Environmental chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA) are thought to contribute to carcinogenesis through their endocrine-disrupting properties. Due to accumulating evidence about negative human health effects, BPA is being phased out, but in parallel, exposures to replacement chemicals such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) are increasing. Little is known about their biologic effects, but ...

Treatment options for infections caused by antimicrobial-resistant bacteria are rendered ineffective, and drug alternatives are needed—either from new chemical classes or drugs with new modes of action. Historically, natural products have been important contributors to drug discovery. In a recent study, the dimeric naphthopyrone lulworthinone produced by an obligate marine fungus in the family ...

Hunger drives food-seeking behaviour and controls adaptation of organisms to nutrient availability and energy stores. Lipids constitute an essential source of energy in the cell that can be mobilised during fasting by autophagy. Selective degradation of proteins by autophagy is made possible essentially by the presence of LIR and KFERQ-like motifs. Using in silico screening of Drosophila ...

To examine the response to chronic high-dose angiotensin II (Ang II) and a proposed milder response in female hearts with respect to gene expression and ischemic injury. Female and male litter–matched rats were treated with 400 ng kg^-1 min^-1 Ang II for 14 days. Hearts were isolated, subjected to 30-min ischemia and 30-min reperfusion in combination with functional monitoring ...

Multiple myeloma (MM) is considered an incurable B cell malignancy, although many patients can benefit from high-dose therapy with autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as a first-line treatment. In nonHodgkin lymphoma (NHL), ASCT is usually performed after relapse with curative intent. Disease progression is often associated with increased angiogenesis, in which endothelial progenitor cells ...

The distribution limit of Ixodes ricinus ticks in northwestern Europe (Brønnøy, Norway, 1◦ south of the Arctic Circle), has been known since the 1930s. To reconfirm this finding and extend studies in the areas adjacent to the Arctic Circle (66◦33 N), ticks were collected from dogs and cats in 8 districts in northern Norway from 64◦56 N to 68◦48 N. We detected 549 I. ricinus, 244 (44%) of them ...

Exocytosis is a fundamental process in physiology, that ensures communication between cells, organs and even organisms. Hormones, neuropeptides and antibodies, among other cargoes are packed in exocytic vesicles that need to reach and fuse with the plasma membrane to release their content to the extracellular milieu. Hundreds of proteins participate in this process and several others in its regulation. ...

Background: Recently a large number of short non-coding-RNAs (microRNAs, (miRNA)) have been identified. These miRNAs act as post-transcriptional regulators where they generally have an inhibitory function. miRNAs are present in all human cells, and they are also detected in serum or plasma. The miRNAs have a broad range of actions, and their biogenesis must therefore be under tight control. One ...

Background: Tryptophan side chains can influence the binding of amphipathic peptides to biological membranes. <p>Results: The cytotoxic activity of model helical amphipathic peptides was markedly influenced by the positions of tryptophan residues in the sequence. <p>Conclusion: Tryptophan residues located adjacent to a hydrophobic helical portion created the most potent cytotoxic peptides. <p> ...

Background: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether changes in the tissue expression of human epididymisspecific protein 4 (HE4) could predict therapy resistance and relapse after progestin hormone therapy for medium- and low-risk endometrial hyperplasia.<p> <p>Methods: Endometrial biopsies were obtained from women participating in a multicentre RCT performed according to the ...