Inflammatory changes, both in the arterial wall and adipose tissue, play a crucial role in the development of atherosclerosis. We measured the gene expression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFα), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), and interleukin 6 (IL-6) in adipose tissue (AT) of living kidney donors (LKD) and patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and flow cytometry analyses were performed in subcutaneous (SAT), visceral (VAT), and perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT). Data of PAD patients showed significantly higher expression in VAT in all three genes (TNFα 5-fold, p<0.05; MCP-1 3.6-fold, p<0.05; IL-6 18.8-fold, p<0.001). The differences in PVAT and SAT were less significant. Total body pro-inflammatory status was documented by higher TNFα concentration in patients (4.86± 1.4 pg/ml) compared to LKDs (2.14±0.9 pg/ml; p<0.001), as was hsCRP (11.8±7.0 in PAD; 1.5±0.48 in LKDs; p=0.017). We found no age-dependent relationship between gene expression vs. TNFα and hsCRP concentrations in both compared groups. No effect of the atherosclerosis score on gene expression and circulating inflammatory markers within the PAD group was observed. Our results suggest that the AT of PAD patients infiltrated with macrophages produces more cytokines involved in the development of inflammation and atherosclerosis., S. Čejková, I. Králová Lesná, J. Froněk, L. Janoušek, A. Králová, J. Ždychová, R. Poledne., and Obsahuje bibliografii
In the developing brain, mature brain derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF) and its precursor (proBDNF) exhibit prosurvival and proapoptotic functions, respectively. However, it is still unknown whether mBDNF or proBDNF is a major form of neurotrophin expressed in the immature brain, as well as if the level of active caspase -3 correlates with the levels of BDNF forms during normal brain development. Here we found that both proBDNF and mBDNF were expressed abundantly in the rat brainstem, hippocampus and cerebellum between embryonic day 20 and postnatal day 8. The levels of mature neurotrophin as well as mBDNF to proBDNF ratios negatively correlated with the expression of active caspase -3 across brain regions. The immature cortex was the only structure, in which proBDNF was the major product of bdnf gene, especially in the cortical layers 2-3. And only in the cortex, the expression of BDNF precursor positive ly correlated with the levels of active caspase -3. These findings suggest that proBDNF alone may play an important role in the regulation of naturally occurring cell death during cortical development., P. N. Menshanov, D. A. Lanshakov, N. N. Dygalo., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Electrochromic changes of the Qy absorption bands of chromophores (dimeric and monomeric bacteriochlorophylls and bacteriopheophytins) were measured in reaction centres from purple photosynthetic bacteria Rhodobacter sphaeroides. The observed electrochromic effects could be decomposed to changes dne to negative charge on the acceptor quinone complex and positive charge on the dimer. The coiďumed additivity (superposition) of the electrochromic effects indicated that the chromophores had fixed geometry in redox transitions. The Qy absorption band of the bacteriopheophytin proved to be a very sensitive indicator of the relaxational processes of electric charges (protons and/or cations) in the vicinity of the quinones: (7) the bandwidth was affected by pH around 10 which was close to the pK of protonation of the reduced primary quinone, (2) absorption changes at 748 nm were observed after flash excitation with time constant characteristic to that of light- induced proton binding in reaction centres.
Are social movements responsible for their unfinished agendas? Feminist successes in opening the professions to women paved the way for the emergence of the upper middle-class two-career household. These households sometimes hire domestic servants to accomplish their child care work. If, as I shall argue, this practice is unjust and furthers social inequality, then it poses a moral problem for any feminist commitment to social justice., Joan Tronto., and Obsahuje bibliografii