1.
Soluble resistance-related calcium-binding protein participates in multiple diseases via protein-protein interactions.
Wang, Y, Zhu, Y, Pu, Z, Li, Z, Deng, Y, Li, N, Peng, F
Biochimie. 2021;:76-86
Abstract
Soluble resistance-related calcium-binding protein (sorcin), a 22 kDa penta-EF-hand protein, has been intensively studied in cancers and multidrug resistance over a prolonged period. Sorcin is widely distributed in tissues and participates in the regulation of Ca2+ homeostasis and Ca2+-dependent signaling. Protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are essential for regulating protein functions in almost all biological processes. Sorcin interaction partners tend to vary in type, including Ca2+ receptors, Ca2+ transporters, endoplasmic reticulum stress markers, transcriptional regulatory elements, immunomodulation-related factors, and viral proteins. Recent studies have shown that sorcin is involved in a broad range of pathological conditions, such as cardiomyopathy, type 2 diabetes mellitus, neurodegenerative diseases, liver diseases, and viral infections. As a multifunctional cellular protein, in these diseases, sorcin has a role by interacting with or regulating the expression of other proteins, such as sarcoplasmic reticulum/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ ATPase, ryanodine receptors, presenilin 2, L-type Ca2+ channels, carbohydrate-responsive element-binding protein, tau, α-synuclein, signal transducer and activator of transcription 3, HCV nonstructural 5A protein, and viral capsid protein 1. This review summarizes the roles that sorcin plays in various diseases, mainly via different PPIs, and focuses principally on non-neoplastic diseases to help acquire a more comprehensive understanding of sorcin's multifunctional characteristics.
2.
Calcium Intake and the Risk of Ovarian Cancer: A Meta-Analysis.
Song, X, Li, Z, Ji, X, Zhang, D
Nutrients. 2017;(7)
Abstract
Several epidemiological studies have evaluated the association between calcium intake and the risk of ovarian cancer. However, the results of these studies remain controversial. Thus, we performed a meta-analysis to explore the association between calcium intake and the risk of ovarian cancer. Pubmed, Embase and Web of Science were searched for eligible publications up to April 2017. Pooled relative risks (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using the random-effects model. Small-study effect was estimated using Egger's test and the funnel plot. Among 15 epidemiological studies involving 493,415 participants and 7453 cases eligible for this meta-analysis, 13 studies were about dietary calcium intake, 4 studies about dairy calcium intake and 7 studies about dietary plus supplemental calcium intake. When comparing the highest with the lowest intake, the pooled RRs of ovarian cancer were 0.80 (95% CI 0.72-0.89) for dietary calcium, 0.80 (95% CI 0.66-0.98) for dairy calcium and 0.90 (95% CI 0.65-1.24) for dietary plus supplemental calcium, respectively. Dietary calcium was significantly associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer among cohort studies (RR = 0.86, 95% CI 0.74-0.99) and among case-control studies (RR = 0.75, 95% CI 0.64-0.89). In subgroup analysis by ovarian cancer subtypes, we found a statistically significant association between the dietary calcium (RR = 0.78, 95% CI 0.69-0.88) and the risk of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). This meta-analysis indicated that increased calcium intake might be inversely associated with the risk of ovarian cancer; this still needs to be confirmed by larger prospective cohort studies.
3.
Fabrication of uniform core-shell structural calcium and titanium precipitation particles and enhanced electrorheological activities.
Cheng, Y, Liu, X, Guo, J, Liu, F, Li, Z, Xu, G, Cui, P
Nanotechnology. 2009;(5):055604
Abstract
A simple co-precipitation route was developed to synthesize uniform core-shell structured calcium and titanium precipitation (CTP) particles with ideal morphology and no aggregation. X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and interface tension/contact angle (CA) measurement were utilized to characterize the components, structure, morphology, and wettability of the SiO(2)-CTP materials. The obtained core-shell structural SiO(2)-CTP particles were well dispersed spherical nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution. The electrorheological (ER) properties were studied by the shear stress under various electric fields. The SiO(2) (2.3 wt%)-CTP ER fluid showed notable ER activity with a shear stress of about 109 kPa (at 5 kV mm(-1)), which outclassed the shear stress (65 kPa) of the CTP ER fluid. The ER properties of samples can be tuned by a few factors in the experimental process, such as the concentration of SiO(2) particles and citric acid, pointing out the great potential for application of this route in bulk synthesis of many other types of ER materials.