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Topic Review
Annexins and Membrane Repair Dysfunctions
Muscular dystrophies constitute a group of genetic disorders that cause weakness and progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass. Among them, Miyoshi muscular dystrophy 1 (MMD1), limb girdle muscular dystrophy type R2 (LGMDR2/2B), and LGMDR12 (2L) are characterized by mutation in gene encoding key membrane-repair protein, which leads to severe dysfunctions in sarcolemma repair. Cell membrane disruption is a physiological event induced by mechanical stress, such as muscle contraction and stretching. Like many eukaryotic cells, muscle fibers possess a protein machinery ensuring fast resealing of damaged plasma membrane. Members of the annexins A (ANXA) family belong to this protein machinery. ANXA are small soluble proteins, twelve in number in humans, which share the property of binding to membranes exposing negatively-charged phospholipids in the presence of calcium (Ca2+). Many ANXA have been reported to participate in membrane repair of varied cell types and species, including human skeletal muscle cells in which they may play a collective role in protection and repair of the sarcolemma. Here, we discuss the participation of ANXA in membrane repair of healthy skeletal muscle cells and how dysregulation of ANXA expression may impact the clinical severity of muscular dystrophies.
  • 1.1K
  • 31 May 2021
Topic Review
Phytochemical of Euphorbia neriifolia
In the Indian subcontinents, Euphorbia neriifolia Linn. (EN) is one of the valuable plants from the big family of Euphorbiaceae, which is usually found in rocky and hilly areas. E. neriifolia was found to be useful in curing tumors, abdominal swelling, bronchial infection, hydrophobia, earache, cough and cold, asthma, leprosy, gonorrhea, spleen enlargement, leucoderma, snake bites, scorpion stings, and causing appetite improvement, etc. Different in vitro and in vivo experimental studies were performed to determine the antioxidant, anti-diabetic, immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, anti-arthritic, wound healing, anti-atherosclerosis, radioprotective, anti-anxiety, anti-convulsant, anti-psychotic, anti-thrombotic, dermal irritation, hemolytic, analgesic, anti-fertility, diuretic, anti-microbial, anti-diarrheal, and anti-carcinogenic activities of the various parts of EN. Several bioactive compounds, such as euphol, nerifoliol, taraxerol, euphonerins A–G, lectin, etc., were isolated from E. neriifolia and need to be investigated further for various biological activities (cardiovascular and neuronal diseases). In the pharmaceutical sector, E. neriifolia was selected for the development of new drugs due to its broad pharmacological activities. 
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Oct 2023
Topic Review
The ADAMTS/Fibrillin Connection
Secreted a disintegrin-like and metalloprotease with thrombospondin type 1 motif (ADAMTS) proteases play crucial roles in tissue development and homeostasis. The biological and pathological functions of ADAMTS proteases are determined broadly by their respective substrates and their interactions with proteins in the pericellular and extracellular matrix. For some ADAMTS proteases, substrates have been identified and substrate cleavage has been implicated in tissue development and in disease. For other ADAMTS proteases, substrates were discovered in vitro, but the role of these proteases and the consequences of substrate cleavage in vivo remains to be established. Mutations in ADAMTS10 and ADAMTS17 cause Weill–Marchesani syndrome (WMS), a congenital syndromic disorder that affects the musculoskeletal system (short stature, pseudomuscular build, tight skin), the eyes (lens dislocation), and the heart (heart valve abnormalities). WMS can also be caused by mutations in fibrillin-1 (FBN1), which suggests that ADAMTS10 and ADAMTS17 cooperate with fibrillin-1 in a common biological pathway during tissue development and homeostasis.
  • 1.1K
  • 22 Sep 2021
Topic Review
Polyploidy Events in Grasses
Polyploidy events have long been recognized as the primary driving force behind the survival of the vast majority of plant lineages, playing critical roles in crop evolution, speciation, and domestication. The fascinating modern genomics era has revealed that the genomes of all flowering plants have been polyploidized multiple times. To help safeguard the future of the global food supply in the face of climate change, a thorough understanding of polyploid genomes is critical, especially for the improvement of members of the grass family, Poaceae, which includes the world’s big three cereals—rice, wheat, and maize—as well as some potential underutilized ancient grasses (such as teff) that are less well known or studied. 
  • 1.1K
  • 23 Jun 2022
Topic Review
Limbic System in Tinnitus
Tinnitus is originally derived from the Latin verb tinnire, which means “to ring”. Tinnitus, a complex disorder, is a result of sentient cognizance of a sound in the absence of an external auditory stimulus. It is reported in children, adults, and older populations. Patients suffering from tinnitus often present with hearing loss, anxiety, depression, and sleep disruption in addition to a hissing and ringing in the ear. Surgical interventions and many other forms of treatment have been only partially effective due to heterogeneity in tinnitus patients and a lack of understanding of the mechanisms of tinnitus. 
  • 1.1K
  • 25 Jun 2023
Topic Review
ORP5 and ORP8
Oxysterol binding related proteins 5 and 8 (ORP5 and ORP8) are two close homologs of the larger oxysterol binding protein (OSBP) family of sterol sensors and lipid transfer proteins (LTP). Early studies indicated these transmembrane proteins, anchored to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), bound and sensed cholesterol and oxysterols. They were identified as important for diverse cellular functions including sterol homeostasis, vesicular trafficking, proliferation and migration. In addition, they were implicated in lipid-related diseases such as atherosclerosis and diabetes, but also cancer, although their mechanisms of action remained poorly understood. Then, alongside the increasing recognition that membrane contact sites (MCS) serve as hubs for non-vesicular lipid transfer, added to their structural similarity to other LTPs, came discoveries showing that ORP5 and 8 were in fact phospholipid transfer proteins that rather sense and exchange phosphatidylserine (PS) for phosphoinositides, including phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PI(4)P) and potentially phosphatidylinositol-(4,5)-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2). Evidence now points to their action at MCS between the ER and various organelles including the plasma membrane, lysosomes, mitochondria, and lipid droplets. Dissecting exactly how this unexpected phospholipid transfer function connects with sterol regulation in health or disease remains a challenge for future studies.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Jul 2021
Topic Review
LAIR1
Leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin (Ig)-like receptor 1 (LAIR1, CD305) belongs to the family of immune-inhibitory receptors and is widely expressed on hematopoietic mature cells, particularly on immune cells. Four different types of ligands of LAIR1 have been described, including collagens, suggesting a potential immune-regulatory function on the extracellular matrix. By modulating cytokine secretion and cellular functions, LAIR1 displays distinct patterns of expression among NK cell and T/B lymphocyte subsets during their differentiation and cellular activation and plays a major negative immunoregulatory role. Beyond its implications in physiology, the activity of LAIR1 can be inappropriately involved in various autoimmune or inflammatory disorders and has been implicated in cancer physiopathology, including hematological neoplasms. Its action as an inhibitory receptor can result in the dysregulation of immune cellular responses and in immune escape within the tumor microenvironment. 
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Dec 2022
Topic Review
Immunoproteasome and Immune Checkpoints Modulation for Cancer Therapy
Immunoproteasome is a noncanonical form of proteasome with enzymological properties optimized for the generation of antigenic peptides presented in complex with class I MHC molecules. This enzymatic property makes the modulation of its activity a promising area of research. Nevertheless, immunotherapy has emerged as a front-line treatment of advanced/metastatic tumors providing outstanding improvement of life expectancy, even though not all patients achieve a long-lasting clinical benefit. To enhance the efficacy of the currently available immunotherapies and enable the development of new strategies, a broader knowledge of the dynamics of antigen repertoire processing by cancer cells is needed. Therefore, a better understanding of the role of immunoproteasome in antigen processing and of the therapeutic implication of its modulation is mandatory. 
  • 1.1K
  • 22 Oct 2021
Topic Review
RNase III
RNase III endoribonucleases cleave dsRNA and are conserved from bacteria (e.g., RNase III) to eukaryotes (e.g., Rnt1, Drosha and Dicer) both in terms of structure and function.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Dec 2021
Topic Review
NF-κB and Human Cancer
Transcription factor NF-κB has been extensively studied for its varied roles in cancer since its initial characterization as a potent retroviral oncogene several decades ago. It is now clear that NF-κB plays a major role in a large variety of human cancers, including especially ones of immune cell origin. NF-κB is generally constitutively or aberrantly activated in human cancers where it is involved.
  • 1.1K
  • 25 Dec 2021
Topic Review
The Melanocortin System for New Antidepressant Drugs
Major depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders, causing significant human suffering and socioeconomic loss. Since conventional antidepressants are not sufficiently effective, there is an urgent need to develop new antidepressant medications. Despite marked advances in the neurobiology of depression, the etiology and pathophysiology of this disease remain poorly understood. Classical and newer hypotheses of depression suggest that an imbalance of brain monoamines, dysregulation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) and immune system, or impaired hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophic factors pathways are cause of depression. It is assumed that conventional antidepressants improve these closely related disturbances.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Apr 2023
Topic Review
Chronic Effects of Fluoxetine on Danio rerio
Fluoxetine is an antidepressant widely used to treat depressive and anxiety states. Due to its mode of action in the central nervous system (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)), it becomes toxic to non-target organisms, leading to alterations detrimental to its survival.
  • 1.1K
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
Melatonin Function under Normal and Stressful Conditions
Plants are exposed to a variety of environmental stresses (biotic and abiotic) during the course of development. Stressful conditions alter the basic metabolism of the affected plants. Plants must cope with environmental constraints to effectively complete their life cycle. Plant produce and regulate various biomolecules to adapt to adverse environmental conditions. Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine) is a ubiquitous molecule that is present in plants, animals, and microorganisms. It has been revealed as an indolic chemical compound with structural similarities with other vital compounds such as tryptophan, serotonin, and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). In plants, melatonin is a putative hormone involved in the regulation of plant growth and productivity, even under biotic and abiotic stress conditions.
  • 1.1K
  • 27 Sep 2022
Topic Review
Peripheral Events in the Pathophysiology of PTNP
The ICOP (International Classification of Orofacial Pain), 1ST edition describes post-traumatic trigeminal neuropathic pain (PTNP) as “a unilateral or bilateral facial or oral pain following and caused by trauma to the trigeminal nerve(s), with other symptoms and/or clinical signs of trigeminal nerve dysfunction, and persisting or recurring for more than 3 months”. A cascade of events in the peripheral and central nervous system function is involved in the pathophysiology of pain following nerve injuries. Central and peripheral processes occur in tandem and may often be co-dependent. Due to the complexity of central mechanisms, only peripheral events contributing to the pathophysiology have been reviewed herein.
  • 1.1K
  • 15 Dec 2022
Topic Review
The Digital Value Stream Twin
The Value Stream Method (VSM) is widely used in manufacturing to analyze and redesign value streams. It is to improve processes, reduce waste and create a thorough product flow. Despite having many benefits, VSM also comes with disadvantages regarding modern dynamic production environments. It fails to meet the requirement of providing reliable information for a realistic Value Stream Design (VSD) followed by targeted improvement activities. As a result, the VSM is usually subject to uncertainty and relies on expert knowledge. Digitalization, on the other hand, is leading to an increasing availability of production data. The use of data has the potential to support the VSM with targeted data preparation. In this regard, the concept of Digital Twin (DT) offers the capability of providing the required database to systematically collect and condense this data.
  • 1.1K
  • 28 Jul 2022
Topic Review
Elderly Tinnitus and Neuropsychological Dysfunction
Tinnitus is a common and disabling symptom often associated with hearing loss. While clinical practice frequently shows that a certain degree of psychological discomfort often characterizes tinnitus suffers, it has been recently suggested in adults as a determining factor for cognitive decline affecting attention and memory domains. 
  • 1.1K
  • 18 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Indole and Indole-Related Compounds by the Intestinal Microbiota
The intestinal microbiota metabolic activity towards the available substrates generates myriad bacterial metabolites that may accumulate in the luminal fluid. Indole and indole-related compounds are, first, involved in intestinal microbial community communication, regulating important aspects of bacterial physiology. These molecules are also known to be active on the intestinal mucosa, exerting overall beneficial effects in different experimental situations, notably in inflammatory situations. After absorption, indole is partly metabolized in the liver into the co-metabolite indoxyl sulfate.
  • 1.1K
  • 20 May 2022
Topic Review
Cannabinoquinones
Cannabinoquinones are highly electrophilic compounds and undergo non-transient thia-Michael addition when assayed in the cysteamine assay. With 2-substituted compounds, the assay was complicated by the interaction of the amino group of cysteamine with the quinone carbonyl, resulting in a change of the DMSO spectrum upon cysteamine addition, presumably due to the transient Schiff base formation. 
  • 1.1K
  • 10 Aug 2021
Topic Review
Metabolic Syndrome (MetS)
Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a cluster of several disorders, such as hypertension, central obesity, dyslipidemia, hyperglycemia, insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
  • 1.1K
  • 06 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Reticulated Platelets
Reticulated platelets (RP) are the youngest platelet fraction released into the circulation. These immature platelets have increased RNA content, a larger cell volume, more dense granules, higher levels of surface activation markers and are thought to be more reactive compared to their mature counterparts. RP have been associated with cardiovascular disease, diabetes and increased mortality. Yet only a few animal studies investigating RP have been conducted so far and further investigations are warranted. Established methods to count RP are flow cytometry (staining with thiazole orange or SYTO13) or fully automated hematology analyzers (immature platelet fraction, IPF). IPF has been established as a diagnostic parameter in thrombocytopenia, cardiovascular disease and, in particular, the response to antiplatelet therapy.
  • 1.0K
  • 19 May 2021
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