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Vascular diseases are the leading causes of death worldwide, and they are attributable to multiple pathologies, such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Exposure to various environmental contaminants is associated with the development of various diseases, including vascular diseases. Among environmental contaminants, micro- and nanoplastics have gained attention as global environmental risk factors that threaten human health. Recently, extensive research has been conducted on the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on various human diseases, including vascular diseases. In this review, we highlight the effects of micro- and nanoplastics on vascular diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to review the family Cosmopterigidae in Korea with taxonomic arrangement. In this study, a total of 27 species of 8 genera within 3 subfamilies were recognized from Korea. Among them, four species, Pyroderces sarcogypsa (Meyrick, 1932), Cosmopterix argentitegulella Sinev, 1985, C . setariella Sinev, 1985 and Labdia citracma (Meyrick, 1915) are reported for the first time from Korea. All the known species were examined and briefly redescribed with illustrations of the adult and male and female genitalic structure. Also their available information, including the distributional ranges, host plants and biological data, is enumerated when available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteases are involved in various biological phenomena, and their aberrant activity can be an important indicator of disease. Thus, various methods have been developed to analyze the activities of proteases, but their wide application has been hampered because each method has drawbacks. In this report, we propose a new protease assay method based on an engineered autoinhibited protein and enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) in which a protease of interest activates the autoinhibited protein and the signal is amplified via ELISA. Using this concept a sensitive assay method for MMP2 and caspase-3 was developed. The limit of detection for the two proteases was as low as 7 pM for MMP2 and 0.1 pM for caspase-3. The autoinhibited protein is designed modularly, and the new platform is general enough for the development of assay methods for other proteases with minimal modification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Terminal differentiation of skin keratinocytes is a vertically directed multi-step process that is tightly controlled by the sequential expression of a variety of genes. We previously investigated the gene expression profile and found that many of differentiation-related genes expressed in a temporally regulated manner. In this study, we attempted to find the hub-molecules and their intracellular signaling networks during keratinocyte differentiation using in silico analysis of data obtained from previous studies. We used protein–protein interaction prediction software called PSIMAP, and drew a hypothetical signaling network. We chose one candidate hub-molecule SHC1 that were predicted to link EGFR and MAPK signal, and then evaluated the protein–protein interactions experimentally. As predicted, SHC1 bound to the MEK1 in an EGF-regulated manner. Furthermore, SHC1 bound to the MEK1 and p38 MAPK in a keratinocyte differentiation dependent manner. These results demonstrate that in silico protein–protein interaction prediction system can be used to efficiently and cost-effectively select the experimental candidates. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Ethnopharmacological relevance: Cynanchi atrati Radix has been traditionally used as an anti-inflammatory agent to treat febrile diseases, acute urinary infection or subcutaneous pyogenic infection with invasion of the pathogenic factors. Aim of study: Nuclear factor (NF)-κB is a pleiotropic transcriptional factor of many genes involved in inflammatory and anti-apoptotic responses. To identify a novel, potent inhibitor of NF-κB signaling pathway, a plant extract library of traditional oriental medicine was screened for the capability to block the NF-κB activity in cells overexpressing toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), and then evaluated the anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic functions of water extract of Cynanchi atrati Radix (WECR) in macrophages and cancer cells, respectively. Materials and methods: The effect of WECR on the proinflammatory mediators (inducible NO synthase [iNOS], cyclooxygenase [COX]-2), IκB-α degradation, RelA/p65 phosphorylation and caspase cleavages were measured by immunblotting. NF-κB transcriptional activity, IκB kinase (IKK) activity and nitric oxide (NO) production was measured using the luciferase assay, in vitro kinase assay and Griess reaction. Results: WECR efficiently inhibited LPS-induced expression of proinflammatory mediators including iNOS and COX-2. IKK kinase activity, IκB-α degradation, nuclear translocation of RelA/p65 and NF-κB transcriptional activity induced by LPS were suppressed by WECR. Furthermore, WECR dramatically enhances the apoptotic response, as evident by the combination with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was able to induce the cytotoxic action through caspase-dependent pathway. Conclusion: These results indicate that WECR has a potential to inhibit IKK-mediated NF-κB activation, and is a valuable compound for modulating inflammatory or cancerous conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2) is an enzyme inhibitor which is involved in various biological processes including cell differentiation, tissue regrowth and regeneration. Although PAI-2 has been originally isolated as an extracellular inhibitor of urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA), recent studies indicate that PAI-2 has other intracellular effects in keratinocyte, such as the component of cornified envelope. Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the expression and functional role of PAI-2 during the keratinocyte differentiation. Methods: We transduced keratinocytes with adenovirus harboring the expression cassette for PAI-2, then examined the effect on keratinocytes differentiation. Results: When cultured epidermal keratinocytes were treated with 1.2mM calcium, PAI-2 expression was increased time-dependently at both mRNA and protein levels. The calcium-induced PAI-2 expression was abolished by treatment with p38 MAPK inhibitor, while overexpression of MKK6 led to the increase of PAI-2 expression. When PAI-2 was overexpressed by adenoviral transduction, the expression of keratinocyte differentiation markers such as involucrin, keratin 10 and loricrin was markedly increased. Concomitantly, overexpression of PAI-2 resulted in the retardation of cell growth, with the increase of Rb and p53. Conclusion: These results suggest that PAI-2 has a role for promoting the differentiation of epidermal keratinocytes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The potent anti-cancer agent cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin) is currently used for treating bladder cancer. However, clinical use of this drug for long periods is often limited because of the appearance of cisplatin-resistant bladder tumor cells. We employed the method of a differential display reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to identify the differentially expressed genes in the parental human bladder cancer cell line, T24 and three cisplatin-resistant cell lines. We report here that cisplatin-resistant cell lines overexpress Bcl-2 family protein Bcl-2-related gene expressed in fetal liver (Bfl-1)/A1 as compared with their parental cell. Cisplatin and γ-irradiation induced expression of Bfl-1/A1 in T24R2 cells but not in T24 cells. Among Bcl-2 family members, Bfl-1/A1 showed the most significant alteration of the expression level in resistant cells. The nuclear translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) by cisplatin and γ-irradiation selectively occurred in T24R2 cells. Mitochondrial depolarization and cell death by cisplatin were also prevented in T24R2 cells. Moreover, Bfl-1/A1 inhibited cisplatin- and TNF-α-induced apoptosis in BOSC23 cells. Our findings suggest that the induction of Bfl-1/A1 by NF-κB may be important in controlling resistance to cisplatin responses in bladder tumor cells. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this study, the concept of autoinhibition, a mechanism of protein activity regulation, was applied to the design and engineering of a β-lactamase zymogen. Using this zymogen, a sensitive protease assay method was developed in which activation of the zymogen by proteases produces an amplified absorbance signal. The approach reported here can be adapted for engineering of zymogens as biological sensors and components of synthetic signaling pathways.

During a search for keratinocyte differentiation-related genes, we obtained a cDNA fragment from the 5'-untranslated region of a previously identified splicing variant of desmoglein 3 (Dg3). This transcript encodes a protein of 282 amino acids, which corresponds to the N-terminal truncated intracellular domain of Dg3 (deltaNDg3). Northern blot analysis detected a 4.6-kb transcript matching the predicted size of deltaNDg3 mRNA, and Western blot analysis with an antibody raised against the Dg3 C-terminus (H-145) detected a 31-kDa protein. Increased deltaNDg3 expression was observed in differentiating keratinocytes by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, suggesting that deltaNDg3 is indeed a differentiation-related gene product. In immunohistochemical studies of normal and pathologic tissues, H-145 antibody detected the protein in the cytoplasm of suprabasal layer cells, whereas an antibody directed against the N-terminal region of Dg3 (AF1720) reacted with a membrane protein in the basal layer. In addition, deltaNDg3 transcript and protein were upregulated in psoriatic epidermis, and protein expression appeared to increase in epidermal tumors including Bowen's disease and squamous cell carcinoma. Moreover, overexpression of deltaNDg3 led to increased migration and weakening of cell adhesion. These results suggest that deltaNDg3 have a role in keratinocyte differentiation, and that may be related with tumorigenesis of epithelial origin.