| 1. |
- Pradhan, Ajay, 1983-, et al.
(författare)
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Activation of NF-kappa B Protein Prevents the Transition from Juvenile Ovary to Testis and Promotes Ovarian Development in Zebrafish
- 2012
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Ingår i: Journal of Biological Chemistry. - : The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. - 0021-9258 .- 1083-351X. ; 287:45, s. 37926-37938
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Testis differentiation in zebrafish involves juvenile ovary to testis transformation initiated by an apoptotic wave. The molecular regulation of this transformation process is not fully understood. NF-kappa B is activated at an early stage of development and has been shown to interact with steroidogenic factor-1 in mammals, leading to the suppression of anti-Mullerian hormone (Amh) gene expression. Because steroidogenic factor-1 and Amh are important for proper testis development, NF-kappa B-mediated induction of anti-apoptotic genes could, therefore, also play a role in zebrafish gonad differentiation. The aim of this study was to examine the potential role of NF-kappa B in zebrafish gonad differentiation. Exposure of juvenile zebrafish to heat-killed Escherichia coli activated the NF-kappa B pathways and resulted in an increased ratio of females from 30 to 85%. Microarray and quantitative real-time-PCR analysis of gonads showed elevated expression of NF-kappa B-regulated genes. To confirm the involvement of NF-kappa B-induced anti-apoptotic effects, zebrafish were treated with sodium deoxycholate, a known inducer of NF-kappa B or NF-kappa B activation inhibitor (NAI). Sodium deoxycholate treatment mimicked the effect of heat-killed bacteria and resulted in an increased proportion of females from 25 to 45%, whereas the inhibition of NF-kappa B using NAI resulted in a decrease in females from 45 to 20%. This study provides proof for an essential role of NF-kappa B in gonadal differentiation of zebrafish and represents an important step toward the complete understanding of the complicated process of sex differentiation in this species and possibly other cyprinid teleosts as well.
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| 2. |
- Bang, Charlotte Sahlberg, 1967-, et al.
(författare)
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The antibacterial effect of nitric oxide against ESBL-producing uropathogenic E-coli is improved by combination with miconazole and polymyxin B nonapeptide
- 2014
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Ingår i: BMC Microbiology. - London : BioMed Central. - 1471-2180. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Nitric oxide (NO) is produced as part of the host immune response to bacterial infections, including urinary tract infections. The enzyme flavohemoglobin, coded by the hmp gene, is involved in protecting bacterial cells from the toxic effects of NO and represents a potentially interesting target for development of novel treatment concepts against resistant uropathogenic bacteria. The aim of the present study was to investigate if the in vitro antibacterial effects of NO can be enhanced by pharmacological modulation of the enzyme flavohemoglobin.Results: Four clinical isolates of multidrug-resistant extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing uropathogenic E. coli were included in the study. It was shown that the NO-donor substance DETA/NO, but not inactivated DETA/NO, caused an initial growth inhibition with regrowth noted after 8 h of exposure. An hmp-deficient strain showed a prolonged growth inhibition in response to DETA/NO compared to the wild type. The imidazole antibiotic miconazole, that has been shown to inhibit bacterial flavohemoglobin activity, prolonged the DETA/NO-evoked growth inhibition. When miconazole was combined with polymyxin B nonapeptide (PMBN), in order to increase the bacterial wall permeability, DETA/NO caused a prolonged bacteriostatic response that lasted for up to 24 h.Conclusion: An NO-donor in combination with miconazole and PMBN showed enhanced antimicrobial effects and proved effective against multidrug-resistant ESBL-producing uropathogenic E. coli.
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| 3. |
- Börjesson, Anna E, et al.
(författare)
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The role of estrogen receptor-alpha in growth plate cartilage for longitudinal bone growth.
- 2010
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Ingår i: Journal of bone and mineral research. - : Wiley. - 1523-4681 .- 0884-0431. ; 25:12, s. 2414-24
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Estrogens enhance skeletal growth during early sexual maturation while high estradiol levels during late puberty result in growth plate fusion in humans. Although the growth plates do not fuse directly after sexual maturation in rodents, a reduction in growth plate height is seen by treatment with a high dose of estradiol. It is unknown whether the effects of estrogens on skeletal growth are mediated directly via estrogen receptors (ERs) in growth plate cartilage and/or indirectly via other mechanisms such as the GH/IGF-I axis. To determine the role of ERalpha in growth plate cartilage for skeletal growth, we developed a mouse model with cartilage-specific inactivation of ERalpha. Although mice with total ERalpha inactivation displayed affected longitudinal bone growth associated with alterations in the GH/IGF-I axis, the skeletal growth was normal during sexual maturation in mice with cartilage-specific ERalpha inactivation. High dose estradiol treatment of adult mice reduced the growth plate height as a consequence of attenuated proliferation of growth plate chondrocytes in control mice but not in cartilage-specific ERalpha(-/-) mice. Adult cartilage-specific ERalpha(-/-) mice continued to grow after four months of age while growth was limited in control mice, resulting in increased femur length in one-year-old cartilage-specific ERalpha(-/-) mice compared with control mice. We conclude that during early sexual maturation ERalpha in growth plate cartilage is not important for skeletal growth. In contrast, it is essential for high dose estradiol to reduce the growth plate height in adult mice and for reduction of longitudinal bone growth in elderly mice. (c) 2010 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
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| 4. |
- Karlsson, Sten, 1951, et al.
(författare)
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What is required for the viability of metal recovery from municipal solid-waste incineration fly ash? - Design and assessment of a process plant for copper extraction
- 2010
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Ingår i: Proceedings of LINNAEUS ECOTECH'10 Nov 22-24, 2010, Kalmar, Sweden. ; , s. 463-474
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Konferensbidrag (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The incineration of municipal solid waste produces large amounts of fly ashes, today in Sweden around 200 000 tons/yr. The ashes normally contain a considerable amount of valuable and hazardous metals. To fulfil the environmental regulations, most of these fly ashes can be deposited only in specific sites. This handling costs, requires energy and leads to emissions in the transportation to the deposit site. This work, taking departure in laboratory experiments for crucial steps, discusses possible chemical processing schemes and from this develops an overall design of a plant for the extraction and production of copper from the fly ash generated in a fluidized bed waste incineration plant. It also addresses the economic viability and environmental impact of the suggested processing in comparison to current handling, which involves transport to and disposal of the fly ash in Norway. The proposed process involves a leaching step, a solvent extraction process, a stripping step where the copper is transferred to an aqueous phase and finally electrolysis. By quantitative modelling and cost estimates of the processing steps of the proposed plant we identify the most important factors for the economics and environmental impact of the plant. In addition, we quantify the necessary recycling rates of the different process chemicals for achieving profitability. We conclude that a crucial factor is the recycling rate of the used organic solvent. Important parameters are also the handling costs and transportation needs of the rest products. For instance, a major benefit of the process is if treated fly ash can be reclassified such that it is allowed to be disposed into the own close-up hazardous waste landfill thus lowering the costs and environmental impacts. An extension of the process to include also the extraction of metals other than copper, for instance zinc, should be an interesting further development to consider.
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