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Recently thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR1), encoded by Txnrd1, was suggested to modulate glucose and lipid metabolism in mice. Here we discovered that TrxR1 suppresses insulin responsiveness, anabolic metabolism and adipocyte differentiation. Immortalized mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) lacking Txnrd1 (Txnrd1−/−) displayed increased metabolic flux, glycogen storage, lipogenesis and adipogenesis. This phenotype coincided with upregulated PPARγ expression, promotion of mitotic clonal expansion and downregulation of p27 and p53. Enhanced Akt activation also contributed to augmented adipogenesis and insulin sensitivity. Knockdown of TXNRD1 transcripts accelerated adipocyte differentiation also in human primary preadipocytes. Furthermore, TXNRD1 transcript levels in subcutaneous adipose...


Directly acting antivirals recently have become available for the treatment of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, but there is no prophylactic vaccine for HCV. In the present study, we took advantage of the properties of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) to develop antigens for use in a HCV vaccine. Notably, the surface-exposed JEV envelope protein is tolerant of inserted foreign epitopes, permitting display of novel antigens. We identified 3 positions that permitted insertion of the HCV E2 neutralization epitope recognized by HCV1 antibody. JEV subviral particles (SVP) containing HCV-neutralization epitope (SVP-E2) were purified from culture supernatant by gel chromatography. Sera from mice immunized with SVP-E2 inhibited infection by JEV and by trans-complemented HCV particles (...


Integrins, a family of heterodimeric adhesion receptors are implicated in cell migration, development and cancer progression. They can adopt conformations that reflect their activation states and thereby impact adhesion strength and migration. Integrins in an intermediate activation state may be optimal for migration and we have shown previously that fully activated integrin α9β1 corresponds with less migratory behaviour in melanoma cells. Here, we aimed to identify components associated with the activation status of α9β1. Using cancer cell lines with naturally occuring high levels of this integrin, activation by α9β1-specific ligands led to upregulation of fibronectin matrix assembly and tyrosine phosphorylation of cortactin on tyrosine 470 (Y470). Specifically, cortactin...


There are notable inter-individual variations in vaccine-specific antibody responses in vaccinated children. The aim of our study was to investigate whether early-life environmental factors and adaptive immune maturation prior and close to measles–mumps–rubella (MMR) immunization relate to magnitudes of vaccine-specific antibody titers. In the FARMFLORA birth cohort, including both farming and non-farming families, children were immunized with the MMR vaccine at 18 months of age. MMR vaccine-induced antibody titers were measured in plasma samples obtained at 36 months of age. Infants’ blood samples obtained at birth, 3–5 days and at 4 and 18 months of age were analyzed for T- and B-cell numbers, proportions of naive and memory T and B cells, and fractions of putative regulatory T cells...
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Have you reached the limits of productivity with traditional hand held pipettes? Would you like to increase your pipetting throughput and reproducibility without investing in big automation?
VIAFLO 96 and VIAFLO 384 enable transfers of 96 and 384 samples in a single step, thus increasing pipetting throughput and reproducibility significantly. At a fraction of the cost, they often surpass throughput capabilities of even expensive robots.
To watch more click here


Cytation™ 5 is a uniquely integrated, configurable system that combines automated digital widefield microscopy with conventional multi-mode microplate detection to provide phenotypic cellular information and well-based quantitative.
This single instrument platform replaces multiple modules and software interfaces, yet is simple to setup and operate. With up to 60x magnification, the microscopy module provides high-quality cellular and sub-cellular visualization in fluorescence, brightfield, H&E and phase contrast channels. The multi-mode detection module features BioTek’s patented Hybrid Technology™,which...


INTEGRA has introduced a Row Dilution Plate Holder accessory for its VIAFLO 96 and 384 handheld benchtop pipettes.
The new row dilution plate holder adds the functionality to perform serial dilutions in rows. Serial dilutions are often carried out in row format because it allows experimenters to dilute more samples (12 instead of 8 in a 96-well plate). The plate holder can easily be adapted to work with either 96 or 384 well plates.
Serial dilution of assay components is a key technique in drug discovery and life science research. In assay development, serial dilution can be used to determine appropriate concentration ranges, in secondary screening to evaluate pharmacological response, and in early...
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The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is a clinically validated target in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), where EGFR-blocking antibodies are approved for first-line treatment. However, as with other targeted therapies, intrinsic/acquired resistance mechanisms limit efficacy. In the FaDu HNSCC xenograft model, we show that combined blockade of EGFR and ERBB3 promotes rapid tumor regression, followed by the eventual outgrowth of resistant cells. RNA sequencing revealed that resistant cells express FGFR3-TACC3 fusion proteins, which were validated as drivers of the resistant phenotype by several approaches, including CRISPR-mediated inactivation of FGFR3-TACC3 fusion genes. Interestingly, analysis of signaling in resistant cell lines demonstrated that FGFR3-TACC3...


Signal transduction in response to stimuli relies on the generation of cascades of posttranslational modifications that promote protein-protein interactions and facilitate the assembly of distinct signaling complexes. Arginine methylation is one such modification, which is catalyzed by a family of nine protein arginine methyltransferases, or PRMTs. Elucidating the substrate specificity of each PRMT will promote a better understanding of which signaling networks these enzymes contribute to. Although many PRMT substrates have been identified, and their methylation sites mapped, the optimal target motif for each of the nine PRMTs has not been systematically addressed. Here we describe the use of Oriented Peptide Array Libraries (OPALs) to methodically dissect the preferred methylation...


Stress is increasingly present in everyday life in our fast-paced society and involved in the pathogenesis of many psychiatric diseases. Corticotrophin-releasing-hormone (CRH) plays a pivotal role in regulating the stress responses. The tree shrews are highly vulnerable to stress which makes them the promising animal models for studying stress responses. However, the mechanisms underlying their high stress-susceptibility remained unknown. Here we confirmed that cortisol was the dominate corticosteroid in tree shrew and was significantly increased after acute stress. Our study showed that the function of tree shrew CRH - hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis was nearly identical to human that contributed little to their hyper-responsiveness to stress. Using CRH transcriptional...


Threonine phosphorylation accounts for 10% of all phosphorylation sites compared with 0.05% for tyrosine and 90% for serine. Although monoclonal antibody generation for phospho-serine and -tyrosine proteins is progressing, there has been limited success regarding the production of monoclonal antibodies against phospho-threonine proteins. We developed a novel strategy for generating phosphorylation site-specific monoclonal antibodies by cloning immunoglobulin genes from single plasma cells that were fixed, intracellularly stained with fluorescently labeled peptides and sorted without causing RNA degradation. Our high-throughput fluorescence activated cell sorting-based strategy, which targets abundant intracellular immunoglobulin as a tag for fluorescently labeled antigens, greatly...


Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is characterized by choroidal neovascularization (CNV). An overactive complement system is associated with AMD pathogenesis, and serum pro-inflammatory cytokines, including IL-17, are elevated in AMD patients. IL-17 is produced by complement C5a-receptor-expressing T-cells. In murine CNV, infiltrating γδT- rather than Th17-cells produce the IL-17 measurable in lesioned eyes. Here we asked whether C5a generated locally in response to CNV recruits IL-17-producing T-cells to the eye. CNV lesions were generated using laser photocoagulation and quantified by imaging; T-lymphocytes were characterized by QRT-PCR. CNV resulted in an increase in splenic IL-17-producing γδT- and Th17-cells; yet in the CNV eye, only elevated levels of γδT-cells...
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