Tubulin polymerization
Two proteins, alpha and beta tubulin, polymerizes into long chains or filaments that forms a hollow tube, microtubule. Microtubule is important to maintain structure of cell, intracellular transport and involved in cell division and the major constituents of mitotic spindles, which pull chromosomes apart.
Mitosis
Cell division.
ARDS
Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, a life-threatening condition where the lungs cannot provide the body’s vital organs with enough oxygen.
Sepsis
Sepsis is the body’s extreme response to an infection. It is a life-threatening medical emergency.
ILD
Interstitial Lung Disease, characterized by varied amounts of inflammation, scarring, or both, that damage the ability of the lung to absorb oxygen from the air.
IPF
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Idiopathic means of unknown cause. Pulmonary Fibrosis means scarring of the lungs.
Fibrosis
Fibrosis means thickening or scarring of the tissue. Fibrosis results from chronic inflammatory reactions induced by a variety of stimuli, e.g. persistent infections, autoimmune reactions and tissue injury.
Transcriptional regulation of gene expression
A process where the cell regulates conversion of DNA to RNA, thereby orchestrating gene activity.
Lipotoxicity
Lipids are normally stored in fat (adipose tissue). Lipotoxicity is the deleterious effect caused by toxic levels of lipids in non-adipose tissue, e.g. liver.
Oxidative stress
Imbalance between Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) and antioxidants, resulting in cell and tissue damage.
PARP inhibitors
PARP inhibitors are a type of targeted cancer therapy. PARP stands for poly adenosine diphosphate-ribose polymerase, a type of enzyme that helps repair DNA damage in cells. PARP inhibitors work by preventing cancer cells from repairing, allowing them to die.
OGG1 inhibitor
OGG1 is another name for 8-Oxoguanine glycosylase, a DNA glycosylase enzyme that catalyze the first step of the base excision repair process. An OGG1 inhibitor hinders the activity of the enzyme.
BRCA
BRCA1 and BRCA2 are two different tumour suppressor genes. When mutated they have been found to impact a person’s chance of developing e.g. breast cancer.
Oncogene
A mutated (changed) form of a gene or a gene expressed at high levels that has potential to cause cancer.
Cytotoxic T cells
A type of immune cell that can kill certain cells, including foreign cells, cancer cells, and cells infected with a virus. Also called cytotoxic T lymphocyte and killer T cell. Is a type of white blood cell and lymphocyte.
Chemokines
One of a large group of proteins that act as chemical messengers and were first found attracting white blood cells to areas of inflammation. Chemokines are involved in several forms of acute and chronic inflammation, infectious diseases, and cancer.
Cytokines
Cytokines are small proteins that are crucial in controlling the growth and activity of other immune system cells and blood cells. When released, they signal the immune system to do its job. Cytokines affect the growth of all blood cells and other cells that help the body’s immune and inflammation responses.
Base excision repair
A cellular mechanism that repairs damaged DNA throughout the cell cycle.