SNX12 Role in Endosome Membrane Transport

In this paper, we investigated the role of sorting nexin 12 (SNX12) in the endocytic pathway. SNX12 is a member of the PX domain-containing sorting nexin family and shares high homology with SNX3, which plays a central role in the formation of intralumenal vesicles within multivesicular endosomes. We found that SNX12 is expressed at very low levels compared to SNX3. SNX12 is primarily associated with early endosomes and this endosomal localization depends on the binding to 3-phosphoinositides. We find that overexpression of SNX12 prevents the detachment (or maturation) of multivesicular endosomes from early endosomes. This in turn inhibits the degradative pathway from early to late endosomes/lysosomes, much like SNX3 overexpression, without affecting endocytosis, recycling and retrograde transport. In addition, while previous studies showed that Hrs knockdown prevents EGF receptor sorting into multivesicular endosomes, we find that overexpression of SNX12 restores the sorting process in an Hrs knockdown background. Altogether, our data show that despite lower expression level, SNX12 shares redundant functions with SNX3 in the biogenesis of multivesicular endosomes

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome induced by ziprasidone on the second day of treatment

Neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is the rarest and most serious of the neuroleptic-induced movement disorders. We describe a case of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) associated with the use of ziprasidone. Although conventional neuroleptics are more frequently associated with NMS, atypical antipsychotic drugs like ziprasidone may also be a cause. The patient is a 24-year-old male with a history of schizophrenia who developed signs and symptoms of NMS after 2 days of treatment with an 80-mg/day dose of orally administrated ziprasidone. This case is the earliest (second day of treatment) NMS due to ziprasidone reported in the literature

Küçük hücreli dışı akciǧer kanserli hastalarda CD14 ve CD44S ekspresyonu

Objective: Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers with high mortality. Only 10-15% of the patients with lung cancer survive more than five years despite advanced treatment strategies. Features of tumor immunity are important in carcinogenesis, and immunological mechanisms must be clarified. The role of CD14 and CD44s proteins in tumor immunity of lung cancer is controversial, and studies on these proteins mostly were held on cancer cell lines. In this study, we aimed to investigate CD14 and CD44s protein expressions in tumor and normal tissues in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Material and Methods: Thirty patients (25 males and 5 females) with non-small cell lung cancer were included in this study. Specimens obtained during the surgery were frozen in liquid nitrogen, and sliced with a thickness of 5 pm using a microtome. Standard immunohistochemical procedures were used for staining and visualization. Differences in staining patterns between normal and tumor tissues were analyzed statistically with Chi-square test.Results: CD14 and CD44s protein expressions were found both in tumor and in the normal tissues. There was no statistically significant difference in staining patterns between normal and tumor tissues (p>0.05).Conclusion: The expression of the two molecules in both tumoral and healthy tissues demonstrates that different pathways of tumor immunity affect the prognosis of the patients. However, further studies are needed in different types of cancers with larger numbers of cases and different antibodies are needed to clarify the role of CD14 and CD44s

The Effect of α-Tocopherol and Selenium on Human Gingival Fibroblasts and Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts In Vitro

WOS: 000333750800019PubMed ID: 23805812Background: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of alpha-tocopherol and selenium on gingival fibroblasts (GFs) and periodontal ligament fibroblasts (PDLFs) in terms of proliferation, basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) release, collagen type I synthesis, and wound healing. Methods: Primary cultures of human GFs and PDLFs were isolated. Four test groups and a control group free of medication was formed. In group E, 60 mu M alpha-tocopherol was used, and in groups ES1, ES2, and ES3, the combination of 60 mM alpha-tocopherol with 5 x 10(-9) M, 10 x 10(-9) M, and 50 x 10(-9) M selenium was used, respectively. Viability, proliferation, bFGF, and collagen type I synthesis from both cell types were evaluated at 24, 48, and 72 hours, and healing was compared on a new wound-healing model at 12, 24, 36, 48, and 72 hours. Results: alpha-Tocopherol alone significantly increased the healing rate of PDLFs at 12 hours and increased bFGF and collagen type I release from GFs and PDLFs at 24, 48, and 72 hours. The alpha-tocopherol/selenium combination significantly enhanced the proliferation rate of both cells at 48 hours, decreased the proliferation of PDLFs at 72 hours, and increased the healing rate of GFs at 12 hours and PDLFs at 12 and 48 hours. bFGF and collagen type I synthesis was also increased in both cell types at 24, 48, and 72 hours by alpha-tocopherol/selenium combination. Conclusion: alpha-Tocopherol and alpha-tocopherol/selenium combination is able to accelerate the proliferation rate and wound-healing process and increase the synthesis of bFGF and collagen type I from both GFs and PDLFs

Effect of Ramadan fasting on heart rate variability as a measure of cardiac stress in a Lebanese cohort

Contains fulltext : 225320.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Intermittent fasting is an annual religious practice of Muslims worldwide, which affects the physiology of the body due to lifestyle alterations. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of Ramadan fasting on the HRV, an indirect measure of cardiac sympathetic stress. METHODS: This study included 80 healthy Lebanese females (aged 18-25 years old) monitored for 24 h when following normal routine; 38 and 42 females were enrolled before and during Ramadan, respectively. RESULTS: Our results reveal no effect of fasting on HRV; there was insignificant change in HRV between the first and last weeks of Ramadan (P > 0.05). Morning fasting was significantly the least stressful period (lowest HR, P < 0.001), with lower HR compared with non-fasting day (P < 0.001). Therefore, Ramadan fasting does not alter the autonomic nervous activity of the heart, neither HRV levels. CONCLUSIONS: This may imply that intermittent fasting is a risk-free practice, which does not interfere with the cardiac autonomic nervous system function