Does the c-Jun N-terminal kinase JNK participate in cytokine- and isolation stress-induced rat pancreatic islet apoptosis?
JNK signalling participates in islet isolation- and IL-1beta-induced apoptosis in rat islets. Furthermore, the system we used might be more generally applicable for the persistent blockage (several days) of pro-apoptotic pathways in the transplanted islets; this days-long protection might potentially be an absolute prerequisite to help transplanted islets better survive the first wave of the non-specific inflammatory attack.
We have established a generic method for studying the effect of RNA interference in HBEC-ALI using standard lentiviral vectors. Down-regulation of ENaCα by lentiviral shRNA expression vectors as shown in the absence off-target effects has potential therapeutic value in the treatment of cystic fibrosis.