Tumor necrosis factor-a (TNFa) decreased the expression of pulmonary surfactant proteins SP-A and SP-B in human pulmonary adenocarcinoma cell lines. The effect of TNFa on SP-A content and mRNA in the pulmonary adenocarcinoma cell line, H441-4, was concentration and time dependent.

Background: The information of gene expression obtained from databases, have made possible the extraction and analysis of data related with several molecular processes involving not only in brain homeostasis but its disruption in some neuropathologies; principally in Down syndrome and the Alzheimer disease. Objective: To correlate the levels of transcription of 19 genes located in the Down Syndrome Critical Region (DSCR) with their expression in several substructures of normal human brain. Methods: There were obtained expression profiles of 19 DSCR genes in 42 brain substructures, from gene expression values available at the database of the human brain of the Brain Atlas of the Allen Institute for Brain Sciences", (http://human.brain-map.org/). The co-expression patterns of DSCR genes in brain were calculated by using multivariate statistical methods. Results: Highest levels of gene expression were registered at caudate nucleus, nucleus accumbens and putamen among central areas of cerebral cortex. Increased expression levels of RCAN1 that encode by a protein involved in signal transduction process of the CNS were recorded for PCP4 that participates in the binding to calmodulin and TTC3; a protein that is associated with differentiation of neurons. That previously idenjpgied brain structures play a crucial role in the learning process, in different class of memory and in motor skills. Conclusion: The precise regulation of DSCR gene expression is crucial to maintain the brain homeostasis, especially in those areas with high levels of gene expression associated with a remarkable process of learning and cognition.

The quantification and analysis of the human transcriptome allows expanding the knowledge of the genomic functioning, especially in body's parts as complex and important as the human brain. In this way, in silico studies offer the possibility to extract and analyse information contained in databases, at the level of gene expression along the different brain structures. This study aimed to correlate the transcription levels of 38 genes located in the critical region of the chromosome 21 associated with Down syndrome with the cerebral localization and its intervention in the correct operation of different brain substructures. To carry out this, the expression profiles of these genes along 24 substructures of the brain cores and 18 of the Limbic lobe were done, from gene expression data of microarray experiments of DNA, available in the database of the Atlas of the brain of the "Allen Institute for Brain Sciences". It was determined a differential expression of these genes along the analysed structures, in addition to register higher levels of overall transcription in certain areas of the brain, which appear to be associated with different processes of learning and memory. The differential transcription was correlated with the cerebral localization and its potential functional role.