Time-course Behavior Research Articles

Proteomic Analysis Reveals Physiological Activities of Aβ Peptide for Alzheimer's Disease.

With the rapid progress in deciphering the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), it has been widely accepted that the accumulation of misfolded amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain could cause the neurodegeneration in AD. Although much evidence demonstrates the neurotoxicity of Aβ, the role of Aβ in the nervous system are complex. However, more comprehensive studies are needed to understand the physiological effect of Aβ40 monomers in depth. To explore the physiological mechanism of Aβ, we employed mass spectrometry to investigate the altered proteomic events induced by a lower submicromolar concentration of Aβ. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells were exposed to five different concentrations of Aβ1-40 monomers and collected at four time points. The proteomic analysis revealed the time-course behavior of proteins involved in biological processes, such as RNA splicing, nuclear transport and protein localization. Further biological studies indicated that Aβ40 monomers may activate PI3K/AKT signaling to regulate p-Tau, Ezrin and MAP2. These three proteins are associated with dendritic morphogenesis, neuronal polarity, synaptogenesis, axon establishment and axon elongation. Moreover, Aβ40 monomers may regulate their physiological forms by inhibiting the expression of BACE1 and APP via activation of the ERK1/2 pathway. A comprehensive exploration of pathological and physiological mechanisms of Aβ is beneficial for exploring novel treatment.

A General Theoretical Framework to Study the Influence of Electrical Fields on Mesenchymal Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cell dynamics involve cell proliferation and cell differentiation into cells of distinct functional type, such as osteoblasts, adipocytes, or chondrocytes. Electrically active implants influence these dynamics for the regeneration of the cells in damaged tissues. How applied electric field influences processes of individual stem cells is a problem mostly unaddressed. The mathematical approaches to study stem cell dynamics have focused on the stem cell population as a whole, without resolving individual cells and intracellular processes. In this paper, we present a theoretical framework to describe the dynamics of a population of stem cells, taking into account the processes of the individual cells. We study the influence of the applied electric field on the cellular processes. We test our mean-field theory with the experiments from the literature, involving in vitro electrical stimulation of stem cells. We show that a simple model can quantitatively describe the experimentally observed time-course behavior of the total number of cells and the total alkaline phosphate activity in a population of mesenchymal stem cells. Our results show that the stem cell differentiation rate is dependent on the applied electrical field, confirming published experimental findings. Moreover, our analysis supports the cell density-dependent proliferation rate. Since the experimental results are averaged over many cells, our theoretical framework presents a robust and sensitive method for determining the effect of applied electric fields at the scale of the individual cell. These results indicate that the electric field stimulation may be effective in promoting bone regeneration by accelerating osteogenic differentiation.

Pharmacokinetics applications of traditional Chinese medicines

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used in many oriental countries for thousands of years and played an indispensable role in the prevention and treatment of diseases, especially the complicated and chronic ones. It is a very complex mixture containing hundreds or thousands of different components. Pharmacokinetic study on active constituents in TCM preparations is a good way for us to explain and predict a variety of events related to the efficacy and toxicity of TCM. In the drug discovery phases, pharmacokinetics is a key to guide medicinal chemists in the optimization process of a chemical series and to assist pharmacologists to design in vivo studies. To explore the potentially bioactive components in TCM, it is necessary to further study the in vivo pharmacokinetic characteristics of multiple absorbed components and find out the optical time-course behavior to providing more substantial research for new leads in drug discovery. Pharmacokinetics screening method could provide a reliable means of prospecting natural products in the search for new leads in drug discovery. This review summarizes the research progress of PK on TCM in the search for suitable lead compounds in recent years.

A new model for the aerobic metabolism of yeast allows the detailed analysis of the metabolic regulation during glucose pulse

The onset of aerobic fermentation (the so-called Crabtree effect) in yeast has long been of interest. However, the underlying mechanisms at the metabolic level are not yet fully understood. We developed a detailed kinetic model of the aerobic central metabolism of Saccharomyces cerevisiae comprising glycolysis, TCA cycle and major transport reactions across the mitochondrial membrane to investigate this phenomenon. It is the first one of this extent in the literature. The model is able to reproduce experimental steady state fluxes and time-course behavior after a glucose pulse. Due to the lack of parameter identifiability in the model, we analyze a model ensemble consisting of a set of differently parameterized models for robust findings. The model predicts that the cooperativity of pyruvate decarboxylase with respect to pyruvate and the capacity difference between alcohol dehydrogenase and the pyruvate dehydrogenase bypass play a major role for the onset of the Crabtree effect.

FEV1 decline in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease associated with biomass exposure.

Biomass exposure is an important risk factor for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the time-course behavior of FEV1 in subjects exposed to biomass is unknown. We undertook this study to determine the FEV1 rate decline in subjects exposed to biomass. Pulmonary function was assessed every year in a Mexican cohort of patients with COPD associated with biomass or tobacco during a 15-year follow-up period. The mean rate of decline was significantly lower for the biomass exposure COPD group (BE-COPD) than for the tobacco smoke COPD group (TS-COPD) (23 vs. 42 ml, respectively; P < 0.01). Of the TS-COPD group, 11% were rapid decliners, whereas only one rapid decliner was found in the BE-COPD group; 69 and 21% of smokers versus 17 and 83% of the BE-COPD group were slow decliners and sustainers, respectively. A higher FEV1 both as % predicted and milliliters was a predictive factor for decline for BE-COPD and TS-COPD, whereas reversibility to bronchodilator was a predictive factor for both groups when adjusted by FEV1% predicted and only for the TS-COPD group when adjusted by milliliters. In the biomass exposure COPD group the rate of FEV1 decline is slower and shows a more homogeneous rate of decline over time in comparison with smokers. The rapid rate of FEV1 decline is a rare feature of biomass-induced airflow limitation.

CD207+ cells recruitment to the vaccination site and draining lymph nodes after the administration of DC-Apo/Nec vaccine in mice

De novo ectopic lymphoid tissue formation is known to occur in certain disease and inflammatory settings. After an effective vaccination with dendritic cells (DC) charged with melanoma apoptotic/necrotic cells (Apo/Nec), a subcutaneous tertiary lymphoid structure was organized, where retained vaccine cells interacted with recruited inflammatory and T cells. In this work we report for the first time the recruitment of two morphologically different CD207+ cells to vaccination site. The time-course behavior of CD207+ cells was reciprocal between vaccination site and draining lymph nodes (DLNs). After 6–10 days, CD207+ cells localized at the paracortical region of DLNs, in close contact with T cell population. DLNs were enriched in a peculiar MHCII+ CD11c(−) CD207+ population, whose role remains to be determined. Whether CD207+ cells migration to the vaccination site can be associated with a differential anti-tumoral response remains as an open and exciting question.

Effects of UV254 irradiation on residual chlorine and DBPs in chlorination of model organic-N precursors in swimming pools

Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation is commonly applied as a secondary disinfection process in chlorinated pools. UV-based systems have been reported to yield improvements in swimming pool water and air chemistry, but to date these observations have been largely anecdotal. The objectives of this investigation were to evaluate the effects of UV irradiation on chlorination of important organic-N precursors in swimming pools.Creatinine, L-arginine, L-histidine, glycine, and urea, which comprise the majority of the organic-N in human sweat and urine, were selected as precursors for use in conducting batch experiments to examine the time-course behavior of several DBPs and residual chlorine, with and without UV254 irradiation. In addition, water samples from two natatoria were subjected to monochromatic UV irradiation at wavelengths of 222 nm and 254 nm to evaluate changes of liquid-phase chemistry. UV254 irradiation promoted formation and/or decay of several chlorinated N-DBPs and also increased the rate of free chlorine consumption. UV exposure resulted in loss of inorganic chloramines (e.g., NCl3) from solution. Dichloromethylamine (CH3NCl2) formation from creatinine was promoted by UV exposure, when free chlorine was present in solution; however, when free chlorine was depleted, CH3NCl2 photodecay was observed. Dichoroacetonitrile (CNCHCl2) formation (from L-histidine and L-arginine) was promoted by UV254 irradiation, as long as free chlorine was present in solution. Likewise, UV exposure was observed to amplify cyanogen chloride (CNCl) formation from chlorination of L-histidine, L-arginine, and glycine, up to the point of free chlorine depletion. The results from experiments involving UV irradiation of chlorinated swimming pool water were qualitatively consistent with the results of model experiments involving UV/chlorination of precursors in terms of the behavior of residual chlorine and DBPs measured in this study.The results indicate that UV254 irradiation promotes several reactions that are involved in the formation and/or destruction of chlorinated N-DBPs in pool settings. Enhancement of DBP formation was consistent with a mechanism whereby a rate-limiting step in DBP formation was promoted by UV exposure. Promotion of these reactions also resulted in increases of free chlorine consumption rates.

Simultaneous examination of tear film break-up and the lipid layer of the human eye: A novel model eye for time course simulation of physiologic tear film behavior (Part 2)

This article describes a model eye created to mimic the three-layered human tear-film. The model replicates the properties of the mucin, liquid and lipid layer as well as the time-course behavior including blinking process and tear film break-up for measurements with the tear film sensor described in Part 1. The setup basically consists of a sphere that is moistened by a dilution of tear film substitute. Therefore, the time point of the first break-up strongly depends on the consistency of the dilution. By means of an integrated heater, the evaporation rate of the artificial tear-film can be increased.To illustrate the applicability of the model eye, exemplary images during tear-film simulation, taken with and without using the heater, are shown. All images were captured by the sensor. Results and other potential applications are briefly discussed.

Semiparametric detection of significant activation for brain fMRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) aims to locate activated regions in human brains when specific tasks are performed. The conventional tool for analyzing fMRI data applies some variant of the linear model, which is restrictive in modeling assumptions. To yield more accurate prediction of the time-course behavior of neuronal responses, the semiparametric inference for the underlying hemodynamic response function is developed to identify significantly activated voxels. Under mild regularity conditions, we demonstrate that a class of the proposed semiparametric test statistics, based on the local linear estimation technique, follow X 2 distributions under null hypotheses for a number of useful hypotheses. Furthermore, the asymptotic power functions of the constructed tests are derived under the fixed and contiguous alternatives. Simulation evaluations and real fMRI data application suggest that the semiparametric inference procedure provides more efficient detection of activated brain areas than the popular imaging analysis tools AFNI and FSL.

Estimating constants for metabolism of atrazine in freshly isolated rat hepatocytes by kinetic modeling

This study estimated the kinetic constants for oxidative metabolism of atrazine (ATRA) and its chlorotriazine (Cl-TRI) metabolites, 2-chloro-4-ethylamino-6-amino-1,3,5-triazine (ETHYL), 2-chloro-4-amino-6-isopropylamino-1,3,5-triazine (ISO), and diaminochlorotriazine (DACT), using freshly isolated rat hepatocytes. Hepatocytes were incubated with 1.74, 44, 98, and 266 μM ATRA. Disappearance of ATRA and formation of the Cl-TRI metabolites were quantified over 90 min. At all incubation concentrations, ATRA was preferentially metabolized to ETHYL, producing ETHYL concentrations approximately 6 times higher than those of ISO. DACT concentrations peaked at 44 μM ATRA and decreased with increasing incubation concentrations, indicating non-linear metabolic behavior of ATRA with respect to DACT formation. A series of kinetic models were developed from these data to describe the dose and time-dependent oxidative metabolism of ATRA and the Cl-TRI metabolites. An integrated model for all the chloro-triazines included multi-substrate competitive inhibition of metabolism to describe the non-linear behavior of DACT production in relation to ATRA while simultaneously simulating the time-course behavior of the Cl-TRIs at all four ATRA concentrations. The maximal metabolic rate ( V max) of ATRA metabolism and the Michaelis–Menten constant ( K M) for the reaction were 1.6 μM/min and 30 μM, respectively. V max and K M values for ETHYL and ISO metabolism to DACT were also estimated using this modeling approach.

アクリルエマルション型粘着剤における臨界表面張力の経時的挙動

ロジン系タッキファイヤーが配合されたエマルション型アクリル系粘着剤を塗布した粘着テープをステンレス板に貼り付けて保存した場合の粘着剤の臨界表面張力 (γc)の経時的な変化を測定した。タッキファイヤーを含まない系では長期保存により，γcは経時的に著しく上昇する傾向があり，特に，高温保存する場合にその傾向は顕著であった。タッキファイヤーを含む系統では，23℃の保存ではγcは経時的にほぼ一定値を取るが，70℃の保存ではγcが経時的に上昇することが観察され，タッキファイヤー配合量が異なる粘着剤であってもγcは約22mN/mに収束する可能性を示唆した。また，高温長期保存でのγcの経時的な上昇と表面層タッキファイヤー濃度の経時的な上昇との間に高い線形性を確認し，タッキファイヤーの表面層へのマイグレーションのドライビングフォースは，粘着剤と被着体との表面エネルギーの最小化による作用であると結論づけた。

Hematopoietic Stem Cells Can Give Rise to Satellite-Like Cells in Skeletal Muscles.

Recent studies have indicated that bone marrow cells can regenerate damaged muscles, but also that they can adopt phenotype of other cells by cell fusion. It has also been reported that single hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can regenerate skeletal muscle although it is still controversial whether HSCs differentiate into satellite cells in muscle or not. In order to investigate the roles of HSCs in muscle regeneration and whether they can generate satellite cells or not, we purified and injected CD45+Lin−Sca-1+c-kit+(CD45+KSL) HSCs labeled by green fluorescent protein (GFP) into mice with or without irradiation. We examined time-course behavior of HSCs in recipient muscles with a fluorescent stereomicroscope and then immunohitochemical staining during the early and late phase after transplantation. Our direct visualization system gave evidence of massive GFP signals in all the muscles of only irradiated mice in early phase after transplantation. Transverse cryostat sections showed GFP+ Myosin+ muscle fibers along with numerous GFP+ hematopoietic cells in damaged muscle. We also found myogenin+GFP+ cells like myoblasts in very low number. These phenomena were temporal and GFP signals had dramatically reduced 30 days after transplantation. FISH analysis confirmed the GFP-DNAs in the nuclei of muscle fibers. These results suggested that most of GFP+HSCs fused with myofibers and participated in regeneration of damaged muscles, and a very few HSCs can differentiate into myoblast like cells expressing myogenin. After 6 months, GFP+ fibers could be hardly detected but GFP+c-Met+ mononuclear cells were located beneath the laminin+ basal lamina. Single fiber cultures from these mice showed proliferation of GFP+ fibers. These results suggested that HSC-derived cells settled beneath the basal lamina like satellite cells and might acquired the satellite cell activity.

Characterization of Toxicokinetics and Toxicodynamics with Linear Systems Theory: Application to Lead-Associated Cognitive Decline

We present a theoretical approach to analysis of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics using linear systems theory. In our approach, we define two impulse response functions that characterize the kinetic behavior of an environmental agent in the body and the dynamic time-course behavior of its effect on the body. This approach provides a formalism for understanding the relation among exposure, dose, and cumulative biologically effective dose and for understanding the implications of an effect time-course on cross-sectional and longitudinal data analyses. We use lead-associated cognitive decline as a specific example where the approach may be applied.

Characterization of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics with linear systems theory: application to lead-associated cognitive decline.

We present a theoretical approach to analysis of toxicokinetics and toxicodynamics using linear systems theory. In our approach, we define two impulse response functions that characterize the kinetic behavior of an environmental agent in the body and the dynamic time-course behavior of its effect on the body. This approach provides a formalism for understanding the relation among exposure, dose, and cumulative biologically effective dose and for understanding the implications of an effect time-course on cross-sectional and longitudinal data analyses. We use lead-associated cognitive decline as a specific example where the approach may be applied.

Nonlinear Aspects of the BOLD Response in Functional MRI

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) contrast has progressed rapidly and is commonly used to study function in many regions of the human brain. This paper introduces a method for characterizing the linear or nonlinear properties of the hemodynamic response. Such characterization is essential for accurate prediction of time-course behavior. Linearity of the BOLD response was examined in the primary visual cortex for manipulations of the stimulus amplitude and duration. Stimuli of 1, 2, 4, and 8 s duration (80% contrast) and 10, 20, 40, and 80% contrast (4 s duration) were used to test the hemodynamic response. Superposition of the obtained responses was performed to determine if the BOLD response is nonlinear. The nonlinear characteristics of the BOLD response were assessed using a Laplacian linear system model cascaded with a broadening function. Discrepancies between the model and the observed response provide an indirect measure of the nonlinearity of the response. The Laplacian linear system remained constant within subjects so the broadening function can be used to absorb nonlinearities in the response. The results show that visual stimulation under 4 s in duration and less than 40% contrast yield strong nonlinear responses.

Development of a physiologically based pharmacokinetic model for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid dosimetry in discrete areas of the rabbit brain.

A basic PBPK model for the dosimetry of organic acids in discrete areas of the brain was constructed using 2,4-D as a model compound. The PBPK model describes distribution of 2,4-D throughout the body and within discrete areas of the brain. The brain compartments in the model were the hypothalamus, caudate nucleus, hippocampus, forebrain, brainstem, and cerebellum. The remainder of the model consisted of two-body compartments and venous and arterial blood compartments. In the model, chemical uptake by the brain was membrane-limited by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) with saturable clearance from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into the venous blood by the choroid plexus. The body has both a central and a deep compartment with saturable clearance from the central compartment. The model was used to examine the brain and CSF concentrations of 2,4-D as a function of plasma 2,4-D, as well as plasma time-course behavior using experimental data from rabbits given 2,4-D 40 or 100 mg/kg, IP or Na-2,4-D 40 mg/kg, i.v. administration. Model parameters were adjusted to fit the observed 2,4-D concentrations in blood and brain regions over a 2-h time frame. PBPK models could be a useful tool for evaluating the safety of this class of organic acids.

Design of optimal cancer chemotherapy using a continuous-time state model of cell kinetics

A continuous bilinear model in state space is used to describe the cell kinetics of a tumor-cell population under the effects of chemotherapy. Firstly, the time-course behavior of a Chinese-hamster-ovary (CHO) cell population is simulated to demonstrate the utility of the model. Then, an optimal strategy for cancer treatment is derived, based on the need to balance the effects on both cancerous and normal tissues. The performance index minimized is the sum of the weighted tumor population and the weighted total drug dosage. The optimization problem has resulted in a two-point boundary-value problem (TPBVP) with a bang-bang control policy, which is solved by the switching-time variation method (STVM). Computer simulation of CHO cells is also carried out as a numerical example of determining optimal cancer chemotherapy.

Estimation of cell kinetic parameters from flow microfluorometry

This paper considers the estimation method for unknown parameters as well as cell-age state vectors used in the discrete-time model [12] previously described characterizing the dynamics of cell cycle and proliferating kinetics for a cancer-cell population. An iterative algorithm for determining optimal values of the parameters and age state vectors in the least-squares sense is derived on the basis of a set of sequential cell-DNA distributions. Once the parameters and initial cell-age distribution are determined, the time-course behavior of the cell-age and cell-DNA distributions for the given population are computed. A Chinese-hamster cell system is chosen for illustrating the quantitative technique developed. A computer simulation of the CHO cell population is shown.

A quantitative approach to the design of antitumor drug dosage schedule via cell cycle kinetics and systems theory.

A discrete-time kinetic model for chemotherapy was developed to deal with the effects of antitumor drugs on the cell cycle and proliferation kinetics of experimental tumor cell populations in which cell kinetic responses of chemotherapy are represented in terms of perturbation of cell kinetic parameters—cell age, cell size and DNA content distributions. The time-course behavior of these cell kinetic parameters was predicted by solving the discrete-time state equations which characterize the dynamics of tumor-drug interactions. The amount of antitumor drug administered was expressed to be the control function of the state equations and the transition matrix representing two modes of drug action, namely, cell kill and progression delay or accumulation of cells due to drug, was derived. The performance of the model, assessed by examining the effects of cell cycle stage-specific agents such as cytosine arabinoside on spontaneous AKR leukemia, compared favorably with experimental data. Utilizing an optimization scheme in engineering systems studies, an analytical method is described for optimizing the regimen of drug administration so as to maximize the effectiveness of drug dosage schedules and minimize the use of toxic amounts of the drug. The superiority of the schedule designed by an optimization scheme was evident at the termination of therapy, although the schedule designed by experimental trials reduced the number of surviving tumor cells more effectively than the one designed by an optimization scheme during the earlier therapy period. In the model, the proposed schedule will function more effectively for the entire therapy period when additional parameters of drug characteristics, such as the toxicity to the host and drug resistance, are encompassed.

Variation of cell kinetic parameters in relation to the growth rate of the Ehrlich ascites tumor.

A multicompartmental model of the cell cycle and proliferation kinetics was used to analyse the time-course behavior of the cell cycle time, the growth fraction, and the cell loss rate during Ehrlich ascites tumor growth. The growth rate of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells as the tumor aged was significantly influenced by change in the cell cycle time.