1,720,986 research outputs found
The Honey-bee antimicrobial peptide Apidaecin differentially immune-modulates human macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells.
No full textWe show that apidaecin binds to human macrophages, monocytes and dendritic cells, displaying different intracellular distributions and inducing diversified effects. An apidaecin-cell association was detectable at concentrations as low as 5 μM and increased without saturation until 60 μM, was receptor independent and required a physiological temperature (37°C). For apidaecin, cytosolic localization was prevalent in macrophages and endosomal localization in monocytes, and associations with the plasma membrane were predominant in dendritic cells. Apidaecin upregulated T-lymphocyte co-stimulatory molecule CD80 and cytokine/chemokine production in macrophages, but not in monocytes and dendritic cells. Suboptimal stimulatory doses (5–10 μM) of apidaecin partially inhibited the lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced increase in major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII) and CD86 in macrophages, and the release of selected cytokines/chemokines by both macrophages [interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] and monocytes [IL-6, TNF-α, basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and eotaxin]. Apidaecin had a double-edged effect: at low concentrations it partially antagonized LPS-stimulatory effects on both macrophages and monocytes while it stimulated pro-inflammatory and pro-immune functions of macrophages at higher concentrations
Differential attachment of human neoplastic B cells to purified extracellular matrix molecules
No full textRecirculation of normal and neoplastic lymphocytes occurs via binding to the endothelial luminar surface, followed by extravasation and the subsequent interaction of the cells with components of the underlying basement membrane and stromal extracellular matrix (ECM). To identify matrix constituents that could be involved in the tissue dissemination of neoplastic B cells, we have examined the ability of three lymphoma B-cell lines and one Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1)-positive cell line established from the lymphoid transformation of a chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to adhere to a range of purified ECM molecules. Immunophenotyping with a panel of markers suggested that the lines derived from cells that had undergone transformation at distinct stages of B-cell maturation. The four cell lines displayed a differential ability to adhere to the ECM molecules tested. BV-173, Ci-1, and Sc-1 cells attached to various degrees to fibronectin (FN). Ri-1, Ci-1, and Sc-1 cells attached to human laminin (LN) variants, whereas only Ci-1 and Sc-1 cells showed some affinity for collagen (Col) type VI. All four cell lines interacted with fibrillar Col I, but only BV-173 and Ri-1 cells attached to fibrillar Col III. The subendothelial Col VIII only was active as a substratum for BV-173 cells. In all cases, cells bound to fibrillar collagens when they were assembled into polymeric fibrils, and were incapable of adhering to monomeric and denatured collagen. In contrast to cell adhesion to FN and LN, which showed a plateau at high substrate concentrations, adhesion to fibrillar Col I reached a peak at intermediary concentrations and decreased thereafter, suggesting that cells respond to a definite macromolecular arrangement of collagenous fibrils. Adhesion to individual ECM molecules was not directly correlated with the apparent maturation state of the cells, nor with the relative density of known ECM receptors. Taken together, these results suggest that interaction of neoplastic B cells with selected matrix components may influence their dispersion throughout tissues. We further suggest that the use of quantitative cell adhesion assays in vitro may provide means of defining the behavioral traits of neoplastic B cells in vivo
The human type VI collagen gene: mRNA and protein variants of the alpha3 chain generated by alternative splicing of an additional 5'-end exon.
No full textThe amino- and carboxyl-terminal globular domains of type VI collagen are composed of several homologous modules similar to the type A collagen-binding modules present in von Willebrand factor. The human α3(VI) chain that contributes most of the amino-terminal globule appears heterogeneous in size as a result of alternative splicing of two exons (Stokes D. G., Saitta, B., Timpl, R., and Chu, M.-L. (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 8626-8633). In the present study, we report a further characterization of the 5′-end of the gene of the human α3(VI) chain and show that transcription initiates at multiple sites. Southern blotting and DNA sequencing indicate that there is an additional type A exon (A9/ N10) at about 1.8 kilobase pairs downstream of the exon coding for the signal peptide. The open reading frame of this additional exon reveals 1 cysteine and three potential N-glycosylation sites. Polymerase chain reaction, Northern blotting, and RNase protection assays demonstrate that exon A9/N10 is subject to alternative splicing in normal and tumor cell lines and that this generates more protein variants of the α3(VI) chain than expected before. A comparison with the corresponding amino-terminal globule of the chicken α3(VI) chain shows the presence of 1 additional cysteine in this portion of the molecule and suggests that human type VI collagen has more possibilities for structural and functional variations compared to chicken type VI collagen
Attachment of tumor and normal cell lines to collagen type VI involves recognition of the globular domains
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Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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