR inhibitors...

  • Article
  • Open Access
42 Citations
10,183 Views
20 Pages

Characterization of Different Functionalized Lipidic Nanocapsules as Potential Drug Carriers

  • Paola Sánchez-Moreno,
  • Juan Luis Ortega-Vinuesa,
  • Antonio Martín-Rodríguez,
  • Houría Boulaiz,
  • Juan Antonio Marchal-Corrales and
  • José Manuel Peula-García

22 February 2012

Lipid nanocapsules (LNC) based on a core-shell structure consisting of an oil-filled core with a surrounding polymer layer are known to be promising vehicles for the delivery of hydrophobic drugs in the new therapeutic strategies in anti-cancer treat...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
8,667 Views
14 Pages

DNA Barcodes of Asian Houbara Bustard (Chlamydotis undulata macqueenii)

  • Ibrahim A. Arif,
  • Haseeb A. Khan,
  • Joseph B. Williams,
  • Mohammad Shobrak and
  • Waad I. Arif

22 February 2012

Populations of Houbara Bustards have dramatically declined in recent years. Captive breeding and reintroduction programs have had limited success in reviving population numbers and thus new technological solutions involving molecular methods are esse...

  • Article
  • Open Access
40 Citations
10,694 Views
20 Pages

Enhancing Osteoconduction of PLLA-Based Nanocomposite Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration Using Different Biomimetic Signals to MSCs

  • Gabriela Ciapetti,
  • Donatella Granchi,
  • Valentina Devescovi,
  • Serena R. Baglio,
  • Elisa Leonardi,
  • Desirèe Martini,
  • Maria Jesus Jurado,
  • Beatriz Olalde,
  • Ilaria Armentano and
  • Nicola Baldini
  • + 3 authors

22 February 2012

In bone engineering, the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells rely on signaling from chemico-physical structure of the substrate, therefore prompting the design of mimetic “extracellular matrix”-like scaffolds. In...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
7,363 Views
13 Pages

22 February 2012

Circular dichroism (CD) and deconvolution were used to study the structural integrity of a “plugged” and an “open” FhuA transmembrane channel protein in the presence of varied concentrations of tetrahydrofuran (THF), ethanol (EtOH) and chloroform/met...

  • Article
  • Open Access
108 Citations
15,170 Views
9 Pages

Antioxidant Activity of Mulberry Fruit Extracts

  • Muhammad Arfan,
  • Rasool Khan,
  • Anna Rybarczyk and
  • Ryszard Amarowicz

22 February 2012

Phenolic compounds were extracted from the fruits of Morus nigra and Morus alba using methanol and acetone. The sugar-free extracts (SFEs) were prepared using Amberlite XAD-16 column chromatography. All of the SFEs exhibited antioxidant potential as...

  • Article
  • Open Access
107 Citations
13,016 Views
20 Pages

22 February 2012

Lipoxygenases (LOXs) are non-haem iron-containing dioxygenases that catalyse oxygenation of polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipids to initiate the formation of a group of biologically active compounds called oxylipins. Plant oxylipins play important...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
6,611 Views
14 Pages

Spectroscopic Parameter and Molecular Constant Investigations on Low-Lying States of BeF Radical

  • Zun Lue Zhu,
  • Qing Peng Song,
  • Su Hua Kou,
  • Jian Hua Lang and
  • Jin Feng Sun

22 February 2012

The potential energy curves (PECs) of X2Σ+, A2Πr and B2Σ+ states of BeF radical have been investigated using the complete active space self-consistent-field (CASSCF) method, followed by the highly accurate valence internally contracted multireference...

  • Communication
  • Open Access
4 Citations
6,655 Views
6 Pages

Isolation and Characterization of New Microsatellite Markers for the Invasive Softshell Clam, Mya arenaria (L.) (Bivalvia: Myidae)

  • Ana-Maria Krapal,
  • Oana Paula Popa,
  • Elena Iulia Iorgu,
  • Marieta Costache and
  • Luis Ovidiu Popa

22 February 2012

The invasive softshell clam (Mya arenaria Linnaeus, 1758) is native to the northwestern region of the Atlantic Ocean. This species has been introduced in the northeast Pacific and along the European coasts, due to intense naval transports and aquacul...

  • Article
  • Open Access
57 Citations
8,433 Views
14 Pages

Antiproliferative and Proapoptotic Activities of Methanolic Extracts from Ligustrum vulgare L. as an Individual Treatment and in Combination with Palladium Complex

  • Milena G. Ćurčić,
  • Milan S. Stanković,
  • Emina M. Mrkalić,
  • Zoran D. Matović,
  • Dragić D. Banković,
  • Danijela M. Cvetković,
  • Dragana S. Đačić and
  • Snežana D. Marković

22 February 2012

The aim of this study is to examine the growth inhibitory effects of methanolic leaf and fruit extracts of L. vulgare on HCT-116 cells over different time periods and their synergistic effect with a Pd(apox) complex. The antiproliferative activity of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
88 Citations
11,675 Views
11 Pages

In Vitro Control of Post-Harvest Fruit Rot Fungi by Some Plant Essential Oil Components

  • Ippolito Camele,
  • Luciana Altieri,
  • Laura De Martino,
  • Vincenzo De Feo,
  • Emilia Mancini and
  • Gian Luigi Rana

21 February 2012

Eight substances that are main components of the essential oils from three Mediterranean aromatic plants (Verbena officinalis, Thymus vulgaris and Origanum vulgare), previously found active against some phytopathogenic Fungi and Stramenopila, have be...

  • Article
  • Open Access
18 Citations
7,290 Views
13 Pages

21 February 2012

Madagascar periwinkle is an ornamental and a medicinal plant, and is also an indicator plant that is highly susceptible to phytoplasma and spiroplasma infections from different crops. Periwinkle lethal yellows, caused by Spiroplasma citri, is one of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
106 Citations
13,954 Views
17 Pages

21 February 2012

The aim of this study was to evaluate the antioxidant mechanisms of red ginseng essential oil (REO) in cells as well as in an animal model. REO was prepared by a supercritical CO2 extraction of waste-products generated after hot water extraction of r...

  • Review
  • Open Access
109 Citations
12,492 Views
23 Pages

Epigenetic Disregulation in Oral Cancer

  • Massimo Mascolo,
  • Maria Siano,
  • Gennaro Ilardi,
  • Daniela Russo,
  • Francesco Merolla,
  • Gaetano De Rosa and
  • Stefania Staibano

21 February 2012

Squamous cell carcinoma of the oral region (OSCC) is one of the most common and highly aggressive malignancies worldwide, despite the fact that significant results have been achieved during the last decades in its detection, prevention and treatment....

  • Article
  • Open Access
41 Citations
9,260 Views
14 Pages

21 February 2012

Supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2) extraction of oil from oak silkworm pupae was performed in the present research. Response surface methodology (RSM) was applied to optimize the parameters of SC-CO2 extraction, including extraction pressure, temp...

  • Article
  • Open Access
49 Citations
9,020 Views
14 Pages

Seasonal Variations of the Antioxidant Composition in Ground Bamboo Sasa argenteastriatus Leaves

  • Qinxue Ni,
  • Guangzhi Xu,
  • Zhiqiang Wang,
  • Qianxin Gao,
  • Shu Wang and
  • Youzuo Zhang

20 February 2012

Sasa argenteastriatus, with abundant active compounds and high antioxidant activity in leaves, is a new leafy bamboo grove suitable for exploitation. To utilize it more effectively and scientifically, we investigate the seasonal variations of antioxi...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
7,376 Views
13 Pages

20 February 2012

A comprehensive and facile method for the synthesis of new functionalized bis-heterocyclic compounds containing a thieno[2,3-b]thiophene motif is described. The hitherto unknown bis-pyrazolothieno[2,3-b]thiophene derivatives 2ac, bis-pyridazin othie...

  • Article
  • Open Access
56 Citations
9,265 Views
14 Pages

Emodin Prevents Intrahepatic Fat Accumulation, Inflammation and Redox Status Imbalance During Diet-Induced Hepatosteatosis in Rats

  • Anna Alisi,
  • Anna Pastore,
  • Sara Ceccarelli,
  • Nadia Panera,
  • Daniela Gnani,
  • Giovannella Bruscalupi,
  • Mara Massimi,
  • Giulia Tozzi,
  • Fiorella Piemonte and
  • Valerio Nobili

20 February 2012

High-fat and/or high-carbohydrate diets may predispose to several metabolic disturbances including liver fatty infiltration (hepatosteatosis) or be associated with necro-inflammation and fibrosis (steatohepatitis). Several studies have emphasized the...

  • Article
  • Open Access
56 Citations
8,649 Views
16 Pages

17 February 2012

Electrophilicity is an intrinsic property of atoms and molecules. It probably originates logistically with the involvement in the physical process of electrostatics of soaked charge in electronic shells and the screened nuclear charge of atoms. Motiv...

  • Article
  • Open Access
26 Citations
9,272 Views
20 Pages

17 February 2012

Inhibition of p53-MDM2/MDMX interaction is considered to be a promising strategy for anticancer drug design to activate wild-type p53 in tumors. We carry out molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the binding mechanisms of peptide and non-pepti...

  • Article
  • Open Access
46 Citations
7,850 Views
12 Pages

17 February 2012

Antifreeze proteins (AFPs) are ice-binding proteins. Accurate identification of new AFPs is important in understanding ice-protein interactions and creating novel ice-binding domains in other proteins. In this paper, an accurate method, called AFP_PS...

  • Article
  • Open Access
23 Citations
8,657 Views
11 Pages

17 February 2012

Combined therapy emerges as an attractive strategy for cancer treatment. The aim of this study was to investigate the inhibitory effects of mitomycin C (MMC) combined with a novel antibody fragment (Fab) targeting latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) on...

  • Review
  • Open Access
162 Citations
21,744 Views
20 Pages

17 February 2012

Alpha7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7 nAChR) is an important part of the cholinergic nerve system in the brain. Moreover, it is associated with a cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway in the termination of the parasympathetic nervous system. An...

  • Article
  • Open Access
15 Citations
8,575 Views
10 Pages

17 February 2012

Poly(glutamic acid) has been studied with a nanosecond T-jump experiment. A new experimental set-up based on the frequency-quadrupling of an 82 MHz Titanium-Sapphire laser allows rapid CD measurements to be performed. Combining time-resolved absorpti...

  • Review
  • Open Access
123 Citations
13,970 Views
19 Pages

Antioxidant-Induced Stress

  • Cleva Villanueva and
  • Robert D. Kross

16 February 2012

Antioxidants are among the most popular health-protecting products, sold worldwide without prescription. Indeed, there are many reports showing the benefits of antioxidants but only a few questioning the possible harmful effects of these “drugs”. The...

  • Article
  • Open Access
5 Citations
6,790 Views
9 Pages

The Effect of Toll-Like Receptor 4 in the Aqueous Humor of Endotoxin-Induced Uveitis

  • Jing Wang,
  • Hong Lu,
  • Yingzhi Xu,
  • Xiaofeng Hu,
  • Wei Chen and
  • Shang Li

16 February 2012

In our previous study, we found that acute anterior uveitis (AAU) could be induced in wild-type mice (C3H/HeN), but it could not be induced in TLR4 gene-deficient mice (C3H/HeJ), we concluded that the translocation of transcription factor nuclear fac...

  • Article
  • Open Access
58 Citations
9,873 Views
14 Pages

16 February 2012

The applications of conventional culture-dependent assays to quantify bacteria populations are limited by their dependence on the inconsistent success of the different culture-steps involved. In addition, some bacteria can be pathogenic or a source o...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
9,279 Views
15 Pages

16 February 2012

RPL23A gene encodes a ribosomal protein that is a component of the 60S subunit. The protein belongs to the L23P family of ribosomal proteins, which is located in the cytoplasm. The purpose of this paper was to explore the structure and anti-cancer fu...

  • Article
  • Open Access
10 Citations
7,867 Views
12 Pages

Benzyl and Methyl Fatty Hydroxamic Acids Based on Palm Kernel Oil as Chelating Agent for Liquid-Liquid Iron(III) Extraction

  • Md Jelas Haron,
  • Hossein Jahangirian,
  • Sidik Silong,
  • Nor Azah Yusof,
  • Anuar Kassim,
  • Roshanak Rafiee-Moghaddam,
  • Behnam Mahdavi,
  • Mazyar Peyda,
  • Yadollah Abdollahi and
  • Jamileh Amin

16 February 2012

Liquid-liquid iron(III) extraction was investigated using benzyl fatty hydroxamic acids (BFHAs) and methyl fatty hydroxamic acids (MFHAs) as chelating agents through the formation of iron(III) methyl fatty hydroxamate (Fe-MFHs) or iron(III) benzyl fa...

  • Article
  • Open Access
6 Citations
7,495 Views
15 Pages

15 February 2012

Short interspersed nucleotide elements (SINEs), a type of retrotransposon, are widely distributed in various genomes with multiple copies arranged in different orientations, and cause changes to genes and genomes during evolutionary history. This can...

  • Article
  • Open Access
38 Citations
14,530 Views
15 Pages

ACVR1, a Therapeutic Target of Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva, Is Negatively Regulated by miR-148a

  • Hao Song,
  • Qi Wang,
  • Junge Wen,
  • Shunai Liu,
  • Xuesong Gao,
  • Jun Cheng and
  • Deli Zhang

15 February 2012

Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP) is a rare congenital disorder of skeletal malformations and progressive extraskeletal ossification. There is still no effective treatment for FOP. All FOP individuals harbor conserved point mutations in ACV...

  • Article
  • Open Access
66 Citations
11,160 Views
13 Pages

Neuroprotective Effects of Pre-Treament with l-Carnitine and Acetyl-l-Carnitine on Ischemic Injury In Vivo and In Vitro

  • Rui Zhang,
  • Hong Zhang,
  • Zhongxia Zhang,
  • Tao Wang,
  • Jingya Niu,
  • Dongsheng Cui and
  • Shunjiang Xu

15 February 2012

The therapeutic effect of stroke is hampered by the lack of neuroprotective drugs against ischemic insults beyond the acute phase. Carnitine plays important roles in mitochondrial metabolism and in modulating the ratio of coenzyme A (CoA)/acyl-CoA. H...

  • Article
  • Open Access
85 Citations
8,797 Views
11 Pages

Bufalin Induces Lung Cancer Cell Apoptosis via the Inhibition of PI3K/Akt Pathway

  • Zhitu Zhu,
  • Hongzhi Sun,
  • Guangyou Ma,
  • Zhenghua Wang,
  • Enze Li,
  • Yangyang Liu and
  • Yunpeng Liu

14 February 2012

Bufalin is a class of toxic steroids which could induce the differentiation and apoptosis of leukemia cells, and induce the apoptosis of gastric, colon and breast cancer cells. However, the anti-tumor effects of bufalin have not been demonstrated in...

  • Article
  • Open Access
19 Citations
7,124 Views
12 Pages

14 February 2012

In order to improve the water-resistant ability of silk fibroin (SF) and SF/P(LLA-CL) blended nanofibrous scaffolds for tissue engineering applications, 75% (v/v) ethanol vapor was used to post-treat electrospun nanofibers. SEM indicated that the tre...

  • Review
  • Open Access
143 Citations
15,336 Views
61 Pages

13 February 2012

Tumor heterogeneity is a confusing finding in the assessment of neoplasms, potentially resulting in inaccurate diagnostic, prognostic and predictive tests. This tumor heterogeneity is not always a random and unpredictable phenomenon, whose knowledge...

  • Review
  • Open Access
15 Citations
7,519 Views
13 Pages

Effect of the Leaving Group and Solvent Combination on the LFER Reaction Constants

  • Mirela Matić,
  • Sandra Jurić,
  • Bernard Denegri and
  • Olga Kronja

13 February 2012

Fine effects that influence the variations of the reaction constants sf in LFER log k = sf(Nf + Ef) have been summarized here. Increasing solvent polarity in the series of binary mixtures increases the solvolysis rates for the same factor for all ben...

  • Review
  • Open Access
11 Citations
11,873 Views
28 Pages

10 February 2012

The existence of a mitochondrial interactosome (MI) has been currently well established in mammalian cells but the exact composition of this super-complex is not precisely known, and its organization seems to be different from that in yeast. One majo...

  • Review
  • Open Access
749 Citations
29,324 Views
33 Pages

The mTOR Signalling Pathway in Human Cancer

  • Helena Pópulo,
  • José Manuel Lopes and
  • Paula Soares

10 February 2012

The conserved serine/threonine kinase mTOR (the mammalian target of rapamycin), a downstream effector of the PI3K/AKT pathway, forms two distinct multiprotein complexes: mTORC1 and mTORC2. mTORC1 is sensitive to rapamycin, activates S6K1 and 4EBP1, w...

  • Article
  • Open Access
13 Citations
9,412 Views
14 Pages

Presence of CP4-EPSPS Component in Roundup Ready Soybean-Derived Food Products

  • Honghong Wu,
  • Yu Zhang,
  • Changqing Zhu,
  • Xiao Xiao,
  • Xinghu Zhou,
  • Sheng Xu,
  • Wenbiao Shen and
  • Ming Huang

10 February 2012

With the widespread use of Roundup Ready soya (event 40-3-2) (RRS), the traceability of transgenic components, especially protein residues, in different soya-related foodstuffs has become an important issue. In this report, transgenic components in c...

  • Article
  • Open Access
42 Citations
8,153 Views
18 Pages

Glucose-Modulated Mitochondria Adaptation in Tumor Cells: A Focus on ATP Synthase and Inhibitor Factor 1

  • Rossana Domenis,
  • Elena Bisetto,
  • Davide Rossi,
  • Marina Comelli and
  • Irene Mavelli

10 February 2012

Warburg’s hypothesis has been challenged by a number of studies showing that oxidative phosphorylation is repressed in some tumors, rather than being inactive per se. Thus, treatments able to shift energy metabolism by activating mitochondrial pathwa...

  • Review
  • Open Access
111 Citations
14,580 Views
27 Pages

Aggregating Data for Computational Toxicology Applications: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Aggregated Computational Toxicology Resource (ACToR) System

  • Richard S. Judson,
  • Matthew T. Martin,
  • Peter Egeghy,
  • Sumit Gangwal,
  • David M. Reif,
  • Parth Kothiya,
  • Maritja Wolf,
  • Tommy Cathey,
  • Thomas Transue and
  • Ann M. Richard
  • + 5 authors

9 February 2012

Computational toxicology combines data from high-throughput test methods, chemical structure analyses and other biological domains (e.g., genes, proteins, cells, tissues) with the goals of predicting and understanding the underlying mechanistic cause...

  • Article
  • Open Access
41 Citations
7,871 Views
14 Pages

Isolation and Characterization of Activators of ERK/MAPK from Citrus Plants

  • Yoshiko Furukawa,
  • Satoshi Okuyama,
  • Yoshiaki Amakura,
  • Sono Watanabe,
  • Takahiro Fukata,
  • Mitsunari Nakajima,
  • Morio Yoshimura and
  • Takashi Yoshida

9 February 2012

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1/2 (ERK1/2), components of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade, have been recently shown to be involved in synaptic plasticity and in the development of long-term memory in the central...

  • Article
  • Open Access
22 Citations
7,847 Views
12 Pages

9 February 2012

Acute myocardial infarction is a highly prevalent cardiovascular disease in Taiwan. Among several etiological risk factors, obesity and inflammation are strongly associated with the frequency of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and myo...

  • Article
  • Open Access
59 Citations
10,750 Views
16 Pages

10-Shogaol, an Antioxidant from Zingiber officinale for Skin Cell Proliferation and Migration Enhancer

  • Chung-Yi Chen,
  • Kuo-Chen Cheng,
  • Andy Y Chang,
  • Ying-Ting Lin,
  • You-Cheng Hseu and
  • Hui-Min Wang

8 February 2012

In this work, one of Zingiber officinale components, 10-shogaol, was tested with 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging, metal chelating ability, and reducing power to show antioxidant activity. 10-Shogaol promoted human normal epide...

  • Article
  • Open Access
128 Citations
10,299 Views
12 Pages

Cinnamic Acid and Its Derivatives Inhibit Fructose-Mediated Protein Glycation

  • Sirichai Adisakwattana,
  • Weerachat Sompong,
  • Aramsri Meeprom,
  • Sathaporn Ngamukote and
  • Sirintorn Yibchok-anun

8 February 2012

Cinnamic acid and its derivatives have shown a variety of pharmacologic properties. However, little is known about the antiglycation properties of cinnamic acid and its derivatives. The present study sought to characterize the protein glycation inhib...

  • Article
  • Open Access
116 Citations
9,802 Views
14 Pages

Lipid Peroxidative Damage on Cisplatin Exposure and Alterations in Antioxidant Defense System in Rat Kidneys: A Possible Protective Effect of Selenium

  • Branka I. Ognjanović,
  • Nataša Z. Djordjević,
  • Miloš M. Matić,
  • Jasmina M. Obradović,
  • Jelena M. Mladenović,
  • Andraš Š. Štajn and
  • Zorica S. Saičić

8 February 2012

Cisplatin (Cis-diamminedichloroplatinum II, CP) is an important chemotherapeutic agent, useful in the treatment of several cancers, but with several side effects such as nephrotoxicity. The present study investigated the possible protective effect of...

  • Article
  • Open Access
2 Citations
6,751 Views
13 Pages

7 February 2012

To investigate the effect of C-terminal helix on the stability of the FF domain, we studied the native domain FF3-71 from human HYPA/FBP11 and the truncated version FF3-60 with C-terminal helix being deleted by molecular dynamics simulations with GRO...

  • Article
  • Open Access
21 Citations
8,092 Views
14 Pages

7 February 2012

A psychrotolerant bacterium, strain T-3 (identified as Psychrobacter piscatorii), that exhibited an extraordinarily high catalase activity was isolated from the drain pool of a plant that uses H2O2 as a bleaching agent. Its cell extract exhibited a c...

of 2

Get Alerted

Add your email address to receive forthcoming issues of this journal.

XFacebookLinkedIn
Int. J. Mol. Sci. - ISSN 1422-0067