Rabbit Anti-Human TMSB4X (N-terminal) Polyclonal antibody

The molecular anatomy of healthy and atherosclerotic tissue is pursued here to identify ongoing molecular changes in atherosclerosis development. Subclinical atherosclerosis cannot be predicted and novel therapeutic targets are needed. Mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) is a novel unexplored ex vivo imaging approach in CVD able to provide in-tissue molecular maps. A rabbit model of early atherosclerosis was developed and high-spatial-resolution MALDI-MSI was applied to comparatively analyze histologically-based arterial regions of interest from control and early atherosclerotic aortas. Specific protocols were applied to identify lipids and proteins significantly altered in response to atherosclerosis. Observed protein alterations were confirmed by immunohistochemistry in rabbit tissue, and additionally in human aortas. Molecular features specifically defining different arterial regions were identified. Localized in the intima, increased expression of SFA and lysolipids and intimal spatial organization showing accumulation of PI, PG and SM point to endothelial dysfunction and triggered inflammatory response. TG, PA, SM and PE-Cer were identified specifically located in calcified regions. Thymosin beta 4 (TMSB4X) protein was upregulated in intima versus media layer and also in response to atherosclerosis. This overexpression and localization was confirmed in human aortas. In conclusion, molecular histology by MS Imaging identifies spatial organization of arterial tissue in response to atherosclerosis. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exposure to aflatoxins is strongly associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatic progenitor cells have been suggested to participate in the development of HCC. To further explore the molecular basis of aflatoxin-induced carcinogenesis, we utilized transcriptome profiles to examine the global gene expression alterations of malignant transformed rat hepatic stem-like cells. WB-F344 cells were treated with continuous exposure to AFB1 (0.03, 0.1 and 0.2 mu M), and gained certain characteristics of transformed cells identified by soft agar assay. Microarray analyses of the transformed cells found that 785, 625, and 751 differentially expressed genes were detected in each exposure group, respectively. Hierarchical Clustering revealed that the effect of 0.1 and 0.2 mu M exposure on the cells was conformable. Importantly, Gene Ontology analysis showed that malignant transformation of the hepatic stem-like cells was closely correlated to biological process, related to cell motion, cell adhesion, immune response and signal transduction. Accordingly, biological pathways was focused mainly on focal adhesion, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, ECM-receptor interaction, MAPK, TGF-beta and chemokine signaling pathway. A few genes involved in these pathways exhibited a dose response, including Cav2, Itgb3, Ccl2, Cx3cl1, Pdgfrb and Tmsb4x. These findings would contribute to a growing knowledgebase on the mechanism of aflatoxin-induced hepatocarcinogenesis.