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Topic Review
NKG2D Natural Killer Cell Receptor
The functionality of NK cells is preserved by the set of activating and inhibitory receptors. Under normal conditions, the appropriate level of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules is supervised by inhibitory receptors, which keep NK cells silenced. The “missing self” mechanism considers reduced levels of MHC I (Ia and Ib) molecules when NK cells become activated.
  • 670
  • 02 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Neural Stem Cell-Based Therapy
Transplantation of neural stem cells (NSCs) has been proposed as an alternative novel therapy to replace damaged neural circuitry after ischemic stroke onset. Nonetheless, albeit the potential of these cells for stroke therapy, many critical challenges are yet to be overcome to reach clinical applications. The major limitation of the NSC-based therapy is its inability to retain most of the donor stem cells after grafting into an ischemic brain area which is lacking of essential oxygen and nutrients for the survival of transplanted cells. Low cell survival rate limits the capacity of NSCs to repair the injured area and this poses a much more difficult challenge to the NSC-based therapy for ischemic stroke. In order to enhance the survival of transplanted cells, several stem cell culture preconditioning strategies have been employed. For ischemic diseases, hypoxic preconditioning is the most commonly applied strategy since the last few decades. Now, the preconditioning strategies have been developed and expanded enormously throughout years of efforts. This entry systematically presented studies searched from PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus and the Google Scholar database up to 31 March 2020 based on search words containing the following terms:“precondition” or “pretreatment” and “neural stem cell” and “ischemic stroke”. The searched data comprehensively reported seven major NSC preconditioning strategies including hypoxic condition, small drug molecules such as minocycline, doxycycline, interleukin-6, adjudin, sodium butyrate and nicorandil, as well as electrical stimulation using conductive polymer for ischemic stroke treatment. We discussed therapeutic benefits gained from these preconditioned NSC for in vitro and in vivo stroke studies and the detailed insights of the mechanisms underlying these preconditioning approaches. Nonetheless, there was a scarcity of evidence on the ecacy of these preconditioned NSCs in human clinical studies, therefore, it is still too early to draw a definitive conclusion on the efficacy and safety of this active compound for patient usage. Thus, we suggest for more in-depth clinical investigations of this cell-based therapy to develop into more conscientious and judicious evidence-based therapy for clinical application in the future.
  • 464
  • 02 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Targeting CDK9 for Glioblastoma Treatment
Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive primary malignant brain tumor, and more than two-thirds of patients with glioblastoma die within two years of diagnosis. The challenges of treating this disease mainly include genetic and microenvironmental features that often render the tumor resistant to treatments. Despite extensive research efforts, only a small number of drugs tested in clinical trials have become therapies for patients. Targeting cyclin-dependent kinase 9 (CDK9) is an emerging therapeutic approach that has the potential to overcome the challenges in glioblastoma management.
  • 821
  • 02 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Piezo Channels in Bone
Mechanotransduction is an important process for living cells and tissues by which they experience and respond to mechanical stimuli. Cellular mechanotransduction is crucial for bone development and physiology, and abnormal cellular mechanotransduction leads to various bone diseases, including osteoporosis (OP) and osteoarthritis (OA). Piezo channels are mechanosensitive ion channels located in the cell membrane and function as key cellular mechanotransducers for converting mechanical stimuli into electrochemical signals. The Piezo channels play crucial roles in numerous physiological and pathological process by functioning as cellular mechanotransducers. Under mechanical stimuli, Piezo channels are opened to make cationic ions cross membrane, which promotes cellular mechanotransduction to adapt to the microenvironment.
  • 1.0K
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Hypoxia in the Cell Cycle
The cell cycle is an important cellular process whereby the cell attempts to replicate its genome in an error-free manner.
  • 710
  • 01 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Torsin AAA+ Proteins
Torsin ATPases are members of the AAA+ (ATPases associated with various cellular activities) superfamily of proteins, which participate in essential cellular processes. While AAA+ proteins are ubiquitously expressed and demonstrate distinct subcellular localizations, Torsins are the only AAA+ to reside within the nuclear envelope (NE) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) network. Moreover, due to the absence of integral catalytic features, Torsins require the NE- and ER-specific regulatory cofactors, lamina-associated polypeptide 1 (LAP1) and luminal domain like LAP1 (LULL1), to efficiently trigger their atypical mode of ATP hydrolysis. Despite their implication in an ever-growing list of diverse processes, the specific contributions of Torsin/cofactor assemblies in maintaining normal cellular physiology remain largely enigmatic. Resolving gaps in the functional and mechanistic principles of Torsins and their cofactors are of considerable medical importance, as aberrant Torsin behavior is the principal cause of the movement disorder DYT1 early-onset dystonia.
  • 455
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Cholestatic Liver Disease
Cholestatic liver diseases including primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are associated with active hepatic fibrogenesis, which can ultimately lead to the development of cirrhosis.
  • 559
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
B Cells in Neuroinflammation
In recent years, the role of B cells in neurological disorders has substantially expanded our perspectives on mechanisms of neuroinflammation. The success of B cell-depleting therapies in patients with CNS diseases such as neuromyelitis optica and multiple sclerosis has highlighted the importance of neuroimmune crosstalk in inflammatory processes. While B cells are essential for the adaptive immune system and antibody production, they are also major contributors of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine responses in a number of inflammatory diseases. B cells can contribute to neurological diseases through peripheral immune mechanisms, including production of cytokines and antibodies, or through CNS mechanisms following compartmentalization. Emerging evidence suggests that aberrant pro- or anti-inflammatory B cell populations contribute to neurological processes, including glial activation, which has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases.
  • 600
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Non-Coding RNAs and Rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a typical autoimmune-mediated rheumatic disease presenting as a chronic synovitis in the joint. 
  • 399
  • 30 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Cell–Cell Fusion and Cancer
In addition to physiological processes, such as fertilization, placentation, myogenesis, osteoclastogenesis and wound healing/tissue regeneration the biological phenomenon of cell-cell fusion also plays a role in cancer, which was already postulated by the German physician Otto Aichel in 1911. Indeed, cancer cells could either fuse with other cancer cells or could hybridize with macrophages, fibroblasts and stem cells, thereby giving rise to tumor hybrid cells that could exhibit novel properties, such as an increased drug resistance and/or an enhanced metastasis formation capacity. 
  • 557
  • 28 Jun 2021
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