272 research outputs found
Suppression of MT1-MMp-Mediated MMP-2 Activation and Tumor Invasion by Testican 3 and its Splicing Variant Gene Product N-Tes
Expression of Dominant Negative Form of Ets-1 Suppresses Fibronectin-stimulated Cell Adhesion and Migration Through Downregulation of Integrin a5 Expression in U251 Glioma Cell Line
Characterizing Low-Mass Binaries From Observation of Long Time-scale Caustic-crossing Gravitational Microlensing Events
Despite astrophysical importance of binary star systems, detections are
limited to those located in small ranges of separations, distances, and masses
and thus it is necessary to use a variety of observational techniques for a
complete view of stellar multiplicity across a broad range of physical
parameters. In this paper, we report the detections and measurements of 2
binaries discovered from observations of microlensing events MOA-2011-BLG-090
and OGLE-2011-BLG-0417. Determinations of the binary masses are possible by
simultaneously measuring the Einstein radius and the lens parallax. The
measured masses of the binary components are 0.43 and 0.39
for MOA-2011-BLG-090 and 0.57 and 0.17 for
OGLE-2011-BLG-0417 and thus both lens components of MOA-2011-BLG-090 and one
component of OGLE-2011-BLG-0417 are M dwarfs, demonstrating the usefulness of
microlensing in detecting binaries composed of low-mass components. From
modeling of the light curves considering full Keplerian motion of the lens, we
also measure the orbital parameters of the binaries. The blended light of
OGLE-2011-BLG-0417 comes very likely from the lens itself, making it possible
to check the microlensing orbital solution by follow-up radial-velocity
observation. For both events, the caustic-crossing parts of the light curves,
which are critical for determining the physical lens parameters, were resolved
by high-cadence survey observations and thus it is expected that the number of
microlensing binaries with measured physical parameters will increase in the
future.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 4 table
Serum levels of toxic AGEs (TAGE) may be a promising novel biomarker in development and progression of NASH
a b s t r a c t Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) ranges from simple steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), leads to fibrosis and potentially cirrhosis, liver failure, and hepatocellular carcinoma, and is one of the most common causes of liver disease worldwide. NAFLD has also been implicated in other medical conditions such as insulin resistance, obesity, metabolic syndrome, hyperlipemia, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Continuous hyperglycemia has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic micro-and macro-vascular complications via various metabolic pathways, and numerous hyperglycemiainduced metabolic and hemodynamic conditions exist, including the increased generation of various types of advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). We recently demonstrated that glyceraldehyde-derived AGEs (Glycer-AGEs), the predominant components of toxic AGEs (TAGE), played an important role in the pathogenesis of angiopathy in diabetic patients. Moreover, a growing body of evidence suggests that the interaction between TAGE and the receptor for AGEs may alter intracellular signaling, gene expression, and the release of pro-inflammatory molecules and also elicits the generation of oxidative stress in numerous types of cells including hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells. Serum levels of TAGE were significantly higher in NASH patients than in those with simple steatosis and healthy controls. Moreover, serum levels of TAGE inversely correlated with adiponectin (adiponectin is produced by adipose tissue and is an anti-inflammatory adipokine that can increase insulin sensitivity). Furthermore, immunohistochemical staining of TAGE showed intense staining in the livers of patients with NASH. Serum levels of TAGE may be a useful biomarker for discriminating NASH from simple steatosis. The administration of atorvastatin (10 mg daily) for 12 months significantly improved NASH-related metabolic parameters and significantly decreased serum levels of TAGE. The steatosis grade and NAFLD activity score were also significantly improved. These results demonstrated that atorvastatin decreased the serum levels of TAGE in NASH patients with dyslipidemia and suggest the usefulness of TAGE as a biomarker for the attenuation of NASH. Serum levels of TAGE were significantly higher in non-B or non-C hepatocellular carcinoma (NBNC-HCC) patients than in NASH subjects without HCC or control subjects. TAGE may be involved in the pathogenesis of NBNC-HCC, and could, therefore, be a biomarker that could discriminate NBNC-HCC from NASH. We propose that serum levels of TAGE are promising novel targets for the diagnosis of and therapeutic interventions against NASH
MOA-2011-BLG-293Lb: A test of pure survey microlensing planet detections
Because of the development of large-format, wide-field cameras, microlensing
surveys are now able to monitor millions of stars with sufficient cadence to
detect planets. These new discoveries will span the full range of significance
levels including planetary signals too small to be distinguished from the
noise. At present, we do not understand where the threshold is for detecting
planets. MOA-2011-BLG-293Lb is the first planet to be published from the new
surveys, and it also has substantial followup observations. This planet is
robustly detected in survey+followup data (Delta chi^2 ~ 5400). The planet/host
mass ratio is q=5.3+/- 0.2*10^{-3}. The best fit projected separation is
s=0.548+/- 0.005 Einstein radii. However, due to the s-->s^{-1} degeneracy,
projected separations of s^{-1} are only marginally disfavored at Delta
chi^2=3. A Bayesian estimate of the host mass gives M_L = 0.43^{+0.27}_{-0.17}
M_Sun, with a sharp upper limit of M_L < 1.2 M_Sun from upper limits on the
lens flux. Hence, the planet mass is m_p=2.4^{+1.5}_{-0.9} M_Jup, and the
physical projected separation is either r_perp = ~1.0 AU or r_perp = ~3.4 AU.
We show that survey data alone predict this solution and are able to
characterize the planet, but the Delta chi^2 is much smaller (Delta chi^2~500)
than with the followup data. The Delta chi^2 for the survey data alone is
smaller than for any other securely detected planet. This event suggests a
means to probe the detection threshold, by analyzing a large sample of events
like MOA-2011-BLG-293, which have both followup data and high cadence survey
data, to provide a guide for the interpretation of pure survey microlensing
data.Comment: 29 pages, 6 figures, Replaced 7/3/12 with the version accepted to Ap
Microlensing discovery of a population of very tight, very low mass binary brown dwarfs
Although many models have been proposed, the physical mechanisms responsible for the formation of low-mass brown dwarfs (BDs) are poorly understood. The multiplicity properties and minimum mass of the BD mass function provide critical empirical diagnostics of these mechanisms. We present the discovery via gravitational microlensing of two very low mass, very tight binary systems. These binaries have directly and precisely measured total system masses of 0.025 M· and 0.034 M·, and projected separations of 0.31 AU and 0.19 AU, making them the lowest-mass and tightest field BD binaries known. The discovery of a population of such binaries indicates that BD binaries can robustly form at least down to masses of 0.02 M·. Future microlensing surveys will measure a mass-selected sample of BD binary systems, which can then be directly compared to similar samples of stellar binaries. © 2013. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved
BCAR1 Protein Plays Important Roles in Carcinogenesis and Predicts Poor Prognosis in Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer
Objective: Our previous study suggested the potential clinical implications of BCAR1 in non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) (Mol Diagn Ther. 2011. 15(1): 31–40). Herein, we aim to evaluate the predictive power of BCAR1 as a marker for poor prognosis in NSCLC cases, verify the carcinogenic roles of BCAR1 in the A549 lung adenocarcinoma cell line, and testify to the BCAR1/phospho-p38 axis. Methods: Between January 2006 and June 2010, there were a total of 182 patients with NSCLC (151 cases with available follow up data, and 31 cases lost to follow-up due to the invalid contact information). We inspected BCAR1, phospho-BCAR1(Tyr410), phospho-p38(Thr180/Tyr182) and p38 expression in NSCLC tissues and matched adjacent normal tissues by immunoblotting and IHC. After BCAR1-RNA interference in A549 cells, we inspected the protein expression (BCAR1, phospho-BCAR1, phospho-p38 and p38) and performed cell biology experiments (cell growth, migration and cycle). Results: BCAR1 was overexpressed in NSCLC tissues (177/182) and cell lines (A549 and Calu-3). However, it was not detected in the normal adjacent tissue in 161 of the 182 cases. Higher BCAR1 levels were strongly associated with more poorly differentiated NSCLC and predicted poorer prognosis. BCAR1 knockdown caused cell growth arrest, cell migration inhibition and cell cycle arrest of A549 cells. Overexpression of BCAR1 was associated with activation of p38 in NSCLC cases, and BCAR1 knockdown caused reduction of phospho-p38 levels in A549 cells
- …