243 research outputs found
Squamous cell carcinoma antigen suppresses radiation-induced cell death
Previous study has demonstrated that squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) 1 attenuates apoptosis induced by TNFα, NK cell or anticancer drug. In this study, we have examined the effect of SCCA2, which is highly homologous to SCCA1, but has different target specificity, against radiation-induced apoptosis, together with that of SCCA1. We demonstrated that cell death induced by radiation treatment was remarkably suppressed not only in SCCA1 cDNA-transfected cells, but also in SCCA2 cDNA-transfected cells. In these transfectants, caspase 3 activity and the expression of activated caspase 9 after radiation treatment were suppressed. Furthermore, the expression level of phosphorylated p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) was suppressed compared to that of the control cells. The expression level of upstream stimulator of p38 MAPK, phosphorylated MKK3/MKK6, was also suppressed in the radiation-treated cells. Thus, both SCCA1 and SCCA2 may contribute to survival of the squamous cells from radiation-induced apoptosis by regulating p38 MAPK pathway. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co
Discontinuation of infliximab after attaining low disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: RRR (remission induction by Remicade in RA) study
Brane cosmological solutions in six-dimensional warped flux compactifications
We study cosmology on a conical brane in the six-dimensional
Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton system, where the extra dimensions are compactified by
a magnetic flux. We systematically construct exact cosmological solutions using
the fact that the system is equivalently described by (6+n)-dimensional pure
Einstein-Maxwell theory via dimensional reduction. In particular, we find a
power-law inflationary solution for a general dilatonic coupling. When the
dilatonic coupling is given by that of Nishino-Sezgin chiral supergravity, this
reduces to the known solution which is not inflating. The power-law solution is
shown to be the late-time attractor. We also investigate cosmological tensor
perturbations in this model using the (6+n)-dimensional description. We obtain
the separable equation of motion and find that there always exist a zero mode,
while tachyonic modes are absent in the spectrum. The mass spectrum of
Kaluza-Klein modes is obtained numerically.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures; v2: references added; v3: version published in
JCA
Localization of N=4 Superconformal Field Theory on S^1 x S^3 and Index
We provide the geometrical meaning of the superconformal index.
With this interpretation, the superconformal index can be realized
as the partition function on a Scherk-Schwarz deformed background. We apply the
localization method in TQFT to compute the deformed partition function since
the deformed action can be written as a -exact form. The
critical points of the deformed action turn out to be the space of flat
connections which are, in fact, zero modes of the gauge field. The one-loop
evaluation over the space of flat connections reduces to the matrix integral by
which the superconformal index is expressed.Comment: 42+1 pages, 2 figures, JHEP style: v1.2.3 minor corrections, v4 major
revision, conclusions essentially unchanged, v5 published versio
Generalized Toda Theory from Six Dimensions and the Conifold
Recently, a physical derivation of the Alday-Gaiotto-Tachikawa correspondence
has been put forward. A crucial role is played by the complex Chern-Simons
theory arising in the 3d-3d correspondence, whose boundary modes lead to Toda
theory on a Riemann surface. We explore several features of this derivation and
subsequently argue that it can be extended to a generalization of the AGT
correspondence. The latter involves codimension two defects in six dimensions
that wrap the Riemann surface. We use a purely geometrical description of these
defects and find that the generalized AGT setup can be modeled in a pole region
using generalized conifolds. Furthermore, we argue that the ordinary conifold
clarifies several features of the derivation of the original AGT
correspondence.Comment: 27+2 pages, 3 figure
Coadministration of tacrolimus with corticosteroid accelerates recovery in refractory patients with polymyositis/ dermatomyositis: a retrospective study
EFFECTS OF LOW-DOSE-GAMMA RAYS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM OF DIFFERENT ANIMAL MODELS OF DISEASE
We reviewed the beneficial or harmful effects of low-dose ionizing radiation on several diseases based on a search of the literature. The attenuation of autoimmune manifestations in animal disease models irradiated with low-dose γ-rays was previously reported by several research groups, whereas the exacerbation of allergic manifestations was described by others. Based on a detailed examination of the literature, we divided animal disease models into two groups: one group consisting of collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), experimental encephalomyelitis (EAE), and systemic lupus erythematosus, the pathologies of which were attenuated by low-dose irradiation, and another group consisting of atopic dermatitis, asthma, and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, the pathologies of which were exacerbated by low-dose irradiation. The same biological indicators, such as cytokine levels and Tcell subpopulations, were examined in these studies. Low-dose irradiation reduced interferon (IFN)-gamma (γ) and interleukin (IL)-6 levels and increased IL-5 levels and the percentage of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+Treg cells in almost all immunological disease cases examined. Variations in these biological indicators were attributed to the attenuation or exacerbation of the disease’s manifestation. We concluded that autoimmune diseases caused by autoantibodies were attenuated by low-dose irradiation, whereas diseases caused by antibodies against external antigens, such as atopic dermatitis, were exacerbated
Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress
In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse
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