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Topic Review
Porphyromonas Gingivalis and Systemic Diseases
The relationship between periodontitis and systemic diseases, notably including atherosclerosis and diabetes, has been studied for several years. Porphyromonas gingivalis, a prominent component of oral microorganism communities, is the main pathogen that causes periodontitis. We comprehensively summarize the adverse effects of Porphyromonas gingivalis on multiple systems and a variety of diseases, from extensively studied fields (cardiovascular diseases, cancer, adverse pregnancy outcomes, etc.) to emerging areas (Alzheimer's Disease, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, depression, etc.). Although a few results remain controversial, it is now evident that Porphyromonas gingivalis should be regarded as a modifiable factor for several diseases.
  • 1.6K
  • 26 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Nanobodies
Nanobodies are highly water-soluble and stable, have high specificity, and can bind their targets with very high affinity, often in the low nanomolar range. 
  • 1.6K
  • 10 May 2021
Topic Review
Schisandra chinensis in Human Health and Nutrition
Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. (SCE) is a plant with high potential for beneficial health effects, confirmed by molecular studies. Its constituents exert anti-cancer effects through the induction of cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, as well as inhibition of invasion and metastasis in cancer cell lines and experimental animals. SCE displays antimicrobial effects against several pathogenic strains. It has anti-diabetic potential, supported by hypoglycemic activity. A diet rich in SCE improves pancreatic functions, stimulates insulin secretion, and reduces complications in diabetic animals. 
  • 1.6K
  • 20 Oct 2021
Topic Review
LncRNA-Protein Interactions
LncRNA can act as gene regulators, and like other epigenetic mechanisms are involved in numerous biological processes. They achieve their regulatory function with their ability to interact with a wide range of biological molecules, such as other nucleic acids and proteins. These lncRNA-protein interactions (LPI) are involved in many biological pathways including development and disease. A variety of computational LPI predictors exist, each applying different strategies to achieve their goals, and are dependent on a few biological databases containing subsets of experimentally validated LPI. Most modern lncRNA-protein interaction (LPI) prediction algorithms use machine learning approaches, where algorithms are trained on large datasets with attributes of interest.
  • 1.6K
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Calcium Phosphate Nanocluster Complexes
Calcium phosphate nanocluster complexes comprise a core of amorphous calcium phosphate and a sequestering shell of intrinsically disordered phosphopeptides or phosphoproteins. Solutions containing the nanocluster complexes can be thermodynamically stable or metastable due to a tendency to form a precipitate enriched in calcium phosphate. Theoretical and biophysical studies with native and recombinant phosphopeptides have shown how the radius of the core and the stability of the solution depend on the concentration of the sequestering peptide, its affinity for the calcium phosphate and its concentration in relation to the concentration of the calcium phosphate. The thickness of the sequestering shell depends on the conformation of the peptide on the core surface. A sequestering peptide is a flexible sequence including one or more short linear motifs, each of which usually contains several phosphorylated and other acidic residues.  These are the main binding sites to the core so that a peptide with several binding motifs can forms loops and trains on the core surface. Calcium phosphate nanocluster complexes were first identified as substructures of casein micelles in milk and have been prepared as individual particles from peptides derived from caseins and osteopontin. Stable biofluids containing nanocluster complexes cannot cause soft tissues to become mineralized whereas stable or metastable biofluids containing nanocluster complexes can help to mineralize hard tissues.
  • 1.6K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Mitochondrial DNA
Increasing evidence implicates mitochondrial dysfunction in the etiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations represent a possible cause and this mechanism might be shared with the aging process and with other age-related neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We have recently proposed a computerized method for mutated mtDNA characterization able to discriminate between AD and aging. Dealing with mtDNA mutation-based profiling of neurodegenerative disease(s), peripheral blood mtDNA sequences from late-onset PD patients and age-matched controls were analyzed and compared to the revised Cambridge Reference Sequence (rCRS). The chaos game representation (CGR) method, modified to visualize heteroplasmic mutations, was used to display fractal properties of mtDNA sequences and fractal lacunarity analysis was applied to quantitatively characterize PD based on mtDNA mutations. Parameter β, from the hyperbola model function of our lacunarity method, was statistically different between PD and control groups when comparing mtDNA sequence frames corresponding to GenBank np 5713-9713. Our original method, based on CGR and lacunarity analysis, represents a useful tool to analyze mtDNA mutations. Lacunarity parameter β is able to characterize individual mutation profile of mitochondrial genome and could represent a promising index to discriminate between PD and aging.
  • 1.6K
  • 29 Oct 2020
Topic Review
Retinoblastoma Proteins
The Retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is a key cell cycle regulator conserved in a wide variety of organisms. Experimental analysis of pRb’s functions in animals and plants has revealed that this protein participates in cell proliferation and differentiation processes. In addition, pRb in animals and its orthologs in plants (RBR), are part of highly conserved protein complexes which suggest the possibility that analogies exist not only between functions carried out by pRb orthologs themselves, but also in the structure and roles of the protein networks where these proteins are involved.
  • 1.6K
  • 09 Nov 2020
Topic Review
Lignans
This entry focuses on lignans, a non-flavonoid polyphenolic class found in plant foods for human nutrition, recently studied as potential modulators of the gut-brain axis. In particular, gut bacterial metabolism is able to convert dietary lignans into therapeutically relevant polyphenols (i.e., enterolignans), such as enterolactone and enterodiol. Enterolignans are characterized by various biologic activities, including tissue-specific estrogen receptor activation, together with anti-inflammatory and apoptotic effects. The variability in enterolignans production by the gut microbiota is strictly related to both bioaccessibility and bioavailability of parent lignans through the entire gastrointestinal tract. 
  • 1.6K
  • 06 Jan 2021
Topic Review
Primary Cilia and Calcium Signaling
The calcium ion (Ca2+) is a diverse secondary messenger with a near-ubiquitous role in a vast array of cellular processes. Cilia are present on nearly every cell type in either a motile or non-motile form; motile cilia generate fluid flow needed for a variety of biological processes, such as left–right body patterning during development, while non-motile cilia serve as the signaling powerhouses of the cell, with vital singling receptors localized to their ciliary membranes. Much of the research currently available on Ca2+-dependent cellular actions and primary cilia are tissue-specific processes. However, basic stimuli-sensing pathways, such as mechanosensation, chemosensation, and electrical sensation (electrosensation), are complex processes entangled in many intersecting pathways; an overview of proposed functions involving cilia and Ca2+ interplay will be briefly summarized here. Next, we will focus on summarizing the evidence for their interactions in basic cellular activities, including the cell cycle, cell polarity and migration, neuronal pattering, glucose-mediated insulin secretion, biliary regulation, and bone formation. Literature investigating the role of cilia and Ca2+-dependent processes at a single-cellular level appears to be scarce, though overlapping signaling pathways imply that cilia and Ca2+ interact with each other on this level in widespread and varied ways on a perpetual basis. Vastly different cellular functions across many different cell types depend on context-specific Ca2+ and cilia interactions to trigger the correct physiological responses, and abnormalities in these interactions, whether at the tissue or the single-cell level, can result in diseases known as ciliopathies; due to their clinical relevance, pathological alterations of cilia function and Ca2+ signaling will also be briefly touched upon throughout this review.
  • 1.6K
  • 02 Aug 2022
Topic Review
Nanotechnology in the Food Industry
The efficient progress in nanotechnology has transformed many aspects of food science and the food industry with enhanced investment and market share. Recent advances in nanomaterials and nanodevices such as nanosensors, nano-emulsions, nanopesticides or nanocapsules are intended to bring about innovative applications in the food industry. In this entry, the current applications of nanotechnology for packaging, processing, and the enhancement of the nutritional value and shelf life of foods are targeted. In addition, the functionality and applicability of food-related nanotechnologies are also highlighted and critically discussed in order to provide an insight into the development and evaluation of the safety of nanotechnology in the food industry.
  • 1.6K
  • 13 Dec 2020
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