28 research outputs found
Progesterone Receptor Activates Msx2 Expression by Downregulating TNAP/Akp2 and Activating the Bmp Pathway in EpH4 Mouse Mammary Epithelial Cells
Previously we demonstrated that EpH4 mouse mammary epithelial cells induced the homeobox transcription factor Msx2 either when transfected with the progesterone receptor (PR) or when treated with Bmp2/4. Msx2 upregulation was unaffected by Wnt inhibitors s-FRP or Dkk1, but was inhibited by the Bmp antagonist Noggin. We therefore hypothesized that PR signaling to Msx2 acts through the Bmp receptor pathway. Herein, we confirm that transcripts for Alk2/ActR1A, a non-canonical BmpR Type I, are upregulated in mammary epithelial cells overexpressing PR (EpH4-PR). Increased phosphorylation of Smads 1,5, 8, known substrates for Alk2 and other BmpR Type I proteins, was observed as was their translocation to the nucleus in EpH4-PR cells. Analysis also showed that Tissue Non-Specific Alkaline Phosphatase (TNAP/Akp2) was also found to be downregulated in EpH4-PR cells. When an Akp2 promoter-reporter construct containing a ½PRE site was transfected into EpH4-PR cells, its expression was downregulated. Moreover, siRNA mediated knockdown of Akp2 increased both Alk2 and Msx2 expression. Collectively these data suggest that PR inhibition of Akp2 results in increased Alk2 activity, increased phosphorylation of Smads 1,5,8, and ultimately upregulation of Msx2. These studies imply that re-activation of the Akp2 gene could be helpful in downregulating aberrant Msx2 expression in PR+ breast cancers
Reciprocity of Social Influence
Humans seek advice, via social interaction, to improve their decisions. While social interaction is often reciprocal, the role of reciprocity in social influence is unknown. Here, we tested the hypothesis that our influence on others affects how much we are influenced by them. Participants first made a visual perceptual estimate and then shared their estimate with an alleged partner. Then, in alternating trials, the participant either revised their decisions or observed how the partner revised theirs. We systematically manipulated the partner's susceptibility to influence from the participant. We show that participants reciprocated influence with their partner by gravitating toward the susceptible (but not insusceptible) partner's opinion. In further experiments, we showed that reciprocity is both a dynamic process and is abolished when people believed that they interacted with a computer. Reciprocal social influence is a signaling medium for human-to-human communication that goes beyond aggregation of evidence for decision improvement
Accumulation of conjugated linoleic acid in Lactobacillus plantarum WU-P19 is enhanced by induction with linoleic acid and chitosan treatment
Promising antitumor effect of alpha-tocopheryl succinate in human colon and liver cancer cells
Efect of antiseptic gels in the microbiologic colonization of the suture threads after oral surgery
Te work was supported by the Oral Medicine, Oral surgery and Implantology Unit. School of Medicine and
Dentistry, University of Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.Three diferent bioadhesive gels were evaluated in a double-blind randomized clinical trial in which
microbial growth in the suture thread was assessed following post-surgical application of the
aforementioned gels. Also assessed in this trial were, the intensity of post-surgical pain as well as
the degree of healing of the patients’ surgical wounds. A total of 21 patients (with 42 wisdom teeth)
participated in this trial. Chlorhexidine gel, chlorhexidine-chitosan gel, and hyaluronic acid gel were
evaluated, with a neutral water-based gel serving as the control agent. The aerobic and facultative
anaerobic bacterial recovery on blood agar was lower in the placebo group than in the experimental
groups. The most signifcant diference (p=0.04) was observed in the chlorhexidine-chitosan group. in
which the growth of Blood Agar and Mitis Salivarius Agar was signifcantly higher than in the placebo
group. The intensity of post-surgical pain was very similar among all the groups. Signifcantly better
healing rates were observed in the patients treated with chlorhexidine-chitosan gel when compared
with those who used the placebo gel (p=0.03), and in particular when compared with those patients
who used hyaluronic acid gel (p=0.01). Through our microbiological analyses, we were able to conclude
that none of the bioadhesive gels tested resulted in benefcial reductions in the bacterial/fungal
populations. However, the healing rates of patients who were treated with chlorhexidine-chitosan were
better than those of the patients who used either the placebo gel or the hyaluronic acid gel