Current Molecular Medicine - Volume 16, Issue 4, 2016

Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) have significant diagnostic potential as they can reflect both the presence and recurrence of a wide range of cancers. However, this potential continues to be limited by the lack of robust and accessible isolation technologies. An alternative to isolation might be their direct detection amongst other peripheral blood cells, although this would require markers that allow them to be distinguished f Read More

Prostacyclin (PGI2) and other metabolites of arachidonic acid are increasingly recognized for their role in the pathophysiology of human disease. A growing body of evidence from randomized controlled trials, studies of human prostacyclin receptor (hIP) variants, and IP-receptor knockout studies in mice has shown that PGI2 may have a protective effect on atherothrombotic risk. Increased risk of atherosclerosis and throm Read More

There has been prolonged and significant interest in manipulating the genome for a wide range of applications in biomedical research and medicine. An existing challenge in realizing this potential has been the inability to precisely edit specific DNA sequences. Past efforts to generate targeted double stranded DNA cleavage have fused DNA-targeting elements such as zinc fingers and DNA-binding proteins to endonucle Read More

Background & Objectives: Chromatin structure is the single most important feature that distinguishes a cancer cell from a normal cell histologically. Chromatin remodeling proteins regulate chromatin structure and high mobility group A (HMGA1) proteins are among the most abundant, nonhistone chromatin remodeling proteins found in cancer cells. These proteins include HMGA1a/HMGA1b isoforms, which result from al Read More

Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is highly expressed in many types of tumors, including pancreatic cancer. Tumor cellderived VEGF promotes angiogenesis and tumor progression. However, the role of VEGF in glucose metabolism remains unclear. Objective: We investigated the role and the underlying mechanism of VEGF in the glucose metabolism of pancreatic cancer cells. Method: Pancreatic cancer cells w Read More

Background: MBD1 (Methyl-CpG Binding Domain Protein 1) is highly expressed in pancreatic cancer. Nrf2 (NF-E2 p45-related factor 2) and the ‘antioxidant response element’ (ARE)-driven genes that NRF2 controls are frequently upregulated in pancreatic cancer and correlate with poor survival. Keap1 (Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1) is a dominant negative regulator of NRF2 and is reported to be epigenetically regul Read More

Infiltrating macrophages are critically involved in pathogenic angiogenesis such as neovascular agerelated macular degeneration (nAMD). Macrophages originate from circulating monocytes and three subtypes of monocyte exist in humans: classical (CD14+CD16-), non-classical (CD14-CD16+) and intermediate (CD14+CD16+) monocytes. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of circulating monocyte in neova Read More

NOD1 and NOD2 have been found to play a significant regulatory role in autoimmune disease. To analyze the role of NOD1 and NOD2 in the pathogenesis of Vogt- Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) syndrome and Behcet's disease (BD). We analyzed the expression of NOD1 and NOD2 from PBMCs by RT-PCR and Western Blot. PBMCs and DCs were cultured with NOD receptor ligands iE-DAP (NOD1) or MDP (NOD2) and cells and supe Read More