Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This study was conducted to determine whether early-passage cultures of bovine endometrial fibroblastic (Fb, n = 7 uteri) and epithelial (Ep, n = 3 uteri) cells produce endothelial mitogens in vitro and to begin characterization of these mitogens. Confluent cultures of Fb and Ep were incubated for 72 h in serum-free media, and the resulting conditioned media (CM) were evaluated for effects on proliferation of bovine aortic endothelial cells. CM from these Fb cultures (n = 8) and Ep cultures (n = 4) stimulated (147 +/- 10% (mean +/- SEM), p < 0.01, and 124 +/- 8%, p < 0.10, respectively) proliferation of endothelial cells compared with control (unconditioned) media. Most of the mitogenic activity of a sample of Fb CM and a sample of Ep CM from one individual uterus bound to heparin-agarose, and each exhibited two major peaks of activity that eluted at 0.9-1.0 and 1.7-1.8 M NaCl; the Fb CM also exhibited an additional heparin-binding peak eluting at 0-0.1 M NaCl. Pooled Fb CM (n = 8 cultures from 7 animals) also contained mitogenic activity for endothelial cells that bound to heparin-agarose, but exhibited three major peaks, eluting at 0.6, 1.1, and 1.8 M NaCl. Pooled Ep CM (n = 4 cultures from 3 animals) showed only one peak of mitogenic activity, which eluted at 0.9 M NaCl. Further characterization indicated that heat treatment reduced the activity of all heparin-binding Fb CM and Ep CM peaks, except the Fb CM peak eluting at 1.7 M NaCl. Trypsin reduced the activity of all peaks except one. Protein-A-purified antibody against fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF-1) had no or only a slight effect on the mitogenic activity of the peaks. Mitogenic activity of the Fb CM peak eluting at 0.6 M NaCl was reduced by antibody against FGF-2. Activity of the Fb CM and Ep CM peaks that eluted at 1.7-1.8 M NaCl also was immunoneutralized by antibody to FGF-2. These data demonstrate that early passage cultures of endometrial Fb and Ep cells produce heparin-binding endothelial mitogens that appear to be immunologically related to FGF-2. These heparin-binding endothelial mitogens may influence endometrial vascular growth.
 ...
PMID:Production of heparin-binding endothelial mitogens by bovine uterine fibroblastic and epithelial cells. 896 Apr 1

The effects of cerebral ischemia on white matter changes in ovine fetuses were examined after exposure to bilateral carotid artery occlusion. Fetal sheep were exposed to 30 min of ischemia followed by 48 (I/R-48, n = 8) or 72 (I/R-72, n = 10) h of reperfusion or control sham treatment (control, n = 4). Serial coronal sections stained with Luxol fast blue/hematoxylin and eosin were scored for white matter, cerebral cortical, and hippocampal lesions. All areas received graded pathologic scores of 0 to 5, reflecting the degree of injury where 0 = 0%, 1 = 1% to 25%, 2 = 26% to 50%, 3 = 51% to 75%, 4 = 76% to 95%, and 5 = 96% to 100% of the area damaged. Dual-label immunofluorescence using antibodies against glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and myelin basic protein (MBP) were used to characterize white matter lesions. Basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) was measured in the frontal cortex by ELISA. Results of the pathologic scores showed that the white matter of the I/R-72 (2.74 +/- 0.53, mean +/- SEM) was more (p < 0.05) damaged when compared with the control (0.80 +/- 0.33) group. Cortical lesions were greater (p < 0.05) in the I/R-48 (2.12 +/- 0.35) than the control (0.93 +/- 0.09) group. White matter lesions were characterized by reactive GFAP-positive astrocytes and a loss of MBP in oligodendrocytes. The ratio of MBP to GFAP decreased (p < 0.05) as a function of ischemia, indicative of a proportionally greater loss of MBP than GFAP. FGF-2 concentrations were higher (p < 0.05) in the I/R-72 than the control group and there was a direct correlation between the pathologic scores (PS) and FGF-2 concentrations (FGF-2 = e((1.6 PS-0.90)) + 743, n = 17, r = 0.73, p < 0.001). We conclude that carotid artery occlusion results in quantifiable white matter lesions that are associated with a loss of MBP from myelin, and that FGF-2, a purported mediator of recovery from brain injury in adult subjects, increases in concentration in proportion to the severity of brain damage in the fetus.
 ...
PMID:White matter injury after cerebral ischemia in ovine fetuses. 1203 76

In all species studied, the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) gene is transcribed into multiple mRNAs, one of which is an antisense RNA (1B FGF-AS) probably involved in regulating the stability of the sense transcript. In this study we investigated whether the regulatory mechanisms of bFGF expression might be altered in endometrial stromal cells derived from women with endometriosis. bFGF and 1B FGF-AS mRNA levels were quantified in primary cultures of eutopic endometrial stromal cells derived from 29 women without endometriosis and 24 patients affected by the disease. When the data were analyzed according to the phase of the menstrual cycle, endometrial stromal cells derived from patients in the late proliferative phase showed significantly higher bFGF mRNA values and significantly lower 1B FGF-AS mRNA levels compared with control samples. Furthermore, the mean bFGF/1B FGF-AS mRNA ratio was significantly higher in endometrial stromal cells derived from patients compared with that in controls (mean +/- SEM, 2.31 +/- 0,55 and 0.77 +/- 0.14, respectively; P = 0.009). Moreover, for bFGF expression the differences existing at the mRNA level were maintained at the protein level. These findings support the hypothesis that 1B FGF-AS mRNA could regulate the expression of the sense transcript and suggest that in endometrial cells derived from patients, the presence of higher bFGF levels could improve their ability to proliferate at the ectopic site.
 ...
PMID:Different basic fibroblast growth factor and fibroblast growth factor-antisense expression in eutopic endometrial stromal cells derived from women with and without endometriosis. 1278 99

Muscle injuries represent a major part of sports injuries and are a challenging problem in traumatology. Strain injuries are the most common muscle injuries after contusions. These injuries can lead to significant pain and disability causing time to be lost to training and competition. Despite the frequency of strain injuries the treatment available is limited and is generally not sufficient to enhance muscle regeneration efficiently when fast resumption of sport activity is a primary target. A number of growth factors play a specific role in regeneration and it has been proven that a previously described method of physically and chemically stimulating whole blood (to produce autologous conditioned serum) induces concentration increases in FGF-2, HGF, and TGF-beta1. A preliminary study was conducted on muscle strain injuries in professional sportsmen receiving either: 1. autologous conditioned serum (ACS) or 2. Actovegin/Traumeel treatment as control. Assessment of recovery from injury was done by: 1. sport professional's ability to participate to 100 % under competition conditions in their respective sport and 2. MRI analysis. A significant difference in the recovery time from injury was demonstrated: 16.6 +/- 0.9 in the ACS treated instead of 22.3 +/- 1.2 (mean +/- SEM) days in the Actovegin/Traumeel control group (p = 0.001). MRI analysis supported the observed acceleration of the lesion recovery time. We conclude that ACS injection is a promising approach to reduce the time to recovery from muscle injury.
 ...
PMID:Treatment of muscle injuries by local administration of autologous conditioned serum: a pilot study on sportsmen with muscle strains. 2650 27

Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) are capable of self-renewal and differentiation into all types of neural lineage under different biochemical and topographical cues. In this study, we cultured rat hippocampus-derived adult NSCs (rNSCs) on laminin-coated electrospun Polyethersulfone (PES) fiber meshes with average fiber diameters of 283+/-45 nm, 749+/-153 nm and 1452+/-312 nm; and demonstrated that fiber diameter of PES mesh significantly influences rNSC differentiation and proliferation. Under the differentiation condition (in the presence of 1 microM retinoic acid and 1% fetal bovine serum), rNSCs showed a 40% increase in oligodendrocyte differentiation on 283-nm fibers and 20% increase in neuronal differentiation on 749-nm fibers, in comparison to tissue culture polystyrene surface. SEM imaging revealed that cells stretched multi-directionally to follow underlying 283-nm fibers, but extended along a single fiber axis on larger fibers. When cultured on fiber meshes in serum free medium in the presence of 20 ng/mL of FGF-2, rNSCs showed lower proliferation and more rounded morphology compared to that cultured on laminin-coated 2D surface. As the fiber diameter decreased, higher degree of proliferation and cell spreading and lower degree of cell aggregation were observed. This collective evidence indicates fiber topography can play a vital role in regulating differentiation and proliferation of rNSCs in culture.
 ...
PMID:The influence of fiber diameter of electrospun substrates on neural stem cell differentiation and proliferation. 1897 25

A new method is presented for functionalizing electrospun nanofibers with GAGs and growth factors by PEM deposition. Electrospun chitosan nanofibers, spun from trifluoroacetic acid and dichloromethane, were coated with PEMs, using the polysaccharides heparin and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan. FGF-2 was adsorbed on the PEM-coated nanofibers. Nanofiber neutralization, PEM construction, and FGF-2 adsorption were monitored using FT-IR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Alcian blue staining was used to confirm the presence of heparin. SEM was used to study nanofiber morphology.
 ...
PMID:Coating electrospun chitosan nanofibers with polyelectrolyte multilayers using the polysaccharides heparin and N,N,N-trimethyl chitosan. 2097 23

Neurotrophic factors (NTFs) promote nerve regeneration and neuronal survival after peripheral nerve injury. However, drawbacks related with administration and bioactivity during long periods limit their therapeutic application. In this study, PLGA microspheres (MPs) were used to locally release different NTFs and evaluate whether they accelerate axonal regeneration in comparison with free NTFs or controls. ELISA, SEM, UV/visible light microscopy, organotypic cultures of DRG explants and spinal cord slices were used to characterize MP properties and the bioactivity of the released NTFs. Results of organotypic cultures showed that encapsulated NTFs maintain longer bioactivity and enhance neurite regeneration of both sensory and motor neurons compared with free NTFs. For in vivo assays, the rat sciatic nerve was transected and repaired with a silicone tube filled with collagen gel or collagen mixed with PBS encapsulated MPs (control groups) and with free or encapsulated NGF, BDNF, GDNF or FGF-2. After 20 days, a retrotracer was applied to the regenerated nerve to quantify motor and sensory axonal regeneration. NTF encapsulation in MPs improved regeneration of both motor and sensory axons, as evidenced by increased numbers of retrolabeled neurons. Hence, our results show that slow release of NTFs with PLGA MP enhance nerve regeneration.
...
PMID:Focal release of neurotrophic factors by biodegradable microspheres enhance motor and sensory axonal regeneration in vitro and in vivo. 2685 35