International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Volume 21, Issue 4

Surgical methods for accelerating orthodontic tooth movement are limited by possible damage to the tooth root and patient discomfort. 4-Hexylresorcinol (4HR) has been shown to increase bone remodeling and may potentially facilitate tooth movement. Th...

“The Chimera was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal [...]

Subgroup 4 R2R3 MYBs play vital roles in the regulation of anthocyanin biosynthesis. However, there is limited knowledge regarding the functions of MYB repressors in pear (Pyrus × bretschneideri). Here, PbMYB120 was identified as a potential re...

Commercially available boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) and their purified form (pBNNTs) were dispersed in aqueous solutions with various dispersants, and their cytotoxicity and drug encapsulation capacity were monitored. Our data suggest that pBNNTs...

Translational readthrough (TRT) of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) has remarkably expanded the importance of this new post-transcriptional mechanism, as well as the regulation potential of AQP4. The TRT isoform of AQP4, named AQP4ex, is central for both AQP4 pola...

Torenia concolor Lindley var. formosama Yamazaki ethanolic extract (TCEE) is reported to have anti-inflammatory and anti-obesity properties. However, the effects of TCEE and its underlying mechanisms in the activation of endothelial nitric oxide synt...

Hepatic disorders have been increasing in recent years because of high carbohydrate diets. Hepatocytes depend mainly on the basal autophagy to maintain hepatic glucose/lipid homeostasis in mammals. However, the regulatory mechanisms of autophagy in h...

In-stent restenosis is a serious concern for patients treated through the stenting procedure, although this can be solved using drug-eluting stents and/or drug-eluting balloon catheters. However, the chemical agents released from the drug-eluting lay...

During almost 40 years of use, the micronucleus assay (MN) has become one of the most popular methods to assess genotoxicity of different chemical and physical factors, including ionizing radiation-induced DNA damage. In this minireview, we focus on...

Allergies are rapidly worsening in recent decades, representing the most common immunological diseases. The mechanism of disorders such as asthma, rhinocongiuntivitis, urticaria, atopic dermatitis, food and drug allergies, and anaphylaxis still remai...

Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (AC) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous myocardial disease. Half of AC patients harbour private desmosomal gene variants. Although microRNAs (miRNAs) have emerged as key regulator molecules in cardiovascular d...

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) carrying internal tandem duplication (ITD) of Fms-Like Tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) gene is associated with high risk of relapse and poor clinical outcome upon treatment with conventional chemotherapy. FLT3 inhibitors have b...

The synaptic cleft has been vastly investigated in the last decades, leading to a novel and fascinating model of the functional and structural modifications linked to synaptic transmission and brain processing. The classic neurocentric model encompas...

N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptors (NMDARs) are ionotropic glutamate-gated receptors. NMDARs are tetramers composed by several homologous subunits of GluN1-, GluN2-, or GluN3-type, leading to the existence in the central nervous system of a high variety...

Exosomes are nanosized vesicles (30–140 nm) of endocytic origin that play important roles in regenerative medicine. They are derived from cell membranes during endocytic internalization and stabilize in biological fluids such as blood and synov...

Nanoparticle mediated laser-induced photoporation is a physical cell membrane disruption approach to directly deliver extrinsic molecules into living cells, which is particularly promising in applications for both adherent and suspension cells. In th...

The chilling requirement (CR) is the main factor controlling the peach floral bud break and subsequent reproductive growth. To date, several peach CR quantitative trait loci (QTLs) have been identified. To improve the accessibility and convenience of...

Islet dysfunction mediated by oxidative and mitochondrial stress contributes to the development of type 1 and 2 diabetes. Acetate and butyrate, produced by gut microbiota via fermentation, have been shown to protect against oxidative and mitochondria...

Interleukin (IL)-33, a member of the IL-1 family of cytokines, is involved in innate and adaptive immune responses. IL-33 triggers pleiotropic immune functions in multiple types of immune cells, which express the IL-33 receptor, ST2. Recent studies h...

Photoactive RNA probes have unique advantages in the identification of microRNA (miR) targets due to their ability for efficient conjugation to the target sequences by covalent crosslinking, providing stable miR-mRNA complexes for further analysis. H...

Overexpression of phytoglobins (formerly plant hemoglobins) increases the survival rate of plant tissues under hypoxia stress by the following two known mechanisms: (1) scavenging of nitric oxide (NO) in the phytoglobin/NO cycle and (2) mimicking eth...

DNA methylation plays an important role in cancer development. Cancer cells exhibit two types of DNA methylation alteration: site-specific hypermethylation at promoter of oncosuppressor genes and global DNA hypomethylation. This study evaluated the m...

Aging is often associated with a cognitive decline and a susceptibility to neuronal damage. It is also the most important risk factor for neurodegenerative disorders, particularly Alzheimer’s disease (AD). AD is related to an excess of neurotox...

Persistent signalling via the PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is a major driver of malignancy in NF1-associated malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumours (MPNST). Nevertheless, single targeting of this pathway is not sufficient to inhibit MPNST growth. In this...

Mucopolysaccharidosis type IVA (MPS IVA, or Morquio syndrome type A) is an inherited metabolic lysosomal disease caused by the deficiency of the N-acetylglucosamine-6-sulfate sulfatase enzyme. The deficiency of this enzyme accumulates the specific gl...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are exogenous substances that interfere with the stability and regulation of the endocrine system of the body or its offspring. These substances are generally stable in chemical properties, not easy to be biodegr...

Perillaldehyde (PAE), an essential oil in Perilla plants, serves as a safe flavor ingredient in foods, and shows an effectively antifungal activity. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation in Aspergillus flavus plays a critical role in initiating...

The diabetic heart is characterized by a shift in substrate utilization from glucose to lipids, which may ultimately lead to contractile dysfunction. This substrate shift is facilitated by increased translocation of lipid transporter CD36 (SR-B2) fro...

The leaf blade is the main photosynthetic organ and its morphology is related to light energy capture and conversion efficiency. We isolated a novel rice Dynamic Narrow-Rolled Leaf 1 (dnrl1) mutant showing reduced width of leaf blades, rolled leaves...

Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) is a ubiquitous cytoplasmic enzyme converting glucose-6-phosphate into 6-phosphogluconate in the pentose phosphate pathway (PPP). The G6PD deficiency renders the inability to regenerate glutathione due to lack...

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), including nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), causes hepatic fibrosis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The patatin-like phospholipase-3 (PNPLA3) I148M sequence variant is one of the strongest g...

Proteomics is a large-scale study of proteins, aiming at the description and characterization of all expressed proteins in biological systems. The expressed proteins are typically highly complex and large in abundance range. To fulfill high accuracy...

Tryptophan is an essential dietary amino acid that originates uremic toxins that contribute to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) patient outcomes. We evaluated serum levels and removal during haemodialysis and haemodiafiltration of tryptophan and trypt...

Mechanical overload and aging are the main risk factors of osteoarthritis (OA). Galectin 3 (GAL3) is important in the formation of primary cilia, organelles that are able to sense mechanical stress. The objectives were to evaluate the role of GAL3 in...

The quantum-chemical calculation of iron, cobalt and nickel heteroligand complexes with the double deprotonated form of (NNNN)-donor atomic ligand—3,7,11,15-tetraazaporphine—and two oxo ligands has been carried out. Data on the structural...

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is an aggressive adult brain tumour with poor prognosis. Roles for peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs) in GBM have recently been highlighted. Here, two GBM cell lines were treated with PAD2, PAD3 and PAD4 isozyme-specific...

Pretargeting is widely explored in immunoPET as a strategy to reduce radiation exposure of non-target organs and allow the use of short-lived radionuclides that would not otherwise be compatible with the slow pharmacokinetic profiles of antibodies. H...

Phomopsis stem canker (PSC) caused by Diaporthe helianthi is increasingly becoming a global threat for sunflower production. In this study, the genetic basis of PSC resistance was investigated in a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population developed f...

Fibromyalgia (FM) diagnosis follows the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, based on clinical evaluation and written questionnaires without any objective diagnostic tool. The lack of specific biomarkers is a tragic aspect for FM and chro...

Mast cells are often regarded through the lens of IgE-dependent reactions as a cell specialized only for anti-parasitic and type I hypersensitive responses. However, recently many researchers have begun to appreciate the expansive repertoire of stimu...

Ezrin, radixin and moesin proteins (ERMs) are plasma membrane (PM) organizers that link the actin cytoskeleton to the cytoplasmic tail of transmembrane proteins, many of which are adhesion receptors, in order to regulate the formation of F-actin-base...

Natural killer (NK) cells are lymphocytes involved in innate and adaptive immune functions. They are the presumed cell of origin of distinct hematolymphoid malignancies, including aggressive NK-cell leukemia and extranodal NK/T-cell lymphoma (ENKTL)....

Nitrogen (N) is the most important limiting factor for cotton production worldwide. Genotype-dependent ability to cope with N shortage has been only partially explored in cotton, and in this context, the comparison of molecular responses of cotton ge...

The tightly structured neural retina has a unique vascular network comprised of three interconnected plexuses in the inner retina (and choroid for outer retina), which provide oxygen and nutrients to neurons to maintain normal function. Clinical and...

Mutation in myostatin (MSTN), a negative regulator of muscle growth in skeletal muscle, resulted in increased muscle mass in mammals and fishes. However, MSTN mutation in avian species has not been reported. The objective of this study was to generat...

Lipids, as the basic component of cell membranes, play an important role in human health as well as brain function. The brain is highly enriched in lipids, and disruption of lipid homeostasis is related to neurologic disorders as well as neurodegener...

Replicating the entire genome is one of the most complex tasks for all organisms. Research carried out in the last few years has provided us with a clearer picture on how cells preserve genomic information from the numerous insults that may endanger...

Based on genome sequencing, it is estimated that over 90% of genes stored in human genetic material are transcribed, but only 3% of them contain the information needed for the production of body proteins. This group also includes micro RNAs represent...

Long non-coding RNAs (long ncRNAs, lncRNAs) of all kinds have been implicated in a range of cell developmental processes and diseases, while they are not translated into proteins. Inferring diseases associated lncRNAs by computational methods can be...

Glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are gut hormones that are secreted from enteroendocrine L cells and K cells in response to digested nutrients, respectively. They are also referred to incretin for...