Department of Physiological Sciences

The potential of LPS-binding protein to reverse amyloid formation in plasma fibrin of individuals with Alzheimer-type dementia

Pretorius, Etheresia; Bester, Janette; Page, Martin J.; Kell, Douglas B. (Frontiers Media, 2018-08-22)

Many studies indicate that there is a (mainly dormant) microbial component in the progressive development of Alzheimer-type dementias (ADs); and that in the case of Gram-negative organisms, a chief culprit might be the ...

Chronic gestational inflammation : transfer of maternal adaptation over two generations of progeny

Adams, R. C. M.; Smith, C. (Hindawi, 2019-08-25)

Changes in the in utero environment result in generational transfer of maladapted physiology in the context of conditions such as stress, obesity, and anxiety. Given the significant contribution of noncommunicable ...

Redox status and muscle pathology in rheumatoid arthritis : insights from various rat hindlimb muscles

Oyenihi, A. B.; Ollewagen, T.; Myburgh, K. H.; Powrie, Y. S. L.; Smith, C. (Hindawi, 2019-03-26)

Due to atrophy, muscle weakness is a common occurrence in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The majority of human studies are conducted on the vastus lateralis muscle—a muscle with mixed fiber type—but little comparative data ...

Rooibos (Aspalathus linearis) and honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) : from bush teas to potential therapy for cardiovascular disease

Windvogel, Shantal (IntechOpen, 2019)

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of worldwide deaths. A number of risk factors for cardiovascular disease as well as type 2 diabetes and stroke present as the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic risk factors include ...

Inflammatory cytokines in type 2 diabetes mellitus as facilitators of hypercoagulation and abnormal clot formation

Randeria, Shehan N.; Thomson, Greig J. A.; Nell, Theo A.; Roberts, Timothy; Pretorius, Etheresia (BMC (part of Springer Nature), 2019-06-04)

Background: The global burden of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), together with the presence of cardiovascular risk in this population, is reaching pandemic levels. A prominent feature of T2DM is chronic and systemic ...

Dietary impact on neuronal autophagy control and brain health

Ntsapi, Claudia; Du Toit, Andre; Loos, Ben (IntechOpen, 2019)

Autophagy is the major intracellular system which is critical for the removal of harmful protein aggregates and malfunctioning organelles. Dysfunctional autophagy is associated with a multitude of human diseases, such ...

Chemoresistance : intricate interplay between breast tumor cells and adipocytes in the tumor microenvironment

Mentoor, Ilze; Engelbrecht, Anna-Mart; Van Jaarsveld, Paul J.; Nell, Theo (Frontiers Media, 2018-12-11)

Excess adipose tissue is a hallmark of an overweight and/or obese state as well as a primary risk factor for breast cancer development and progression. In an overweight/obese state adipose tissue becomes dysfunctional due ...

C-reactive protein is elevated only in high creatine kinase responders to muscle damaging exercise

Isaacs, Ashwin W.; Macaluso, Filippo; Smith, Carine; Myburgh, Kathryn H. (Frontiers Media, 2017-02-11)

The purpose of this study was to investigate if exertional rhabdomyolysis induced by an acute bout of plyometric exercise in untrained individuals was associated with histological characteristics of skeletal muscle, creatine ...

Investigating the effects of diet-induced obesity on acute Doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in a tumour-bearing model

Bock, Bianca Annina (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Obesity is a well-known global pandemic that is fundamentally caused by an energy imbalance between calories consumed and calories expended. A major consequence to obesity are metabolic ...

A matter of life or death : autophagy in the context of prolonged doxorubicin therapy

Adonis, Muneeb (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective treatment against a variety of cancers, and thus remains a commonly used chemotherapeutic drug. The chief side effect of DOX treatment is cardiotoxicity. ...

Dynamic interactions between skeletal muscle and breast cancer cells following chemotherapeutic treatment

Conradie, Daleen (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Background: Breast cancer is the most common cancer found among women of South Africa with the prominent effective form of treatment being chemotherapy. Many cancer patients receiving chemotherapeutic ...

Harnessing Macrophages for Controlled-Release Drug Delivery : lessons From Microbes

Visser, Johan Georg; Du Preez Van Staden, Anton; Smith, Carine (Frontiers Media, 2019)

With the effectiveness of therapeutic agents ever decreasing and the increased incidence of multi-drug resistant pathogens, there is a clear need for administration of more potent, potentially more toxic, drugs. Alternatively, ...

Glycation abolishes the cardioprotective effects of albumin during ex vivo ischemia-reperfusion

Mapanga, Rudo F.; Joseph, Danzil E.; Saieva, Marco; Boyer, Florence; Rondeau, Philippe; Bourdon, Emmanuel; Essop, M. Faadiel (Wiley Open Access, 2017)

Hyperglycemia‐induced oxidative stress plays a key role in the onset/progression of cardiovascular diseases. For example, it can trigger formation of advanced glycation end (AGE) products with ischemia‐reperfusion performed ...

The paracrine effects of fibroblasts on Doxorubicin-treated breast cancer cells

Fourie, Carla (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Introduction: Breast cancer is frequently diagnosed in women in both developed and developing countries and poses a major health problem throughout the world. The current standard treatment for breast ...

Potential for modulation of cancer-associated oxidative stress : an in vitro investigation

Tunstall, Rebecca (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04)

ENGLISH ABSTRACT: While cancer is a chronic, complex disease associated with a multitude of steps in its initiation and progression, all cancers generally have similar underlying maladaptive physiological mechanisms which ...

Efficacy of lantibiotic treatment of staphylococcus aureus-induced skin infections, monitored by in vivo bioluminescent imaging

Van Staden, Anton Du Preez (American Society for Microbiology, 2016)

Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterial pathogen responsible for the majority of skin and soft tissue infections. Antibiotics are losing their efficacy as treatment for skin and soft tissue infections as a result of increased ...