Apoptosis
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Apotosis is programmed cell death, a good thing when it comes to renewing our skin cells, and not good when the cell death is due to injury, infection or poor blood circulation. Apotosis is characterized by cell shrinkage due to dyhydration, endonucleolysis, and increased membrane permeability.
Study results from University of Illinois, College of Medicine in the area of immunology published
2007 NOV 20 -- Fresh data on immunology are presented in the report 'Identification of human cell responses to hexavalent chromium.' According to a study from the United States, "Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a recognized environmental toxin with ubiquitous distribution in industrialized societies. Its concentration in ambient air derives from several sources including but not limited to chemical processes, the burning of fossil fuels and the production of cement." "It is a food contaminant because of its deposition into bodies of water. The majority of published studies on the effects of Cr(VI) concern animal models and these studies have shown that it can induce a variety of cytotoxic and genotoxic reactions that affect the immune system. In order to identify the specific cellular impact of Cr(VI) on humans, we studied its effect on protein production and gene expression in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from both men and women of each major ethnic group including Caucasians, Hispanics, Asians and African-Americans. High-throughput protein profiling using bead-based protein arrays showed a concentration-dependent biphasic effect of Cr(VI) on the expression of many cytokines and chemokines by activated PBMC. High-density oligonucleotide microarray analysis identified several functional families of genes including those involved in immune response, intracellular signaling, cell cycle, apoptosis, RNA transport and binding, organelle organization and biogenesis that were strongly affected by Cr(VI). Cr(VI) suppressed many cellular receptor genes involved in immune response and activated many cell cycle-related and proapoptotic genes. These results defined responses that were unique to Cr(VI)," wrote I.M. Gavin and colleagues, University of Illinois, College of Medicine. The researchers concluded: "This methodology defined an effective manner for identifying injurious/toxic human exposures to Cr(VI) at the cellular level that may facilitate the identification and monitoring of efficacious treatments for Cr(VI)-related maladies." Gavin and colleagues published their study in Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis (Identification of human cell responses to hexavalent chromium. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, 2007;48(8):650-7). For more information, contact I.M. Gavin, University of Illinois, College of Medicine, Research Resources Center, Chicago, Illinois USA.. Publisher contact information for the journal Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis is: Wiley-Liss, Division John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA. Keywords: United States, Chicago, Biotechnology, Gene Therapy, Immunology, Mutagenesis, Oligonucleotide. This article was prepared by Life Science Weekly editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Life Science Weekly via NewsRx.com.
Apotosis Research
Apotosis is absent in cancer cells, and can be suppressed by some cytokines and drugs, such as protease inhibitors. Apotosis is the focus of much cancer research, which looks at the common genes associated with cancers -- the bcl-2 gene, for instance -- and how to activate the p53 tumor suppressing gene.
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