Biology
Open access articles in biology. Articles from Bioinformatics and Biology Insights, Cell Biology Insights, Gene Regulation and Systems Biology, Glycobiology Insights, Microbiology Insights, Reproductive Biology Insights.
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Latest articles
- Prevalence and Prognostic Significance of Left Ventricular Dysfunction in Patients Presenting Acutely with Atrial Fibrillation
- Doxycycline in Clinical Medicine
- Early Involvement of Immune/Inflammatory Response Genes in Retinal Degeneration in DBA/2J Mice
- Collagen Racemization and Deposition in the Lungs of Aged Rats
- Design, Construction and Validation of Targeted BAC Array-Based CGH Test for Detecting the Most Commons Chromosomal Abnormalities
- An Investigation of Hair Cortisol Concentration Across Body Sites and within Hair Shaft
- Computational Identification and Characterization of Putative miRNAs in Nasonia Species
- A Novel Strategy for Mechanism Based Computational Drug Discovery
- Comparison of Two Output-Coding Strategies for Multi-Class Tumor Classification Using Gene Expression Data and Latent Variable Model as Binary Classifier
- Anti-inflammatory and Antihistaminic Study of a Unani Eye Drop Formulation
- Intractable Chronic Low-Back Pain Caused by Ligamentopathia Treated Using a Spinous Process Plate (S-plate)
- Intrabody-based Mapping of Latency-associated Nuclear Antigen from Kaposi’s Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus Show Conserved Epitopes for Viral Latency Inhibition
- Evolution of Cellular Inclusions in Bietti’s Crystalline Dystrophy
- Inhibition of MLK3 Decreases Proliferation and Increases Antiproliferative Activity of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) Inhibitor in Pancreatic Cancer Cell Lines
- Chondrodermatitis Nodularis Chronica Helicis
- Diurnal Variation in Peripheral (Hair) vs Central (Saliva) HPA Axis Cortisol Concentrations
- Accuracy of MSCT Coronary Angiography with 64 Row CT Scanner—Facing the Facts
- Gender Ratios in Autism, Asperger Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder
- A Method to Detect Differential Gene Expression in Cross-Species Hybridization Experiments at Gene and Probe Level
- Hepatitis B Screening Compliance and Non-Compliance among Chinese, Koreans, Vietnamese and Cambodians
Most read articles
- Current Status of Monocyte Differentiation-Inducing (MDI) Factors Derived from Human Fetal Membrane Chorion Cells Undergoing Apoptosis after Influenza Virus Infection
- Relationship Between the Plasma Concentration of C-Reactive Protein and Severity of Peripheral Arterial Disease
- Intraspecific ITS Variability in the Kingdom Fungi as Expressed in the International Sequence Databases and Its Implications for Molecular Species Identification
- A Simple Derivation of the Distribution of Pairwise Local Protein Sequence Alignment Scores
- Clinical Presentation and Histologic Findings at Ileocolonoscopy in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and Chronic Gastrointestinal Symptoms
- DICOM Structured Reporting and Cancer Clinical Trials Results
- Mammoth and Elephant Phylogenetic Relationships: Mammut Americanum, the Missing Outgroup
- Evaluation of Two Outlier-Detection-Based Methods for Detecting Tissue-Selective Genes from Microarray Data
- Exploring the Evolutionary History of the Differentially Expressed Genes between Human Populations: Action of Recent Positive Selection
- Systems Biology-Based Identification of Crosstalk between E2F Transcription Factors and the Fanconi Anemia Pathway
- On the Adaptive Design Rules of Biochemical Networks in Evolution
- Phylogenetic diversity (PD) and biodiversity conservation: some bioinformatics challenges
- Fast Genes and Slow Clades: Comparative Rates of Molecular Evolution in Mammals
- Identification and Quantitation of Asparagine and Citrulline Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- In Silico Promoter Analysis can Predict Genes of Functional Relevance in Cell Proliferation: Validation in a Colon Cancer Model
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Bioinformatics and Biology Insights
Evolutionary Pattern of N-Glycosylation Sequon Numbers in Eukaryotic ABC Protein Superfamilies (17/Feb/2010)
Many proteins contain a large number of NXS/T sequences (where X is any amino acid except proline) which are the potential sites of asparagine (N) linked glycosylation. However, the patterns of occurrence of these N-glycosylation sequons in related proteins or groups of proteins and their underlying causes have largely been...
An Improved Approach for Mapping Quantitative Trait Loci in a Pseudo-Testcross: Revisiting a Poplar Mapping Study (04/Feb/2010)
A pseudo-testcross pedigree is widely used for mapping quantitative trait loci (QTL) in outcrossing species, but the model for analyzing pseudo-testcross data borrowed from the inbred backcross design can only detect those QTLs that are heterozygous only in one parent. In this study, an intercross model that incorporates the high...
Bacterial autotransporters represent a diverse family of proteins that autonomously translocate across the inner membrane of Gram-negative bacteria via the Sec complex and across the outer bacterial membrane. They often possess exceptionally long N-terminal signal sequences. We analyzed 90 long signal sequences of bacterial autotransporters and members of the two-partner...
Biomarker Insights
Studies investigating possible associations between cytochrome P4501B1 (CYP1B1) polymorphisms and breast cancer risk have been inconsistent. We set out to ascertain whether there might be an association between polymorphisms in exon 2 (codon 119, G→T) and exon 3 (codon 432, G→C) of CYP1B1 and breast cancer in a Chinese Han...
Immunohistochemistry as an Important Tool in Biomarkers Detection and Clinical Practice (09/Feb/2010)
The immunohistochemistry technique is used in the search for cell or tissue antigens that range from amino acids and proteins to infectious agents and specific cellular populations. The technique comprises two phases: (1) slides preparation and stages involved for the reaction; (2) interpretation and quantification of the obtained expression. Immunohistochemistry is an important tool for scientific research and also a complementary technique for the elucidation of differential diagnoses which are not determinable by conventional analysis...
Assessment of Confounding Factors Affecting the Tumor Markers SMRP, CA125, and CYFRA21-1 in Serum (28/Jan/2010)
The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate if serum levels of potential tumor markers for the diagnosis of malignant mesothelioma and lung cancer are affected by confounding factors in a surveillance cohort of workers formerly exposed to asbestos. SMRP, CA125, and CYFRA21-1 concentrations were determined in about 1,700 serum...
Biomarkers in Cancer
A Novel Strategy for Mechanism Based Computational Drug Discovery (10/Mar/2010)
Glioma, the common brain tumor, which arises from the glial cells, offers worse prognosis and therapy than any other tumors. Despite the genetic and pathological diversities of malignant gliomas, common signaling pathways that drive cellular proliferation, survival, invasion and angiogenesis have been identified. Very often, various tyrosine kinase receptors are inappropriately activated in human brain tumors and contribute to tumor malignancy. During such tumourous states where multiple pathways are involved, a few of them are...
Prostate cancer is the second most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men. However, prostate cancer can be effectively treated and cured, if it is diagnosed in its early stages when the tumor is still confined to the prostate. Combined with the digital rectal examination,...
Identification of Gene Expression Signature in Estrogen Receptor Positive Breast Carcinoma (11/Feb/2010)
A significant group of patient with estrogen receptor (ER) α positive breast tumors fails to appreciably respond to endocrine therapy. An increased understanding of the molecular basis of estrogen-mediated signal transduction and resultant gene expression may lead to novel strategies for treating breast cancer. In this study, we sought to identify the dysregulated genes in breast tumors related to ERα status. Microarray analyses of 31 tumor samples showed 108 genes differentially expressed in ERα (+)...
Biomedical Engineering and Computational Biology
No abstract provided.
Cell Biology Insights
A Salt-Threshold Required for Exacerbating Insulin Resistance in Dahl Salt-Sensitive (S) Rats (20/Aug/2008)
The Dahl salt-sensitive (S) rat is a model of genetically determined salt-sensitivity and insulin resistance. In fact, insulin resistance is an inherited genetic trait that precedes and eventually co-exists with salt-sensitive hypertension in Dahl S, but not salt-resistant (R) Dahl rats. Owing to the critical role of salt in accelerating...
Introductory Editorial (Cell Biology Insights) (04/Mar/2008)
Introductory Editorial by Dr Jianping Xu, Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Cell Communication Insights
The Evolution of Cell Communication: The Road not Taken (09/Sep/2009)
In the post-genomic era the complex problem of evolutionary biology can be tackled from the top-down, the bottom-up, or from the middle-out. Given the emergent and contingent nature of this process, we have chosen to take the latter approach, both as a mechanistic link to developmental biology and as a...
A Commentary on “TGF-β1-Induced Expression of the Anti-Apoptotic PAI-1 Protein Requires EGFR Signaling” (07/Sep/2009)
Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has been found to affect a number of important cell processes and therefore abnormal expression of PAI-1 has been associated with a number of diseases and disorders. Understanding the transactivation of PAI-1 may result in identifying novel therapeutic targets.
TGF-β1 -Induced Expression of the Anti-Apoptotic PAI-1 Protein Requires EGFR Signaling (11/Jun/2009)
TGF-β1 and its target gene encoding plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) are major regulators of capillary outgrowth, vessel maturation and angiogenic network stability. The increasing realization of the complexity of PAI-1 action in the vascular system requires analysis of specific signaling events that impact its expression in a physiologically-relevant cell system. PAI-1 was required for tubular differentiation and maintenance of cellular survival in complex gels since targeted disruption of PAI-1 synthesis or activity with antisense constructs...
Gene Regulation and Systems Biology
Microarray Data Analysis of Gene Expression Evolution (27/Nov/2009)
Microarrays are becoming a widely used tool to study gene expression evolution. A recent paper by Wang and Rekaya describes a comprehensive study of gene expression evolution by microarray. The work provides a perspective to study gene expression evolution in terms of functional enrichment and promoter conservation. It was found...
Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy (HIBM2) (21/Oct/2009)
Hereditary inclusion body myopathy type 2 (HIBM2) is a myopathy characterized by progressive muscle weakness with early adult onset. The disease is the result of a recessive mutation in the Glucosamine (UDP-N-acetyl)-2-epimerase/N-acetylmannosamine kinase gene (GNE), which results in reduced enzyme function and sialic acid levels. A majority of individuals with...
Stochastic Spatio-Temporal Dynamic Model for Gene/Protein Interaction Network in Early Drosophila Development (19/Oct/2009)
In order to investigate the possible mechanisms for eve stripe formation of Drosophila embryo, a spatio-temporal gene/ protein interaction network model is proposed to mimic dynamic behaviors of protein synthesis, protein decay, mRNA decay, protein diffusion, transcription regulations and autoregulation to analyze the interplay of genes and proteins at different...
Glycobiology Insights
Sialyltransferases are a subset of glycosyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of sialylated glycolipids or/and glycoproteins. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive review and analysis of vertebrate sialyltransferase genes. Primary structure/ function relationships have been explored through the use of molecular phylogeny and phylogenomic approaches. Several animal...
Peptide Mimetics of Terminal Sugars of Complex Glycans (16/Feb/2010)
In this project we asked whether short peptides would mimic complex carbohydrate structures and express biological activity. Amino acid sequences were identified as potential glycan mimetics by molecular modeling of docking to binding sites of lectins. The sequence HPSLK was synthesized as a quadravalent structure from a tri-lysine scaffold. Solid-phase assays showed that this peptide bound strongly to lectins from Triticus vulgaris (wheat germ agglutinin, WGA) and Dolichos biflorus (DB), which bind monosaccharides, and to...
Heterogeneous heparan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycan (GAG) polysaccharides are important compo- nents of blood circulation. Changes in GAG quantity and structure in blood have been indicated in cancers and other human diseases. However, GAG quantities and structures have not been fully characterized due to lack of robust and sensitive...
Journal of Cell Death
We previously described a caspase-independent death induced in macrophages by a high intracellular burden of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). This death, with features of apoptosis and necrosis, releases viable bacilli for spreading infection. Interferon (IFN)-γ promotes survival of macrophages with a low intracellular Mtb load by inhibiting bacterial replication. Macrophages in...
A Novel High-Throughput Technique for Identifying Monoclonal Antibodies Capable of Death Receptor Induced Apoptosis (02/Dec/2009)
The study of death receptor family induced apoptosis has gained momentum in recent years with the knowledge that therapeutic antibodies targeting DR4 and DR5 (death receptor’s 4 and 5) have proved efficacious in multiple clinical trials. The therapeutic rationale is based on targeting and amplifying a tumour tissues normal cell...
The gene for Rhotekin 2 (RTKN2) was originally identified in a promyelocytic cell line resistant to oxysterol-induced apoptosis. It is differentially expressed in freshly isolated CD4+ T-cells compared with other hematopoietic cells and is down-regulated following activation of the T-cell receptor. However, very little is known about the function of...
Microbiology Insights
Taxonomy of Bacteria Nodulating Legumes (18/Sep/2009)
Over the years, the term “rhizobia” has come to be used for all the bacteria that are capable of nodulation and nitrogen fixation in association with legumes but the taxonomy of rhizobia has changed considerably over the last 30 year. Recently, several non- rhizobial species belonging to alpha and beta subgroup of Proteobacteria have been identified as nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here we provide an overview of the history of the rhizobia and the widespread phylogenetic...
Affinity Association Between Polynucleotide, Glycoprotein, or Sulfated Polysaccharides and Disease-Associated Prion Protein (17/Aug/2009)
Proteinase-K resistant prion protein (PrPres) has the property to aggregate in TSE-injured animal tissues. We have developed a test method to discriminate scrapie-infected and mock-infected hamsters by detecting the PrPres in plasma. It seemed that aggregation of the PrPres with some heterogeneous molecule(s) enabled successful detection by this method. In...
Evaluation of the Hydrophobic Grid Membrane Filter for the Enumeration of Moulds and Yeasts in Naturally-Contaminated Foods (22/Jul/2009)
Over 240 food samples from six food groups (tree nuts, grains and grain products, dried fruits, fresh produce, fruit juice, and dairy products) were tested for levels of fungal contamination using the NEO-GRID hydrophobic grid membrane filter (HGMF) and the FDA official (BAM) method. Results showed that HGMF performed very...
Reproductive Biology Insights
Body Weight and Fertility (02/Sep/2009)
Obesity presents an increasing prevalence in developed countries and impairs human reproduction in both natural and assisted conception cycles. A healthy liveborn is less probable among obese women due to a combination of lower implantation and pregnancy rates, higher preclinical and clinical miscarriage rates and more frequent complications during pregnancy...
There has been an astounding explosion in the number of clinics offering ART techniques- 426 program in the US and 600 in Europe. Despite enormous advances regarding the technical aspects of the IVF procedure, the parents’ contribution has virtually been ignored. What is reassuring for patients is that lifestyle...
Signal Transduction Insights
Introductory Editorial (Signal Transduction Insights) (25/Mar/2008)
Edgar Grinstein Heinrich Heine University Medical Center, Düsseldorf, Germany.


