Honeybush tea, a sweet tasting caffeine-free tea that is indigenous to South Africa, is rich in bioactive compounds that may have beneficial health effects. Bone remodeling is a physiological process that involves the synthesis of bone matrix by osteoblasts and resorption of bone by osteoclasts. When resorption exceeds formation, bone remodeling can be disrupted resulting in bone diseases such as osteoporosis. Osteoclasts are multinucleated cells derived from hematopoietic precursors of monocytic lineage. These precursors fuse and differentiate into mature osteoclasts in the presence of receptor activator of NF-kB ligand (RANKL), produced by osteoblasts. In this study, the in vitro effects of an aqueous extract of fermented honeybush tea were examined on osteoclast formation and bone resorption in RAW264.7 murine macrophages. We found that commercial honeybush tea extract inhibited osteoclast formation and TRAP activity which was accompanied by reduced bone resorption and disruption of characteristic cytoskeletal elements of mature osteoclasts without cytotoxicity. Furthermore, honeybush tea extract decreased expression of key osteoclast specific genes, matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), tartrate resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K. This study demonstrates for the first time that honeybush tea may have potential anti-osteoclastogenic effects and therefore should be further explored for its beneficial effects on bone.

 17β-estradiol and progesterone are shown to induce a prothrombotic state. The clinical importance when considering hormones as therapeutic intervention. AbstractBackground: The effect of endogenous hormone concentrations, specifically 17β-estradiol and

Combined oral contraceptives (COCs), colloquially referred to as "the pill," have been regarded as a medical breakthrough, as they have improved the lives of countless women, from simplifying family planning to the treatment of acne, endometriosis, polycystic ovarian syndrome, and dysmenorrhea. Unfortunately, COC usage has been associated with an increased occurrence of venous thrombosis and therefore a systemic hypercoagulable state in susceptible females. Here we discuss the health risks of COC usage and use viscoelastic and morphological techniques to investigate the effect of different COC constituents on clot formation, particularly fibrin network packaging and whole blood viscoelasticity. Viscoelastic properties of whole blood showed gender-specific changes while morphological alterations were person-specific, regardless of gender. Using scanning electron microscopy and thromboelastography provides great insight regarding fibrin packaging and the development of a hypercoagulable state in high-risk individuals. We proposed a three-step approach where (1) an individual's coagulation profile baseline is determined, after which (2) the "ideal" combination of constituents is prescribed, and (3) the coagulation profile of the individual is monitored to assess possible risk of thrombosis. Only in following such an individualized patient-oriented approach will we be able to avoid the many health issues due to COC usage in susceptible females.

The identification of the genes that are coordinately regulated is an important and challenging task of bioinformatics and represents a first step in the elucidation of the topology of transcriptional networks. We first compare the performances, in a grid setting, of the Markov clustering algorithm with respect to the k-means using microarray test data sets. The gene expression information of the clustered genes can be used to annotate transcription binding sites upstream co-regulated genes. The methodology uses a regression model that relates gene expression levels to the matching scores of nucleotide patterns allowing us to identify DNA-binding sites from a collection of noncoding DNA sequences from co-regulated genes. Here we discuss extending the approach to multiple species exploiting the grid framework.

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