It is estimated that half of new HIV infections in the U.S. are from patients who know they are HIV-positive but underestimate their transmissibility. Identifying and monitoring the latent HIV reservo...
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FDA-qualified cell lines must be used for virus production for human vaccines. There are relatively few of these lines available and several (WI-38, MRC-5) used for virus production are becoming senes...
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Two estrogen receptor isoforms regulate normal mammary cells in response to estrogen: ERα and ERβ. ERα is currently a therapeutic target in breast cancer, and breast cancers expressing ERα are com...
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Macrophages are white blood cells that ingest foreign material and play a crucial role in the immune system. Presently, there is no bovine macrophage cell line available for research and testing purpo...
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Human rhinoviruses (species A, B and C) encompass more than 160 types that are responsible for the majority of upper respiratory tract infections (common colds) and many of the lower respiratory tract...
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In addition to the common cold, human rhinoviruses (RV) trigger nearly half of all cases of asthma exacerbation. Wheezing illnesses in infancy caused by RV are associated with a high risk of developin...
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Reprogramming blood cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provides a novel tool for studying blood development in vitro.
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Reprogramming blood cells to induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provides a novel tool for studying hematopoietic development in vitro.
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Tumor xenograft mouse models have been created by injecting human cancer cell lines into immune deficient mice. However, when the effects of various interventions on these models are assessed, the res...
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Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are critical for the formation of cartilage and its conversion into bone.
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Calcium-activated potassium channels are a type of ion channel that is important in many physiological processes.
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Stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the biosynthesis of monounsaturated fatty acids. SCDs may influence the development of diseases such as obesity, atherosclerosis and diabet...
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The SCN5A gene encodes a human cardiac sodium (Na+) channel alpha subunit that carries the inward Na+ current in the heart. Three distinct polymorphic SCN5A clones, hH1, hH1a and hH1b, have been isola...
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The human heart sodium channel beta1 subunit is a protein encoded by a single gene. It interacts with the alpha subunit to alter the functional properties of the channel.
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The human ERG gene encodes a potassium channel that is expressed in the heart. Mutations in the HERG channel are a common cause of long QT syndrome, a disorder associated with delayed cardiac repolari...
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Cardiac IKr channels are targets associated with inherited and acquired long QT syndrome (LQTS), a disorder that can lead to ventricular arrhythmias. Previously, IKr channels were thought to be compos...
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The human heart sodium channel beta1 subunit (SCNB1) is a protein encoded by a single gene. It interacts with the alpha subunit to alter the functional properties of the channel. In addition, SCNB1 is...
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No well-characterized prostate stromal cell lines currently exist.
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The human either-a-go-go related gene (HERG1 or KCNH2) potassium channel is critical to maintaining normal cardiac rhythm. Because unintended block of HERG channel activity by drugs can cause long QT ...
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Re-polarization of the cardiac action potential, which plays a critical role in maintaining normal cardiac rhythm, occurs mainly due to the action of potassium ion (K+) currents in the heart. The most...
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One of the key potassium channels in the heart is formed by the co-assembly of protein products from the KvLQT1 (KCNQ1) and minK (KCNE1) genes, which produce the slowly activating delayed rectifier po...
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Human embryonic stem (hES) cells have the potential to provide a source of specific cell types for research and ultimately, for therapeutic transplantation into humans.
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The extensive use of neuraminidase (NA) inhibitors to treat influenza virus infections by reducing viral sialidase activity requires close monitoring for resistant variants. However, cultured cells do...
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Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are the most common sexually transmitted pathogens. These small DNA viruses are associated with almost all cervical cancers and about 20 percent of head and neck cancers.
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Sulfonylurea receptors (SURs) regulate the opening and closing of ATP-sensitive potassium channels (KATP).  They play important roles in insulin secretion in the pancreas and myocardial protectio...
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