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BACKGROUND: Death of smooth muscle cells in the atherosclerotic plaques makes the plaques more prone to rupture, which can initiate an acute ischemic event. The development of atherosclerosis includes the migration of immune cells e.g. monocytes/macrophages and T lymphocytes into the lesions. Immune cells can release antimicrobial peptides. One of these, human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide hC
BACKGROUND: A distinctive feature of type 2 diabetes is inability of insulin-secreting beta-cells to properly respond to elevated glucose eventually leading to beta-cell failure. We have hypothesized that an abnormally increased NO production in the pancreatic islets might be an important factor in the pathogenesis of beta-cell dysfunction. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show now that islets of type 2 spo
There is still controversy as to how body mass index (BMI) affects male reproduction. We investigated how BMI is associated with semen quality and reproductive hormones in 166 men, including 38 severely obese men. Standard semen analysis and sperm DNA integrity analysis were performed, and blood samples were analysed for reproductive hormones. Adjusted for age and time of abstinence, BMI was negat
Background: Whey protein increases postprandial serum insulin levels. This has been associated with increased serum levels of leucine, isoleucine, valine, lysine, threonine and the incretin hormone glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP). We have examined the effects of these putative mediators of whey's action on insulin secretion from isolated mouse Langerhans islets. Methods: Mouse p
Numerous genetic factors that influence breast cancer risk are known. However, approximately two-thirds of the overall familial risk remain unexplained. To determine whether some of the missing heritability is due to rare variants conferring high to moderate risk, we tested for an association between the c.5791C>T nonsense mutation (p.Arg1931*; rs144567652) in exon 22 of FANCM gene and breast canc
In this study we characterize a novel gene on human chromosome 9 and its translation product, PC3-secreted microprotein (PSMP). The gene contains three exons that encode a protein of 139 amino acid residues, including a predicted signal peptide of 36 residues. The molecule is homologous to P-microseminoprotein (MSP), a protein of unknown function, secreted at high concentration by the prostate gla
Estramustine (EM), a complex between estradiol-17 beta and nornitrogen mustard, is commonly used in the treatment of prostatic cancer. The exact mechanism of action is unknown but has previously been considered to be mediated through non-DNA targets, specifically with the mitotic spindle, and to be related to the intact EM complex. In the present study, using different cell-systems (monocyte phago
Previous studies using echocardiography in healthy subjects have reported conflicting data regarding the percentage of the stroke volume ( SV) of the left ventricle ( LV) resulting from longitudinal and radial function, respectively. Therefore, the aim was to quantify the percentage of SV explained by longitudinal atrioventricular plane displacement ( AVPD) in controls, athletes, and patients with
The CYP17 gene is involved in steroid hormone metabolism and has been proposed as a low penetrance gene for breast cancer. We aimed to investigate the associations between the CYP17 genotype and breast cancer risk factors, such as age at menarche, menstrual cycle length, oral contraceptive (OC) use, and BRCA mutation status among 258 healthy young women, aged <= 40, from 158 breast cancer high-ris
Aims: We investigated whether polymorph isms in candidate genes involved in lipid metabolism and type 2 diabetes are related to liver I, at content. Methods: Liver fat content was measured using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-1-MRS) in 302 Finns, in whom single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in acyl-CoA synthetase long-chain family member 4 (ACSL4). acliponectin receptors 1 and 2 (ADIP
Aldehyde dehydrogenase family 1 member A1 (ALDH1A1) is a putative marker of breast cancer stem cells (CSCs) with prognostic implications when expressed in cancer or stroma. However, previous results are contradictory and we therefore aimed to further evaluate the impact of ALDH1A1 on distant disease-free survival (DDFS) and correlation with clinicopathological variables in breast cancer, specifica
Congenital muscular dystrophy caused by laminin α2 chain deficiency (also known as MDC1A) is a severe and incapacitating disease, characterized by massive muscle wasting. The ubiquitin-proteasome system plays a major role in muscle wasting and we recently demonstrated that increased proteasomal activity is a feature of MDC1A. The autophagy-lysosome pathway is the other major system involved in deg
Several quantitative trait loci regulating murine Lyme arthritis severity have been mapped, including a highly significant linkage found on chromosome 5, termed Bb2Bb3. Within this region, the Ncf1 gene of the phagocyte nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase has recently been identified as a major regulator of arthritis severity in rodent models of rheumatoid arthritis, an eff
OBJECTIVE: The primary aim was to explore patients' knowledge of heart failure and their attitudes toward medical information (prognostic information in particular) and to assess different patient-related factors that might hamper the improvement of patients' knowledge. Moreover, taking the data obtained into account, we analyzed ethical aspects of information disclosure to patients with heart fai
