An Overview of the Field of Semiotics

AbstractThe quantitative increase in recent years of research into semiotics, among other methods of reading works of art, is notable. Since semiotics is the act of reading as based on a meta-language that is constructed and grounded in logic, understanding the methods applied by the field requires time and experience. In addition, the application of models that differ in relation to each other under different schools of thought and under different names makes its yet more difficult to comprehend the field of semiotics. Despite the different models that are available, approaches display certain commonalities as they are born of the same foundations and objectives. This study will aim to pinpoint the common aspects of the intellectual foundations, methods, objectives and research limitations of the different schools of thought and the models that are involved in the study of semiotics

Growth hormone (GH) regulation of submandibular gland structure and function in the GH-deficient rat: Upregulation of haptocorrin

10.1677/joe.0.1540459Journal of Endocrinology1543459-466JOEN

DNA methyltransferases and TETs in the regulation of differentiation and invasiveness of extra-villous trophoblasts

10.3389/fgene.2013.00265Frontiers in Genetics4DEC

Growth hormone promotion of tubulin polymerization stabilizes the microtubule network and protects against colchicine-induced apoptosis

Endocrinology139104364-4372ENDO

Are trefoil factors oncogenic?

Trefoil factors (TFFs), in particular TFF1, are classical estrogen-regulated genes and have served as markers of estrogen gene regulation by various environmental estrogens. TFFs are also regulated by several other factors including growth hormone (hGH), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), epidermal growth factor (EGF) and various oncogenic stimuli. TFFs are secreted proteins present in serum and possess the potential to act as growth factors promoting cell survival, anchorage-independent growth and motility. Recent compelling evidence has emerged from experimental and clinical studies to indicate a pivotal role of TFFs in oncogenic transformation, growth and metastatic extension of common human solid tumours. This review will summarize the current evidence for the involvement of TFFs in human cancer. © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Autocrine human growth hormone reduces mammary and endometrial carcinoma cell sensitivity to mitomycin C

10.3892/or.2011.1305Oncology Reports262487-493OCRP

Combination therapy with acipimox enhances the effect of growth hormone treatment on linear body growth in the normal and small-for-gestational-age rat

Growth hormone (GH) therapy is often associated with adverse side effects, including impaired insulin sensitivity. GH treatment of children with idiopathic short stature does not lead to an optimized final adult height. It has been demonstrated that FFA reduction induced by pharmacological antilipolysis can stimulate GH secretion per se in both normal subjects and those with GH deficiency. However, to date, no investigation has been undertaken to establish efficacy of combination treatment with GH and FFA regulators on linear body growth. Using a model of maternal undernutrition in the rat to induce growth-restricted offspring, we investigated the hypothesis that combination treatment with GH and FFA regulators can enhance linear body growth above that of GH alone. At postnatal day 28, male offspring of normally nourished mothers (controls) and offspring born with low birth weight [small for gestational age (SGA)] were treated with saline, GH, or GH (5 mg.kg(-1).day(-1)) in combination with acipimox (GH + acipimox, 20 mg.kg(-1).day(-1)) or fenofibrate (GH + fenofibrate, 30 mg.kg(-1).day(-1)) for 40 days. GH plus acipimox treatment significantly enhanced linear body growth in the control and SGA animals above that of GH, as quantified by tibial and total body length. Treatment with GH significantly increased fasting plasma insulin, insulin-to-glucose ratio, and plasma volumes in control and SGA animals but was not significantly different between saline and GH-plus-acipimox-treated animals. GH-induced lipolysis was blocked by GH plus acipimox treatment in both control and SGA animals, concomitant with a significant reduction in fasting plasma FFA and insulin concentrations. This is the first study to show that GH plus acipimox combination therapy, via pharmacological blocking of lipolysis during GH exposure, can significantly enhance the efficacy of GH in linear growth promotion and ameliorate unwanted metabolic side effect

Mode of the autocrine/paracrine mechanism of growth hormone action

10.1006/excr.1997.3789Experimental Cell Research2371196-206ECRE

Autocrine human growth hormone inhibits placental transforming growth factor-β gene transcription to prevent apoptosis and allow cell cycle progression of human mammary carcinoma cells

10.1074/jbc.M109931200Journal of Biological Chemistry2772926662-26672JBCH