Past Issues in 2018

Studying lipid metabolism in cultured cells is complicated by the fact that cells are typically cultured in the presence of animal serum, which contains a wide, variable, and undefined variety of lipid species. Lipid metabolism can impact cell physiology, signaling, and proliferation, and the ability to culture cells in the absence of exogenous ...

The glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA) is a key component of the extracellular matrix. The molecular weight of HA is heterogeneous and can reach from several million to several hundred daltons. The effect of HA on cell behavior is size dependent; fragmented HA acts as a danger signal, stimulates cell migration and proliferation and is ...

Traditional 2D cell cultures with cells grown as monolayers on solid surface still represent the standard method in cancer research for drug testing. Cells grown in 2D cultures, however, lack relevant cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions and ignore the true three-dimensional anatomy of solid tumors. Cells cultured in 2D can also undergo ...

Osteoclasts are a group of bone-absorbing cells to degenerate bone matrix and play pivotal roles in bone growth and homeostasis. The unbalanced induction of osteoclast differentiation (osteoclastogenesis) in pathological conditions, such as osteoporosis, arthritis and skeleton metastasis of cancer, causes great pain, bone fracture, hypercalcemia ...

Bacteria in nature and as pathogens commonly face oxidative stress which causes damage to proteins, lipids and DNA. This damage is produced by the action of reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), singlet oxygen, superoxide anion and hydroxyl radical. ROS are generated by antimicrobials, environmental ...

We recently investigated the molecular events that drive evolution of the CTX-M-type β-lactamases by DNA shuffling of fragments of the bla_CTX-M-14 and bla_CTX-M-15 genes. Analysis of a total of 51 hybrid enzymes showed that enzymatic activity could be maintained in most cases, yet the enzymatically active ...

mRNA Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) is a technique commonly used to profile the distribution of transcripts in cells. When combined with the common single molecule technique Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET), FISH can also be used to profile the co-expression of nearby sequences in the transcript to measure ...

Quantitative profiling of mRNA expression is an important part of understanding the state of a cell. The technique of RNA Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization (FISH) involves targeting an RNA transcript with a set of 40 complementary fluorescently labeled DNA oligonucleotide probes. However, there are many circumstances such as transcripts ...

The Traveling Salesman Problem (TSP) is a behavioral test used to measure the efficiency of spatial navigation. It is an optimization problem, in which a number of baited targets are placed in an arena, and as the subject travels between the targets, the route is recorded and compared to chance and optimal routes. The TSP is appealing for the ...

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are chemically reactive oxygen containing molecules. ROS consist of radical oxygen species including superoxide anion (O₂^•−) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) and non-radical oxygen species such as hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂), singlet oxygen (O₂). ROS are generated by ...

Rice yellow mottle virus (RYMV), a mechanically transmitted virus that causes serious damage to cultivated rice plants, is endemic to Africa. Varietal selection for resistance is considered to be the most effective and sustainable management strategy. Standardized resistance evaluation procedures are required for the identification and ...

Filmy ferns can desiccate and recover after rehydration to resume photosynthesis. Slow and fast desiccation rates were compared in filmy fern fronds to determine whether structural or physiological differences may occur between desiccation rates. Slow desiccation is considered to be more similar to natural conditions experienced by plants that ...

Airway basal stem cells are the progenitor cells within the airway that exhibit the capacity to self-renew and give rise to multiple types of differentiated airway epithelial cells. This stem cell-derived epithelium displays organized architecture with functional attributes of the airway mucosa. A protocol has been developed to culture and expand ...