Search

Copyright of Advances in Hygiene & Experimental Medicine / Postepy Higieny i Medycyny Doswiadczalnej is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are essential elements of the innate immune response. TLRs induce expression of inflammatory cytokines or interferons after recognition of microbial or viral structures called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). Two different groups of TLRs can be distinguished: TLRs residing in the plasma membrane or in the endosomal compartment. TLRs localized in endosomes act as sensors for nucleic acids. TLR9, which recognizes unmethylated CpG, belongs to endosomal TLRs. The proper ligand detection by TLR9 depends on its specific subcellular localization and maturation. TLR9 delivery to the endosomes is mediated by two distinct proteins, UNC93B1 and AP-2, and post-early endosome distribution is determined by AP-3. TLR9 localized in the endosome is cleaved by at least two classes of proteases, AEP and cathepsins, which generate the mature form of receptor. Functional C-terminal form of TLR9 is capable of recognition of CpG and activation of signal pathways. Ligand binding to TLR9 causes conformational changes in the structure of this receptor which facilitates recruitment of MyD88 adaptor protein and activation of two distinct cytokine-inducing pathways: IRF-7- and NF-κB-dependent. The specific structure of the synthetic ligand (CpG-A or CpG-B) determines activation of certain transcription factors. Recognition of multimeric CpG-A results in IRF-7-dependent induction of type I interferon production. Monomeric CpG-B activates NF-κB-dependent induction of proinflammatory cytokines, in particular TNFα and IL-6. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Advances in Hygiene & Experimental Medicine / Postepy Higieny i Medycyny Doswiadczalnej is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

PDE3 is a dual-substrate phosphodiesterase responsible for hydrolyzing both cAMP and cGMP whilst being simultaneously inhibited by cGMP. This feature is related to presence of the 44 amino acid insert in the catalytic domain, which determines the mechanism of introduction of the cyclic nucleotide into the catalytic pocket of the enzyme. Once bound in the catalytic site cGMP results in steric hindrance for cAMP to enter the site. The regulatory domain of PDE3 consists of two hydrophobic regions: NHR1 and NHR2. Their presence defines the enzyme's intracellular localization, thus determining its participation in particular signaling cascades. Due to the properties of PDE3 this enzyme has exceptional importance for the cross-talk between cAMP-dependent signaling and other cascades. There are two different mechanisms of action of PDE3 enzymes in cell signaling pathways. In many signaling cascades assembly of a signalosome is necessary for phosphorylation and activation of the PDE3 proteins. In response to certain hormones and growth factors, PDE3 merges the metabolism of cAMP with protein kinase-dependent signaling pathways. PDE3 also controls the level of cAMP with regard to the alternating concentration of cGMP. This effect occurs in signaling cascades activated by natriuretic peptide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phospholipase C is an enzyme which catalyzes the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P2) into second messengers inositol-1,4,5-triphosphate (Ins(1,4,5)P3) and diacylglycerol (DAG). These messengers then promote the activation of protein kinase C and release of Ca2+ from intracellular stores, initiating numerous cellular events including proliferation, differentiation, signal transduction, endocytosis, cytoskeletal reorganization or activation of ion channels. There have been identified 14 isozymes of PLC among which PLCγ1 and PLCγ2 are of particular interest. PLCg contains catalytic region XY and a few regulatory domains: PH, EF and C2. The most unique features of these two enzymes are the Src homology domains (SH2, SH3) and split PH domain within the catalytic barrel. PLCγ1 and PLCγ2 have an identical domain structure, but they differ in their function and occurrence. Phospholipase Cγ1 is expressed ubiquitously, especially in the brain, thymus and lungs. PLCγ1 can be activated by receptor tyrosine kinases (i.e.: PDGFR, EGFR, FGFR, Trk), as well as non-receptor protein kinases (Src, Syk, Tec) or phosphatidic acid, tau protein and its analogue. The molecular mechanism of PLCγ1 activation includes membrane recruitment, phosphorylation, rearrangements and activation in the presence of growth factors. In reference to PLCγ1 regulation, a number of positive and negative modulators have been considered. The most important positive modulator is phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate (PI(3,4,5)P2). Protein kinase A and C, tyrosine phosphatases (SHP-1, PTP-1B) and Cbl, Grb2, Jak2/PTP-1B complex proteins have been described as negative regulators of PLCγ1 activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The orphan nuclear receptors Nur77 and Nurr1 are the members of the Nur77 family of transcription factors. We demonstrate that transcription of the Nur77 family genes was upregulated in PC12 cells following incubation with Ca2+ ionophore as well as cyclic AMP (cAMP) analog. On the other hand, cAMP analog induced strong increase, while Ca2+ ionophore induced weak increase in the transactivation activity of Nur77. We found that Nur77 and Nurr1 proteins were expressed in the nucleus following stimulation with cAMP analog but not after stimulation with Ca2+ ionophore. However, expression of Nur77 protein was increased in the cytoplasm of cells treated with Ca2+ ionophore. In conclusion, our results suggest that cAMP-induced and Ca2+-induced processes may differentially regulate activity of Nur77 at the level of translocation of Nur77 protein from the cytoplasm into the nucleus. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Our previous reports showed that thymic lymphomas arising in TCR transgenic mice are resistant to Ca2+-mediated apoptosis. Here we show that induction of apoptosis in thymic lymphomas involves a process that is cAMP-mediated and which depends on the activation of protein kinase A (PKA) despite the lower level of PKA type I in these lymphomas compared to thymocytes. Further, we show that treatment of the lymphomas with HA1004, a serine/threonine protein kinase inhibitor, restores their susceptibility to ionomycin-induced apoptosis. Results indicate that HA1004-induced restoration of sensitivity to ionomycin proceeds through a PKA-independent mechanism. Moreover, activation of PKA instead of its inhibition induces apoptosis of lymphoma cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the role of antigen receptor-mediated interactions in lymphomagenesis we have analyzed the influence of αβTCR-mediated selection on the development of spontaneous thymic lymphomas, which appear with a high (up to 50%) frequency in mice expressing a transgenic TCR specific for the male antigen (HY) in the context of H-2Db molecules. To this end we compared the kinetics and the incidence of thymic lymphomas developing in females and males with selecting (H-2b ) and non-selecting (H-2k ) MHC molecules. The kinetics of development of thymic lymphomas was similar in positively selecting (H-2b females) and non-selecting (H-2k females and males) environments but significantly slower (P , 0.01) in the negatively selecting environment (H-2b male). Injection of lymphoma cells derived from a H-2b female into the thymus of a H-2b male resulted in strong, antigen-specific inhibition of growth, indicating that the slower kinetics of lymphomagenesis in H-2b males could be due, at least partially, to the sensitivity of oncogenically transformed thymocytes to TCR-mediated negative selection. Phenotypic and functional analysis of lymphoma cells indicated that they originated from the stage of pre-TCR-dependent transition of immature CD4- CD8- to CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, which in H-2b females and males developed into tumors under different environmental pressures. These results failed to provide convincing evidence for the role of positive selection but provided a strong indication that self antigeninduced negative selection, in addition to its well established role in self tolerance, can occasionally act as a tumor surveillance mechanism by eliminating or suppressing growth of thymocytes undergoing oncogenic transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: MALAT1 is one of the most abundant nuclear long non-coding RNAs, which has been found to be elevated in various types of cancers. However, conflicting reports on MALAT1 in breast cancer cell lines challenge understanding of MALAT1's involvement in breast cancer progression., Aim: Measurement of normalized relative quantity (NRQ) of MALAT1 transcripts in cell lines representing triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and luminal breast cancer., Materials and Methods: The studies were performed using cell lines representing luminal breast cancer (T47D, MCF-7), TNBC (MDA-MB-468, CAL-51, MDA-MB-231), and MCF-10A cell line of normal breast epithelial cells. Total RNA was isolated from six independent cell cultures of each line, treated with DNase I, and used to synthesize complementary DNA, which was used in quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) assays. Four MALAT1 fragments and reference genes CCSER2 , ANKRD17 , PUM1 , GAPDH were amplified., Results: Geometric means of the NRQ of MALAT1 in breast cancer cell lines had the shortest 95% confidence intervals when CCSER2 was used for normalization. MALAT1 major transcript levels thus estimated in TNBC cell lines were found to be statistically significantly reduced compared to levels in both MCF-10A cells and luminal breast cancer cell lines, while MALAT1 minority splice variants were found to be increased in almost all breast cancer cell lines., Conclusion: CCSER2 -normalized qPCR results indicate MALAT1 downregulation in cell lines representing the more aggressive breast cancer subtype compared to both the normal breast epithelial cell line and the estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell lines., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (© 2023 The Authors.)

A series of novel sulfonamide isoxazolo[5,4-b]pyridines were synthesized. The substrates for their synthesis were 3-aminoisoxazolo[5,4-b]pyridine and selected aryl sulfonic chlorides, chlorosulfonic acid and selected amines. Reactions were carried out using the classical and microwave methods. Selected compounds were tested towards antibacterial and antiproliferative activity. The structure of the obtained new derivatives was determined by elemental analysis and acquired IR and 1H NMR spectra. Among the tested compounds: N- isoxazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-3-yl-benzenesulfonamide (2) and N-isoxazolo[5,4-b]pyridine-3-yl-4-methylbenzene-sulfonamide (5) showed antimicrobial activity towards Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) and Escherichia coli (ATCC 25922) at doses: 125, 250 and 500 µg. Both compounds showed a 50% inhibition of proliferation of breast carcinoma cell line MCF7 at concentrations of 152.56 µg/mL and 160 161.08 µg/mL, respectively.

T-lymphocyte development in the thymus proceeds through successive steps of differentiation,selection and expansion of thymocytes. Multiple signaling proteins and transcription factors play important roles in mediating the response to signals delivered through the pre-T-cell receptor (pre-TCR) and T-cell receptor (TCR) at two checkpoints during T-cell development. The orphan nuclear receptors RORg and Nur77 are involved in the differentiation and selection processes that are induced following activation of the pre-TCR and TCR, respectively, and they exert opposite effects on the survival of thymocytes. RORg activates the gene encoding the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-X(L) and is required for the survival of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes, while Nur77 is involved in the apoptosis of CD4+CD8+ thymocytes bearing TCRs with a high affinity for self antigens presented in the thymus.

We have previously described that thymic lymphomas from anti HY-TCR transgenic mice were resistant to TCR-induced (calcium-mediated) apoptosis but sensitive to induction of apoptosis by etoposide. A defect of apoptosis in these cells is located downstream of the nuclear receptor Nur77 induction and upstream from the execution of apoptosis. Furthermore, in contrast to the normal thymocytes, the lymphoma cells do not express the Fas receptor on the cell surface. Here we show that Fas ligand (FasL) induction is also abrogated in thymic lymphomas treated with ionomycin but not with etoposide, which still induced the expression of FasL and Fas receptor as well as apoptosis. It suggested a specific inhibition of the calcium-mediated signaling pathway leading to induction of the FasL expression and apoptosis of lymphomas. Sensitivity to ionomycin-induced apoptosis could be restored by FK506 treatment, which also abolished the abrogation of induction of the FasL expression. Moreover, induction of FasL was always accompanied by increase in expression of Fas receptor. These results indicate that FK506, the agent broadly used as immuno-suppressant, can sensitize resistant tumor cells to induction of apoptosis and it could be considered as a potential agent in the combined therapy of thymic lymphomas. In addition, it appeared that the Fas/FasL system can successfully serve as a molecular target for tumor therapy, even for tumor cells initially lacking expression of Fas.