A previous investigation showed that the endometrium normalized in women with endometrial hyperplasia after three months treatment with high dose levonorgestrel IUS (intrauterine system). The effect was maintained even if immunohistochemical analyses of the endometrium showed that nuclear progesterone receptors (nPRs) were completely downregulated. These observations indicated that some type of ...

Chemical probes have been instrumental in microbiology since its birth as a discipline in the 19th century when chemical dyes were used to visualize structural features of bacterial cells for the first time. In this review article we will illustrate the evolving design of chemical probes in modern chemical biology and their diverse applications in bacterial imaging and phenotypic analysis. We will ...

Age-related changes in the liver sinusoidal endothelium, particularly the reduction in fenestrations, contribute to insulin resistance in old age. Metformin impacts on the aging process and improves insulin resistance. Therefore, the effects of metformin on the liver sinusoidal endothelium were studied. Metformin increased fenestrations in liver sinusoidal endothelial cells isolated from both young ...

<i>Background</i> - Vancomycin variable enterococci (VVE) are <i>van</i>-positive isolates with a susceptible phenotype that can convert to a resistant phenotype during vancomycin selection.<p> <p><i>Objectives</i> - To describe a vancomycin-susceptible <i>vanA</i>-PCR positive ST203 VVE <i>Enterococcus faecium</i> isolate (VVE<i>Swe</i>-S) from a liver transplantation patient in Sweden which ...

Clinical metagenomics is actively moving from research to clinical laboratories. It has the potential to change the microbial diagnosis of infectious diseases, especially when detection and identification of pathogens can be challenging, such as in prosthetic joint infection (PJI). The application of metagenomic sequencing to periprosthetic joint tissue (PJT) specimens is often challenged by low ...

Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) viral protein 1 (VP1) is the capsid protein that mediates virus attachment to host cell receptors and is the major immune target. Given the limited data on MCPyV VP1 mutations, the VP1 genetic variability was examined in 100 plasma and 100 urine samples from 100 HIV+ individuals. Sequencing of VP1 DNA in 17 urine and 17 plasma specimens, simultaneously MCPyV DNA ...

Anti-HPA-1a-antibodies are the main cause of fetal and neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (FNAIT) which may result in intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) and death among fetuses and newborns. Advances in understanding the pathogenesis of FNAIT and proof of concept for prophylaxis to prevent immunization suggest that development of hyperimmune anti-HPA-1a IgG aimed at preventing immunization against ...

The heat shock response (HSR) regulates induction of stress/heat shock proteins (HSPs) to preserve proteostasis during cellular stress. Earlier, our group established that the plasma membrane (PM) acts as a sensor and regulator of HSR through changes in its microdomain organization. PM microdomains such as lipid rafts, dynamic nanoscale assemblies enriched in cholesterol and sphingomyelin, and ...

One cannot discuss anti-dsDNA antibodies and lupus nephritis without discussing the nature of Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE is insistently described as a prototype autoimmune syndrome, with anti-dsDNA antibodies as a central biomarker and a pathogenic factor. The two entities, “SLE” and “The Anti-dsDNA Antibody,” have been linked in previous and contemporary studies although serious criticism ...

ATPase Family AAA Domain -containing protein 3 (ATAD3) is a nuclear-encoded mitochondrial transmembrane protein encompassing three isoforms; ATAD3A, ATAD3B and ATAD3C. ATAD3 is involved in several cellular process and available data predict that ATAD3A and ATAD3B proteins may have potential roles in regulating autophagy and mitophagy. Preliminary data from our research group identified interactions ...