“
“Despite multiple clinical trials utilizing a spectrum of therapeutic

modalities, melanoma remains a disease with dismal outcomes in patients with advanced disease. However, it is now clear that melanoma is not a single entity, but can be molecularly divided into subtypes that generally correspond to the anatomical location of the primary melanoma. Melanomas from acral lentiginous, mucosal, and chronic sun-damaged sites frequently harbor activating mutations and/or increased copy number in the KIT tyrosine kinase receptor gene, which are very rare in the more common cutaneous tumors. Multiple case reports and early observations from clinical trials suggest that targeting mutant KIT with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is efficacious in KIT mutant melanoma. This this website review recounts what is known about the role of KIT in melanocyte maturation, our current understanding of KIT genetic aberrations in melanoma, and how this HDAC inhibitor knowledge is being translated into clinical oncology. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“The general knowledge of defence activity during

the first steps of seed germination is still largely incomplete. The present study focused on the proteins released in the exudates of germinating white lupin seeds. During the first 24h, a release of proteins was observed. Initially (i.e. during the first 12h), the proteins found in exudates reflected the composition of the seed, indicating a passive extrusion of pre-formed proteins. Subsequently, when the rate of protein release was at its highest, the composition of the released proteome changed drastically. This transition occurred in a short time, indicating that more selective and regulated events, such

AZD1152 supplier as secretory processes, took place soon after the onset of germination. The present study considered: (a) the characterization of the proteome accumulated in the germinating medium collected after the appearance of the post-extrusion events; (b) the biosynthetic origin and the modalities that are the basis of protein release outside the seeds; and (c) an assessment of antifungal activity of these exudates. The most represented protein in the exudate was chitinase, which was synthesized denovo. The other proteins are involved in the cellular mechanisms responding to stress events, including biotic ones. This exudate was effectively able to inhibit fungal growth. The results of the present study indicate that seed exudation is a dual-step process that leads to the secretion of selected proteins and thus is not a result of passive leakage. The released proteome is involved in protecting the spermosphere environment and thus may act as first defence against pathogens.”
“Object: To find out the incidence and importance of segmental wall motion abnormalities (SWMAs) of the left ventricle in noncoronary artery disease (CAD) and nontraumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients.

“
“The main objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the concentration of solid air-suspended BYL719 datasheet particles (SSP) in the incidence of mental disorders. The study is based on 1,871 cases, registered in the Beer-Sheva Mental Health Center (BS-MHC) at Ben-Gurion University (Israel) during a 16-month period from

2001 to 2002; 1,445 persons were hospitalized due to exacerbation of schizophrenia (ICD-10: F20-F29) and 426 after committing a suicide attempt using a variety of means as coded in the ICD-10 (ICD-10: X60-X84). Pearson and Spearman test correlations were used; the statistical significance was tested at p < 0.1. A significant correlation between variations of SSP number concentration (N (C) ) during eastern desert wind during early morning hours and number of suicide attempts, N (SU) , was found (rho > 0.3, p < 0.05), whereas correlation between N (C) and N (SU) during western air streams (sea breeze) was not observed (p > 0.2). A trend towards positive correlation (rho > 0.2, p < 0.1) between the N (C) and number of persons with exacerbation of schizophrenia as manifested in psychotic

attack (N (PS) ) in periods with dominant eastern winds (4-9 am, local time) has been observed, while in the afternoon and evening hours (1-8 pm local time) with dominant western winds, N (C) and N (PS) are not correlated (p > 0.1). Obviously, concentration of SSP is not PFTα supplier the one and only parameter of air pollution state determining meteorological-biological impact, involving incidence of mental disorders, although its role can scarcely be overstated. However, since it is one of the simplest measured parameters, it could be widely used and helpful in the daily struggle for human life comfort in semi-arid areas as well as urban and industrial surroundings, where air selleck kinase inhibitor pollution reaches crucial values. This study may permit determination of the limits for different external factors, which do

not overcome threshold values (without provoking avalanche situations), to single out the group of people at increased risk (with according degree of statistic probability), whose reactions to the weather violations can involve the outbreak of frustration points and prevent or alleviate detrimental mental effects.”
“Guanine-rich DNA sequences that may form G-quadruplexes are located in strategic DNA loci with the ability to regulate biological events. G-quadruplexes have been under intensive scrutiny owing to their potential to serve as novel drug targets in emerging anticancer strategies. Thermodynamic characterization of G-quadruplexes is an important and necessary step in developing predictive algorithms for evaluating the conformational preferences of G-rich sequences in the presence or the absence of their complementary C-rich strands.

7%. The results obtained in this study demonstrated a significant improvement in the sensitivity and specificity of this updated assay. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“In eukaryotes, proteins are imported into mitochondria via multiprotein translocases of the mitochondrial outer and inner membranes, TOM and TIM, respectively. Trypanosoma brucei, a hemoflagellated parasitic protozoan and the causative agent of African trypanosomiasis, imports about a thousand proteins into the mitochondrion; however, the mitochondrial protein import machinery in this organism is largely unidentified. Here, we characterized a homolog of Tim50 that

is localized in the mitochondrial membrane in T. brucei. Similar to Tim50 proteins from fungi and mammals, selleck kinase inhibitor Tim50 in T. brucei (TbTim50) possesses a mitochondrial targeting signal at its N terminus

and a C-terminal domain phosphatase VX 809 motif at its C terminus. Knockdown of TbTim50 reduced cell growth and inhibited import of proteins that contain N-terminal targeting signals. Co-immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that TbTim50 interacts with TbTim17. Unlike its fungal counterpart but similar to the human homolog of Tim50, recombinant TbTim50 possesses a dual specificity phosphatase activity with a greater affinity for protein tyrosine phosphate than for protein serine/threonine phosphate. Mutation of the aspartic acid residues to alanine in the C-terminal domain phosphatase motif (DXDX)-D-242(V/T)(246) abolished activity for both type of substrates. TbTim50 knockdown increased and its overexpression decreased

the level of voltage-dependent GSI-IX cost anion channel (VDAC). However, the VDAC level was unaltered when the phosphatase-inactive mutant of TbTim50 was overexpressed, suggesting that the phosphatase activity of TbTim50 plays a role in regulation of VDAC expression. In contrast, phosphatase activity of the TbTim50 is required neither for mitochondrial protein import nor for its interaction with TbTim17. Overall, our results show that TbTim50 plays additional roles in mitochondrial activities besides preprotein translocation.”
“In the peripheral nerves, injury-induced cytokines and growth factors perform critical functions in the activation of both the MEK/ERK and JAK/STAT3 pathways. In this study, we determined that nerve injury-induced ERK activation was temporally correlated with STAT3 phosphorylation at the serine 727 residue. In cultured Schwann cells, we noted that ERK activation is required for the serine phosphorylation of STAT3 by neuropoietic cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). Serine phospborylated STAT3 by IL-6 was transported into Schwann cell nuclei, thereby indicating that ERK may regulate the transcriptional activity of STAT3 via the induction of serine phosphorylation of STAT3. Neuregulin-1 (NRG) also induced the serine phosphorylation of STAT3 in an ERK-dependent fashion.

In support of this, estradiol prevented sorafenib and nilotinib mediated growth inhibition. These results demonstrate that sorafenib and nilotinib act via ER and ER-associated proteins, indicating that these kinase inhibitors in combination with tamoxifen may be potential new treatments for tamoxifen-resistant breast cancer.”
“Structurally degenerative diseases, such as keratoconus, can significantly alter the stiffness of the cornea, directly affecting the quality of vision. Ultraviolet-induced collagen cross-linking buy LY2090314 (CXL) effectively increases corneal stiffness and is applied clinically to treat keratoconus. However, measured corneal stiffness is also influenced by intraocular pressure

(IOP). Therefore, experimentally measured changes in corneal stiffness may be attributable to the effects IPI-145 in vitro of CXL, changes in IOP, or both. We present a noninvasive measurement method using phase-stabilized swept-source optical coherence elastography to distinguish between CXL and IOP effects on measured corneal stiffness. This method

compared the displacement amplitude attenuation of a focused air-pulse-induced elastic wave. The damping speed of the displacement amplitudes at each measurement position along the wave propagation were compared for different materials. This method was initially tested on gelatin and agar phantoms of the same stiffness for validation. Consequently, untreated and CXL-treated porcine corneas of the same measured HDAC inhibitor stiffness, but at different IOPs, were also evaluated. The results suggest that this noninvasive method may have the potential to detect the early stages of ocular diseases such as keratoconus or may be applied during CLX procedures by factoring in the effects of IOP on the measured corneal stiffness. (C) 2014 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).”
“Wombats are unique among marsupials in having one pair of upper incisors, and hypsodont molars for processing tough, abrasive vegetation. Of the three extant species, the most abundant, the common wombat (Vombatus ursinus), has had the least attention in terms of masticatory

muscle morphology, and has never been thoroughly described. Using MRI and digital dissection to compliment traditional gross dissections, the major jaw adductor muscles, the masseter, temporalis and pterygoids, were described. The masseter and medial pterygoid muscles are greatly enlarged compared to other marsupials. This, in combination with the distinctive form and function of the dentition, most likely facilitates processing a tough, abrasive diet. The broad, flat skull and large masticatory muscles are well suited to generate a very high bite force. MRI scans allow more detail of the muscle morphology to be observed and the technique of digital dissections greatly enhances the knowledge obtained from gross dissections.

Due to its wide geographical range, the existence of many locally adapted forms and the frequent occurrence of introgression of aquaculture stocks in local forms, brown trout represents the ideal system to study the effects of such introgressions. Here, we focus on a group of rivers and streams in Sicily (Italy), and, by using molecular tools, we show that autochthonous populations are probably derived MI-503 purchase from the Southern Atlantic clade, which is present in the Iberian peninsula and North Africa. Three out of the four studied rivers reveal signs of genetic introgression of domestic stocks. Finally, by using advanced geometric morphometric analyses, we show

that genetic introgression produces a higher degree of morphological variability relative to that observed in non-introgressed populations.(c) 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 112, 387-398.”
“Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a multifactorial chronic

3-deazaneplanocin A cost skin disorder that is increasing in prevalence globally. In NC/Nga mice, repetitive epicutaneous applications of 2-4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) induces AD-like clinical symptoms. Bioflanonol fisetin (3,7,3′,4′-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a dietary component found in plants, fruits and vegetables. Fisetin has various physiological effects that include anti-oxidation, antiangiogenesis, anti-carcinogenesis and anti-inflammation. In this study, we investigated whether fisetin relieves AD-like Vorinostat cell line clinical symptoms induced by repeated DNFB treatment in NC/Nga mice. Fisetin significantly inhibited infiltration of inflammatory

cells including eosinophils, mast cells and CD4(+) T and CD8(+) T cells, and suppressed the expressions of cytokines and chemokines associated with dermal infiltrates in AD-like skin lesions. Total serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and the ratio of phospho-NF-kappa B p65 to total NF-kappa B p65 were markedly reduced by fisetin. Fisetin also reduced the production of interferon-gamma and interleukin-4 by activated CD4(+) T cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the anti-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin-10 was increased. These results implicate fisetin as a potential therapeutic for AD. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Purpose: This multicenter case series evaluates retrospectively the clinical outcomes of malpositioned implants surgically relocated in a more convenient position by segmental osteotomies. Materials and Methods: Authors who published, on indexed journals or books, works about malpositioned implant correction by segmental osteotomies were contacted. Five centers, out of 11 selected, accepted to participate in this study. The dental records of patients who underwent implant relocation procedures were reviewed.

A series of endometrioid type (EEC) grades 1, 2, and 3 and serous type (SC) were immunostained for p53, p16, estrogen receptor, PTEN, IMP2, MP3, HER2, cyclin B2 and E1, HMGA2, FolR1, MSLN, Claudins 3 and 4, and NRF2. Nine biomarkers showed significant differences

with thresholds in IHC value scale between both types (p53 bigger than = 20, IMP2 bigger than = 115, IMP3 bigger than = 2, cyclin E1 bigger than = 220, HMGA2 bigger than = 30, FolR1 bigger than = 50, p16 bigger than = 170, nuclear PTEN bigger than = 2 and estrogen receptor smaller than = 50; P smaller than .005). This combination led to increased discrimination when considering cases satisfying 0 to 5 conditions predicted as EEC and those satisfying 6 to 9 conditions predicted as SC. This signature correctly predicted all 48 EEC grade 1-2 GM6001 cases and 18 SC cases, but 3 SC cases were wrongly predicted as EEC. Sensitivity was 86% (95% confidence QNZ solubility dmso interval [CI], 64%-97%), and specificity was 100% (95% CI, 89%-100%). The classifier correctly predicted all 28 EEC grade 3 cases but only

identified the EEC and SC components in 4 of 9 mixed EEC-SC. An independent validation series (29 EEC grades 1-2, 28 EEC grade 3, and 31 SC) showed 100% sensitivity (95% CI, 84%-100%) and 83% specificity (95% CI, 64%-94%). We propose an internally and externally validated 9-protein biomarker signature to predict the histologic type of EC (EEC or SC) by IHC. The results also suggest that mixed EEC-SC is molecularly ambiguous.

(C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.”
“ObjectiveTo study the contribution of ADAM15, a disintegrin metalloproteinase that is up-regulated in the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) synovial membrane, to the characteristic resistance of RA synovial fibroblasts (RASFs) to apoptosis induction by genotoxic stress or stimulation with Apoptosis Compound Library proapoptotic FasL, which is present at high concentrations in RA synovial fluid.\n\nMethodsCaspase 3/7 activity and the total apoptosis rate in RASFs upon exposure to the DNA-damaging agent camptothecin or FasL were determined using enzyme assays and annexin V staining. Phosphorylated signaling proteins were analyzed by immunoblotting. RNA interference was used to silence ADAM15 expression. NF-B activity was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.\n\nResultsRASFs displayed significantly higher caspase 3/7 activity upon camptothecin and FasL exposure when ADAM15 had been down-regulated by specific small interfering RNAs. Upon FasL stimulation, RASFs phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and c-Src (Src), and activated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase as well as the transcription factor NF-B. This ADAM15-dependent, FasL-induced activation of antiapoptotic kinases and NF-B was demonstrated by a marked reduction of apoptosis upon knockdown of ADAM15 protein expression.

Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“Diaphanous-related formin, mDia, is an actin nucleation/polymerization factor functioning downstream of the small GTPase Rho. Although Rho is critically involved in cytokinesis, it remains elusive how Rho effectors and other regulators of cytoskeletons work together to accomplish this process. Here we focused on mDia2, an mDia isoform involved in cytokinesis of NIH 3T3 cells, and analyzed mechanisms of its localization in cytokinesis. We found that JNJ-26481585 molecular weight targeting

of mDia2 to the cleavage furrow requires not only its binding to RhoA but also its diaphanous-inhibitory domain ( DID). We then performed pulldown assays using a fragment containing the latter domain as a bait and identified anillin as a novel mDia2 interaction partner. The anillin-binding is competitive with the diaphanous autoregulatory domain ( DAD) of mDia2 in its autoinhibitory interaction. A series of RNA interference and functional rescue experiments has revealed that, in addition to the Rho GTPase-mediated activation, the interaction between mDia2 and anillin is required for the localization and function of mDia2 in cytokinesis.”
“Physically crosslinked chitosan-g-poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogels with controllable graft percent

were prepared in three steps. Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) was first grafted onto chitosan via radical copolymerization. Then the copolymer was converted into chitosan-g-poly(vinyl alcohol) check details by alcoholysis reaction. The graft percent of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) could be tailored by the reaction conditions such as the solvent composition, the concentration of initiator and the amount of monomer added. Finally, Chitosan-g-PVA hydrogels were formed by freezing-thawing cycles. The structure of graft copolymers was verified with FTIR. Both XRD analysis and contact angle test showed that the difference of crystallinity and hydrophilicity among chitosan, chitosan-g-PVAc and chitosan-g-PVA was evident. It was found that the maximum swelling ratios of chitosan-g-PVA hydrogels containing 37.6% and 46.2% PVA were 3.48

+/- 0.11 and 4.40. +/- 0.14 at pH 1.2, 1.90 +/- 0.13 and 2.80 +/- 0.15 at pH 7.4, GSK2245840 in vitro respectively. This suggested the hydrogel was pH-sensitive, and its swelling behavior could be tailored with the graft percent of PVA. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 117: 2946-2950, 2010″
“Objectives.-The purpose of this study was to directly compare the pharmacokinetic (PK) profile of 22-mg sumatriptan powder delivered intranasally with a novel Breath Powered device (11mg in each nostril) vs a 20-mg sumatriptan liquid nasal spray, a 100-mg oral tablet, and a 6-mg subcutaneous injection.\n\nBackground.-A prior PK study found that low doses of sumatriptan powder delivered intranasally with a Breath Powered device were efficiently and rapidly absorbed.

In 13 cases, clinical rejection of the pancreas was diagnosed simultaneously, and two of these were biopsy proven see more and were positive for C4d immunostaining. Multivariate analysis identified only one significant risk factor: Female patients were three times more likely to experience AMR. Nearly all early episodes resolved with

treatment and did not predict graft loss, but multivariate Cox models revealed that late AMR episodes more than tripled the risk for kidney and pancreas graft loss; therefore, new strategies are needed to prevent and to treat late AMR in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients.”
“The repeated frequency of microsatellite instability (MSI) in ovarian cancer (OC) ranges from 0% to 50%. Most MSI studies including OC patients have involved relatively small number of tumors, a wide range of different MSI markers, different patient characteristics, and varying criteria for defining tumors

as MSI positive. Thus, no conclusive evidence about MSI occurrence in OC has been provided and the large variation has made interpretation of these previous studies difficult. The majority of MSI studies have been performed on OC cases with few borderline ovarian tumor (BOT) cases included. Few BOT studies showed no selleckchem evidence of MSI, but in one study the frequency of MSI was 27.7% with all tumors of serous type, suggesting that MSI may play a role in the development of serous BOT. The aim of

our study was to determine the frequency of MSI using a panel of 16 dinucleotide markers: TP53, D17S250, CACNLB1, D18S58, D19S49, DXS538, DXS454, D5S117, D5S107, D6S284, D6S305, D9S171, D9S15, D11S554, D11S29, and D13S272 in tissue from patients with OC or BOT and to correlate the presence of MSI at these markers with the clinical information, such as FIGO stage, histological type, age, and survival in OC. The overall frequencies of MSI were within 2-10%. We observed MSI at different loci and with different extent (2.3-9.8%) in the different histopathological types. In both BOT and OC cases, we observed that all high this website MSI (MSI-H) were of serous type. No significant difference in disease specific survival was found between stage III/IV OC patients who presented MSI compared to patients being microsatellite stable (MSS) (p = 0.72). In conclusion, we found no association to any of the clinical parameters evaluated, although a tendency of a higher frequency of MSI was observed among serous OC.”
“Background: Resveratrol has been reported to have potential chemopreventive and apoptosis-inducing properties in a variety of tumor cell lines. Objective: In this study, to investigate the effects of resveratrol on protein kinase C (PKC) activity and apoptosis in human colon carcinoma cells, we used HT-29 cells and examined the PKC alpha and ERK1/2 signaling pathways.

Additionally, it was shown that, despite maintaining a general type of insulin-like packing structure, the secondary structures were somewhat different when SPC/E and TIP4P were used. These differences could affect the overall dynamics of molecules, as well as their ability to adopt the conformation required to bind with conjugate receptors. We conclude that several, not one, water models should be used to investigate the conformational FK228 mobility of peptides.”
“The protein kinase C (PKC) family of proteins is an attractive drug target. Dysregulation

of PKC-dependent signalling pathways is related to several human diseases like cancer, immunological and other diseases. We approached the problem of altering PKC activities by developing C1 domain-based PKC ligands. In this report gamma-hydroxymethyl-gamma-butyrolactone (HGL) substituents were investigated in an effort to develop small

molecule-based PKC regulators with higher specificity for C1 domain than the endogenous diacylglycerols (DAGs). Extensive analysis of membrane-ligands interaction measurements revealed that the membrane-active NU7441 price compounds strongly interact with the lipid bilayers and the hydrophilic parts of compounds localize at the bilayer/water interface. The pharmacophores like hydroxymethyl, carbonyl groups and acyl-chain length of the compounds are crucial for their interaction with the C1 domain proteins. The potent compounds showed more than 17-fold stronger binding affinity for the C1 domains than DAG under similar experimental conditions. Nonradioactive kinase assay confirmed that these potent compounds have similar or better PKC dependent phosphorylation capabilities than DAG under similar experimental conditions. Hence, our findings reveal that these HGL analogues represent an attractive group of structurally GSK2126458 cell line simple C1 domain ligands that can be further structurally

altered to improve their potencies.”
“We examined whether zinc transporter 8 autoantibodies (ZnT8A; arginine ZnT8-RA, tryptophan ZnT8-WA, and glutamine ZnT8-QA variants) differed between immigrant and Swedish patients due to different polymorphisms of SLC30A8, HLA-DQ, or both. Newly diagnosed autoimmune (>= 1 islet autoantibody) type 1 diabetic patients (n = 2,964, <18 years, 55% male) were ascertained in the Better Diabetes Diagnosis study. Two subgroups were identified: Swedes (n = 2,160, 73%) and immigrants (non-Swedes; n = 212, 7%). Non-Swedes had less frequent ZnT8-WA (38%) than Swedes (50%), consistent with a lower frequency in the non-Swedes (37%) of SLC30A8 CT+TT (RW+WW) genotypes than in the Swedes (54%). ZnT8-RA (57 and 58%, respectively) did not differ despite a higher frequency of CC (RR) genotypes in non-Swedes (63%) than Swedes (46%). We tested whether this inconsistency was due to HLA-DQ as 2/X (2/2; 2/y; y is anything but 2 or 8), which was a major genotype in non-Swedes (40%) compared with Swedes (14%).

\n\nMethods and results: Using the Swedish angiography and angioplasty registry (SCAAR) we included all patients with STEMI and one-vessel coronary artery disease who underwent primary PCI of the culprit lesion only from May 2005 to December 2007. A patent IRA was found in 1,104 of 3,284 patients. Patients with an occluded IRA had significantly increased 7-day mortality (HR, 3.03, 95% CI 1.68-5.46, P<0.001). The incidence of an occluded IRA increased with higher age, in patients

over 80 years of age (OR, 1.23, 95% CI; 0.92-1.64), lower in patients on lipid-lowering drugs (OR, 0.68, 95% CI; 0.54-0.86) and lower in patients pre-treated with heparin (OR 0.71, 95% CI; 0.60-0.83) or GPIIb/IIIa receptor blockade (OR 0.77, 95% CI; 0.61-0.97). Treatment with acetylsalicylic acid or clopidogrel had no effect on IRA patency.\n\nConclusions: IRA patency was

see more associated ACY-241 order with a lower 7-day mortality. Older STEM I patients and patients not taking lipid-lowering drugs or pre-treated with heparin or GPIIb/IIIa receptor blockers seem to constitute risk groups for having an occluded IRA.”
“The storability of onion bulbs is dependent on the incidence and rate of sprout growth. Exogenous ethylene applied continuously has been demonstrated to act as a sprout suppressant in onion. However, the ethylene binding inhibitor, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), can also suppress sprouting in onion. Given this seemingly contradictory result, the precise role that ethylene

plays during onion storage and the effect of curing on its efficacy is not understood.\n\n’Sherpa’ and ‘Wellington’ onion bulbs were treated before or after curing (28 degrees C for 6 weeks) with a single dose of 10 mu L L(-1) ethylene or 1 mu L L(-1) 1-MCP for 24 h at 20 degrees C, or no treatment (control). Replicated out-turns GPCR Compound Library high throughput were sampled during 38 weeks storage at 0-1 degrees C. Sprout growth (31 weeks after harvest) was reduced in ‘Sherpa’ treated before curing with ethylene or before or after curing with 1-MCP. However, sprout growth of ‘Wellington’ was not affected by any treatment. Following treatment, the cured, thick-skinned ‘Wellington’ released a lower concentration of treatment gas compared with the newly harvested, thin-skinned ‘Sherpa’. Onion bulb respiration rate increased immediately after being treated with ethylene but to a lesser extent or not at all when treated with 1-MCP. Fructose concentrations of onions treated with ethylene or 1-MCP before curing were not significantly different, however, after curing concentrations were about 2-fold higher compared with the control. Mean glucose and sucrose concentrations for both cultivars were higher immediately after being treated before curing with ethylene or 1-MCP than control bulbs. It appears that inhibition of sprout growth can be achieved using just a short 24 h treatment with ethylene or 1-MCP.