| 1. |
- Cerrato, Carmine Pasquale, et al.
(författare)
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Peptide-based vectors : recent developments
- 2014
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Ingår i: Biomolecular Concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 5:6, s. 479-488
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Peptides and peptide-cargo complexes have been used for drug delivery and gene therapy. One of the most used delivery vectors are cell-penetrating peptides, due to their ability to be taken up by a variety of cell types and deliver a large variety of cargoes through the cell membrane with low cytotoxicity. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown their possibility and full effectiveness to deliver oligonucleotides, plasmid DNA, small interfering RNAs, antibodies, and drugs. We report in this review some of the latest strategies for peptide-mediated delivery of nucleic acids. It focuses on peptide-based vectors for therapeutic molecules and on nucleic acid delivery. In addition, we discuss recent applications and clinical trials.
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| 2. |
- Jensen, Lasse Dahl, et al.
(författare)
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Circadian angiogenesis
- 2014
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Ingår i: Biomolecular concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 5:3, s. 245-56
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Daily rhythms of light/darkness, activity/rest and feeding/fasting are important in human physiology and their disruption (for example by frequent changes between day and night shifts) increases the risk of disease. Many of the diseases found to be associated with such disrupted circadian lifestyles, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders and neurological diseases, depend on pathological de-regulation of angiogenesis, suggesting that disrupting the circadian clock will impair the physiological regulation of angiogenesis leading to development and progression of these diseases. Today there is little known regarding circadian regulation of pathological angiogenesis but there is some evidence that supports both direct and indirect regulation of angiogenic factors by the cellular circadian clock machinery, as well as by circulating circadian factors, important for coordinating circadian rhythms in the organism. Through highlighting recent advances both in pre-clinical and clinical research on various diseases including cancer, cardiovascular disorders and obesity, we will here present an overview of the available knowledge on the importance of circadian regulation of angiogenesis and discuss how the circadian clock may provide alternative targets for pro- or anti-angiogenic therapy in the future.
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| 3. |
- Korach-André, M, et al.
(författare)
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Liver X receptors as regulators of metabolism
- 2015
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Ingår i: Biomolecular concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 6:3, s. 177-90
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The liver X receptors (LXR) are crucial regulators of metabolism. After ligand binding, they regulate gene transcription and thereby mediate changes in metabolic pathways. Modulation of LXR and their downstream targets has appeared to be a promising treatment for metabolic diseases especially atherosclerosis and cholesterol metabolism. However, the complexity of LXR action in various metabolic tissues and the liver side effect of LXR activation have slowed down the interest for LXR drugs. In this review, we summarized the role of LXR in the main metabolically active tissues with a special focus on obesity and associated diseases in mammals. We will also discuss the dual interplay between the two LXR isoforms suggesting that they may collaborate to establish a fine and efficient system for the maintenance of metabolism homeostasis.
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| 4. |
- Landreh, M, et al.
(författare)
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The structure, molecular interactions and bioactivities of proinsulin C-peptide correlate with a tripartite molecule
- 2014
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Ingår i: Biomolecular concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 5:2, s. 109-18
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Many biological roles have been assigned to proinsulin C-peptide over the years. Some appear surprisingly disparate and sometimes even contradictory, like chaperone-like actions and depository tendencies. This review summarizes recently reported biomolecular interactions of the peptide and presents how they correlate with structural and functional aspects into a partitioned molecular architecture. At the structural level, the C-peptide sequence and fold can be subdivided into three distinct parts (‘tripartite’). At the functional level, its chaperone-like abilities, self-assembly, and membrane interactions, as well as interactions with relevant proteins can be separately ascribed to these three segments. At the biological level, the assignments are compatible with the suggested roles of C-peptide in granular insulin storage, chaperone-like activities on insulin oligomers, possible depository tendencies, and proposed receptor interactions. Finally, the assignments give interesting parallels to further bioactive peptides, including glucagon and neurotensin. Provided pharmaceutical and clinical trials are successfully completed, the present interpretations should supply mechanistic explanations on C-peptide as a bioactive compound of importance in health and diabetes.
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| 5. |
- Landreh, M, et al.
(författare)
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Transthyretin microheterogeneity and molecular interactions: implications for amyloid formation
- 2014
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Ingår i: Biomolecular concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 5:3, s. 257-64
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Aggregation of transthyretin (TTR), a plasma-binding protein for thyroxine and retinol-binding protein, is the cause of several amyloid diseases. Disease-associated mutations are well known, but wild-type TTR is, to a lesser extent, also amyloidogenic. Monomerization, not oligomer formation as in several other depository diseases, is the rate-limiting step in TTR aggregation, and stabilization of the natively tetrameric form can inhibit amyloid formation. Modifications on Cys10, as well as interactions with native ligands in plasma, were early found to influence the equilibrium between tetrameric and monomeric TTR by dissociating or stabilizing the tetramer. Following these discoveries, synthetic ligands for pharmacological prevention of TTR aggregation could be developed. In this article, we outline how the different types of TTR interactions and its microheterogeneity in plasma are related to its propensity to form amyloid fibrils. We conclude that plasma constituents and dietary components may act as natural TTR stabilizers whose mechanisms of action provide cues for the amelioration of TTR amyloid disease.
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| 6. |
- Matson Dzebo, Maria, 1985, et al.
(författare)
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Extended functional repertoire for human copper chaperones
- 2016
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Ingår i: Biomolecular Concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-5021 .- 1868-503X. ; 7:1, s. 29-39
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Copper (Cu) ions are cofactors in many essential enzymes. As free Cu ions are toxic, most organisms have highly specialized Cu transport systems involving dedicated proteins. The human cytoplasmic Cu chaperone Atox1 delivers Cu to P1B-type ATPases in the Golgi network, for incorporation into Cu-dependent enzymes following the secretory path. Atox1 homologs are found in most organisms; it is a 68-residue ferredoxin-fold protein that binds Cu in a conserved surface-exposed CXXC motif. In addition to Atox1, the human cytoplasm also contains Cu chaperones for loading of superoxide dismutase 1 (i.e. CCS) and cytochrome c oxidase in mitochondria (i.e. Cox17). Many mechanistic aspects have been resolved with respect to how Cu ions are moved between these proteins. In addition to the primary cytoplasmic Cu chaperone function, all three cytoplasmic chaperones have been reported to have other interaction partners that are involved in signaling pathways that modulate cell growth and development. These new discoveries imply that humans have evolved a highly sophisticated network of control mechanisms that connect Cu transport with cell regulatory processes. This knowledge may eventually be exploited for future drug developments towards diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.
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| 7. |
- Naseeb, U, et al.
(författare)
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Differential hemoglobin A sequestration between hemodialysis modalities
- 2017
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Ingår i: Biomolecular concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter GmbH. - 1868-503X .- 1868-5021. ; 8:2, s. 125-129
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This report evaluates plasma protein patterns, dialysates and protein analysis of used dialysis membranes from the same patient under hemodialysis in three separate modalities, using high-flux membranes in concentration-driven transport (HD), convection-driven hemofiltration (HF) and combined hemodialfiltration (HDF). The plasma protein changes induced by each of the three dialysis modalities showed small differences in proteins identified towards our previous plasma analyses of chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. The used dialysate peptide concentrations likewise exhibited small differences among the modalities and varied in the same relative order as the plasma changes, with protein losses in the order HD>HDF>HF. The membrane protein deposits allowed quantification of the relative Hb removal ratios as ~1.7 for HD and ~1.2 for HDF vs. ~1.0 for HF. Hence, plasma protein alterations, dialysate peptide contents and membrane Hb deposits all identify HD as the modality with the most extensive filtration results and exemplifies the accessibility of protein analysis of used membrane filters for evaluation of dialysis efficiencies.
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| 8. |
- De Santis, Emiliano, PhD, et al.
(författare)
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Is styrene competitive for dopamine receptor binding?
- 2022
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Ingår i: Biomolecular Concepts. - : Walter de Gruyter. - 1868-503X. ; 13:1, s. 200-206
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The potential role of styrene oxide in altering the dopaminergic pathway in the ear is investigated by means of molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulations. We estimate the binding affinity of both styrene oxide and dopamine to the dopaminergic receptor DrD2 by computing the free-energy difference, ∆G, between the configuration where the ligand is bound to the receptor and the situation in which it is “infinitely” far away from it. The results show that the styrene oxide has a somewhat lower affinity for binding with respect to dopamine, which, however, may not be enough to prevent exogenous high concentration styrene oxide to compete with endogenous dopamine for DrD2 binding.
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