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Wound Licking
Wound licking is an instinctive response in humans and many other animals to cover an injury with saliva. Dogs, cats, small rodents, horses, and primates all lick wounds. Saliva contains tissue factor which promotes the blood clotting mechanism. The enzyme lysozyme is found in many tissues and is known to attack the cell walls of many gram-positive bacteria, aiding in defense against infection. Tears are also beneficial to wounds due to the lysozyme enzyme. However, there are also infection risks due to bacteria in the mouth. Mechanism Oral mucosa heals faster than skin, suggesting that saliva may have properties that aid wound healing. Saliva contains cell-derived tissue factor, and many compounds that are antibacterial or promote healing. Salivary tissue factor, associated with microvesicles shed from cells in the mouth, promotes wound healing through the extrinsic blood coagulation cascade. The enzymes lysozyme and peroxidase, defensins, cystatins and an antibody ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorilla Licking Wound
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or five subspecies. The DNA of gorillas is highly similar to that of humans, from 95 to 99% depending on what is included, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after chimpanzees and bonobos. Gorillas are the largest living primates, reaching heights between 1.25 and 1.8 metres, weights between 100 and 270 kg, and arm spans up to 2.6 metres, depending on species and sex. They tend to live in troops, with the leader being called a silverback. The Eastern gorilla is distinguished from the Western by darker fur colour and some other minor morphological differences. Gorillas tend to live 35–40 years in the wild. The oldest gorilla known is Fatou (b. 1957), who is still alive at the advanced age of 65 years. Gorillas' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Microvesicles
Microvesicles (ectosomes, or microparticles) are a type of extracellular vesicle (EV) that are released from the cell membrane. In multicellular organisms, microvesicles and other EVs are found both in tissues (in the interstitial space between cells) and in many types of body fluids. Delimited by a phospholipid bilayer, microvesicles can be as small as the smallest EVs (30 nm in diameter) or as large as 1000 nm. They are considered to be larger, on average, than intracellularly-generated EVs known as exosomes. Microvesicles play a role in intercellular communication and can transport molecules such as mRNA, miRNA, and proteins between cells. Though initially dismissed as cellular debris, microvesicles may reflect the antigenic content of the cell of origin and have a role in cell signaling. Like other EVs, they have been implicated in numerous physiologic processes, including anti-tumor effects, tumor immune suppression, metastasis, tumor-stroma interactions, angiogen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Growth Factors
A growth factor is a naturally occurring substance capable of stimulating cell proliferation, wound healing, and occasionally cellular differentiation. Usually it is a secreted protein or a steroid hormone. Growth factors are important for regulating a variety of cellular processes. Growth factors typically act as signaling molecules between cells. Examples are cytokines and hormones that bind to specific receptors on the surface of their target cells. They often promote cell differentiation and maturation, which varies between growth factors. For example, epidermal growth factor (EGF) enhances osteogenic differentiation, while fibroblast growth factors and vascular endothelial growth factors stimulate blood vessel differentiation (angiogenesis). Comparison to cytokines ''Growth factor'' is sometimes used interchangeably among scientists with the term ''cytokine.'' Historically, cytokines were associated with hematopoietic (blood and lymph forming) cells and immune syst ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bacterial Growth
250px, Growth is shown as ''L'' = log(numbers) where numbers is the number of colony forming units per ml, versus ''T'' (time.) Bacterial growth is proliferation of bacterium into two daughter cells, in a process called binary fission. Providing no event occurs, the resulting daughter cells are genetically identical to the original cell. Hence, bacterial growth occurs. Both daughter cells from the division do not necessarily survive. However, if the surviving number exceeds unity on average, the bacterial population undergoes exponential growth. The measurement of an exponential bacterial growth curve in batch culture was traditionally a part of the training of all microbiologists; the basic means requires bacterial enumeration (cell counting) by direct and individual (microscopic, flow cytometry), direct and bulk (biomass), indirect and individual (colony counting), or indirect and bulk (most probable number, turbidity, nutrient uptake) methods. Models reconcile theory with th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitric Oxide
Nitric oxide (nitrogen oxide or nitrogen monoxide) is a colorless gas with the formula . It is one of the principal oxides of nitrogen. Nitric oxide is a free radical: it has an unpaired electron, which is sometimes denoted by a dot in its chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ... (•N=O or •NO). Nitric oxide is also a heteronuclear diatomic molecule, a class of molecules whose study spawned early modern molecular orbital theory, theories of chemical bonding. An important Reaction intermediate, intermediate in chemical industry, industrial chemistry, nitric oxide forms in combustion systems and can be generated by lightning in thunderstorms. In mammals, including humans, nitric oxide is a signaling molecule in many physiological and pathological pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nitrates
Nitrate is a polyatomic ion with the chemical formula . Salts containing this ion are called nitrates. Nitrates are common components of fertilizers and explosives. Almost all inorganic nitrates are soluble in water. An example of an insoluble nitrate is bismuth oxynitrate. Structure The ion is the conjugate base of nitric acid, consisting of one central nitrogen atom surrounded by three identically bonded oxygen atoms in a trigonal planar arrangement. The nitrate ion carries a formal charge of −1. This charge results from a combination formal charge in which each of the three oxygens carries a − charge, whereas the nitrogen carries a +1 charge, all these adding up to formal charge of the polyatomic nitrate ion. This arrangement is commonly used as an example of resonance. Like the isoelectronic carbonate ion, the nitrate ion can be represented by resonance structures: Dietary nitrate A rich source of inorganic nitrate in the human diets come from leafy green foods ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secretory Leukocyte Protease Inhibitor
Antileukoproteinase, also known as secretory leukocyte protease inhibitor (SLPI), is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ''SLPI'' gene. SLPI is a highly cationic single-chain protein with eight intramolecular disulfide bonds. It is found in large quantities in bronchial, cervical, and nasal mucosa, saliva, and seminal fluids. SLPI inhibits human leukocyte elastase, human cathepsin G, human trypsin, neutrophil elastase, and mast cell chymase. X-ray crystallography has shown that SLPI has two homologous domains of 53 and 54 amino acids, one of which exhibits anti-protease activity (C-terminal domain). The other domain (N-terminal domain) is not known to have any function. Function This gene encodes a secreted inhibitor which protects epithelial tissues from serine proteases. It is found in various secretions including seminal plasma, cervical mucus, and bronchial secretions, and has affinity for trypsin, leukocyte elastase, and cathepsin G. Its inhibitory effect contribut ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protease Inhibitor (biology)
In biology and biochemistry, protease inhibitors, or antiproteases, are molecules that inhibit the function of proteases (enzymes that aid the breakdown of proteins). Many naturally occurring protease inhibitors are proteins. In medicine, ''protease inhibitor'' is often used interchangeably with alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT, which is abbreviated PI for this reason). A1AT is indeed the protease inhibitor most often involved in disease, namely in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency. Classification Protease inhibitors may be classified either by the type of protease they inhibit, or by their mechanism of action. In 2004 Rawlings and colleagues introduced a classification of protease inhibitors based on similarities detectable at the level of amino acid sequence. This classification initially identified 48 families of inhibitors that could be grouped into 26 related superfamily (or clans) by their structure. According to the MEROPS database there are now 81 families of inhibitors. These fa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antiviral Protein
Antiviral proteins are proteins that are induced by human or animal cells to interfere with viral replication. These proteins are isolated to inhibit the virus from replicating in a host's cells and stop it from spreading to other cells. The Pokeweed antiviral protein and the Zinc-Finger antiviral protein are two major antiviral proteins that have undergone several tests for viruses, including HIV and influenza. Pokeweed antiviral protein Pokeweed antiviral protein (PAP) is a ribosome inactivating protein that provides pokeweed plants protection against both viral and fungal infections. It also protects other types of plants that have genetically engineered to express RAP that do not normally do so. Recombinant PAP has also been proposed as a treatment of human diseases such as AIDS and cancer. ZC3HAV1 ZAP (Zinc finger Antiviral Protein) is encoded by the ZC3HAV1 gene whose expression is induced by interferon and helps fight a number of viral infections including influenza. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrombospondin
Thrombospondins (TSPs) are a family of secreted glycoproteins with antiangiogenic functions. Due to their dynamic role within the extracellular matrix they are considered matricellular proteins. The first member of the family, thrombospondin 1 (THBS1), was discovered in 1971 by Nancy L. Baenziger. Types The thrombospondins are a family of multifunctional proteins. The family consists of thrombospondins 1-5 and can be divided into 2 subgroups: A, which contains TSP-1 and TSP-2, and B, which contains TSP-3, TSP-4 and TSP-5 (also designated cartilage oligomeric protein or COMP). TSP-1 and TSP-2 are homotrimers, consisting of three identical subunits, whereas TSP-3, TSP-4 and TSP-5 are homopentamers. TSP-1 and TSP-2 are produced by immature astrocytes during brain development, which promotes the development of new synapses. Thrombospondin 1 Thrombospondin 1 (TSP-1) is encoded by THBS1. It was first isolated from platelets that had been stimulated with thrombin, and so was design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antibody
An antibody (Ab), also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. The antibody recognizes a unique molecule of the pathogen, called an antigen. Each tip of the "Y" of an antibody contains a paratope (analogous to a lock) that is specific for one particular epitope (analogous to a key) on an antigen, allowing these two structures to bind together with precision. Using this binding mechanism, an antibody can ''tag'' a microbe or an infected cell for attack by other parts of the immune system, or can neutralize it directly (for example, by blocking a part of a virus that is essential for its invasion). To allow the immune system to recognize millions of different antigens, the antigen-binding sites at both tips of the antibody come in an equally wide variety. In contrast, the remainder of the antibody is relatively constant. It only occurs in a few varia ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cystatin
The cystatins are a family of cysteine protease inhibitors which share a sequence homology and a common tertiary structure of an alpha helix lying on top of an anti-parallel beta sheet. The family is subdivided as described below. Cystatins show similarity to fetuins, kininogens, histidine-rich glycoproteins and cystatin-related proteins. Cystatins mainly inhibit peptidase enzymes (another term for ''proteases'') belonging to peptidase families C1 (papain family) and C13 ( legumain family). They are known to mis-fold to form amyloid deposits and are implicated in several diseases. Types The cystatin family includes: * The Type 1 cystatins, which are intracellular and are present in the cytosol of many cell types, but can also appear in body fluids at significant concentrations. They are single-chain polypeptides of about 100 residues, which have neither disulfide bonds nor carbohydrate side-chains. Type 1 cystatins are also known as Stefins (after the Stefan Institute where t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
