This induction seems to be mediated, at least in part, at the transcriptional level via the estrogen receptor α binding to an estrogen responsive element in the promoter region of the human nm23-H1 [ 24].
Androgen's stimulatory effects on angiogenesis [ 25] and inhibitory effects on plaque development in atherosclerosis [ 11, 26] have been shown to be mediated at least in part to androgen signaling through the androgen receptor.
These responses are thought to be mediated by at least two unrelated gene families, referred to as V1Rs [ 2] and V2Rs [ 3- 5], encoding G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are expressed on surfaces of sensory neurons in the VNO.
Tolerance to the analgesic effect of opioids is believed to be mediated at least partly by prostaglandin-mediated mechanisms (Powell et al, 1999).
An in vitro culturing system involving SIECs confirmed that decreased VEGF levels as a function of diabetes appear to be mediated, at least in part, by increasing cAMP to activate PKA, which in turn upregulates CREM/ICER expression to inhibit pCREB-DNA binding and to limit the transcription of VEGF.
Although the precise pathways are unclear, this molecular 'cross-talk' appears to be mediated both at the level of the surface-located gap junction and within the cell.
For instance, the antinociceptive effect of morphine and the semisynthetic opioid oxycodone appears to be mediated preferentially at μ and κ receptors, respectively (Ross and Smith, 1997; Nielsen et al, 2000), and oxycodone may offer enhanced analgesia when combined with morphine.
The resistance of these cells to apoptosis is thought to be mediated, at least in part, by XIAP.
Arousal responses also include behavioral changes, which seem to be mediated – at least in part – by catecholaminergic neurotransmission to brain motor areas [ 54].
The differential stress resistance between normal and cancerous cells to chemotherapeutic drugs seems to be mediated at least in part by decreased glucose and free IGF-1 levels [ 47, 50]; it could therefore be speculated that the KD might achieve similar effects, although this would have to be investigated in future studies.
