169 research outputs found
Survival of Viral Biowarfare Agents in Disinfected Waters
Protecting civilian and military water supplies has received more attention since the United States began its war on terror in 2001. Both chlorine and bromine are used by branches of the U.S. military for disinfecting water supplies; however, limited data exists as to the effectiveness of these additives when used against viral biowarfare agents. The present study sought to evaluate the survival of selected viral biothreat agents in disinfected water. Disinfected water samples were spiked with vaccinia virus strain WR and Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus strain TC-83 each separately to a final concentration of approximately 1 × 106 PFU/mL, and survival was assessed by plaque assay. Both viruses were inactivated by 1 mg/L free available chlorine (FAC) and 2mg/L total bromine within one hour. In conclusion, these results demonstrate that both chlorine and bromine are effective disinfectants against vaccinia virus and VEE strain TC-83 at the concentrations tested
Effects of PPARÎł agonists on the expression of leptin and vascular endothelial growth factor in breast cancer cells.
The obesity hormone leptin has been implicated in breast cancer development. Breast cancer cells express the leptin receptor and are able to synthesize leptin in response to obesity-related stimuli. Furthermore, leptin is a positive regulator of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and high levels of both proteins are associated with worse prognosis in breast cancer patients. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) ligands are therapeutic agents used in patient with Type 2 diabetes and obesity which have recently been studied for their potential anti-tumor effect. Here, we studied if these compounds, ciglitazone and GW1929, can affect the expression of leptin and VEGF in breast cancer cells. In MDA-MB-231 and MCF-7 breast cancer cells, treatment with submolar concentrations of ciglitazone and GW1929 elevated the expression of leptin and VEGF mRNA and protein, and increased cell viability and migration. These effects coincided with increased recruitment of PPAR to the proximal leptin promoter and decreased association of a transcriptional factor Sp1 with this DNA region
Disease activity states, reasons for discontinuation and adverse events in 1038 Italian children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis treated with etanercept
The advent of biologic medications has increased considerably the potential for treatment benefit in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), with clinical remission being now achievable in a substantial proportion of patients. However, there is a need of data from the real world of clinical practice to evaluate thoroughly the efficacy and safety profile of the biologic agents currently approved
Into the wild of long non-coding RNA in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) to explore new prognostic/predictive biomarkers
Background: Long Non-coding RNAs (lncRNA) are emerging as essential regulators of genetic and epigenetic networks, and
their deregulation may underlie complex diseases, such as carcinogenesis. Several studies have described lncRNAs alterations in
patients with solid tumors. In particular, in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors (GIST), upregulation of HOTAIR has been
associated with aggressiveness, metastasis, and poor patients\u2019 survival. In order to gain more detailed insight on the molecular
role of lncRNAs in GIST, we analyzed in vivo the expression levels of lncRNAs H19 and MALAT1 in surgically resected
patients.
Material and Methods: The expression of the lnc-RNAs H19 and MALAT1 was evaluated in primary tumor tissue from 20
GIST patients undergoing surgical resection, and paired normal mucosa samples, using quantitative real-time reverse
transcriptase qRT-PCR. The result was considered reliable if the tumor tissue harboured at least 70% of cancer cells.
Results: H19 was evaluable in 20 patients, MALAT 1 in 8 patients. H19 was overexpressed in 66% (12/20) cancer tissue from
GIST patients, and the difference of expression between the two groups (tumor tissue vs normal tissue) was found to be
statistically significant (P= 0.0496). MALAT1 was overexpressed also in 100% (8/8) cancer tissue from GIST patients.
Conclusions: H19 and MALAT1 appear frequently upregulated in GIST patients. Further analyses are needed to confirm these
data, and evaluate the potential role of such lncRNAs, as prognostic/predictive biomarkers
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