instruction:
In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
question:
Context: Tetrahydrocurcumin (THC) is an active metabolite of curcumin. It has been reported to have similar pharmacological activity to curcumin. The proteases that participate in extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation are involved in cancer cell metastasis. The present study investigates the effect of an ultimate metabolite of curcumin, THC, on the invasion and motility of highly-metastatic HT1080 human fibrosarcoma cells.', 'The effect of THC on HT1080 cell invasion and migration was determined using Boyden chamber assay. Cell-adhesion assay was used for examining the binding of cells to ECM molecules. Zymography assay was used to analyze the effect of THC on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2, MMP-9, and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) secretion from HT1080 cells. Tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2 and membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) proteins levels were analyzed by Western blotting.', 'Treatment with THC reduced HT1080 cell invasion and migration in a dose-dependent manner. THC also decreased the cell adhesion to Matrigel and laminin-coated plates. Analysis by zymography demonstrated that treatment with THC reduced the levels of MMP-2, MMP-9, and uPA. THC also inhibited the levels of MT1-MMP and TIMP-2 proteins detected by Western blot analysis.\Question: Does tetrahydrocurcumin inhibit HT1080 cell migration and invasion via downregulation of MMPs and uPA?
answer:
Our findings revealed that THC reduced HT1080 cell invasion and migration. The inhibition of cancer cell invasion is associated with the downregulation of ECM degradation enzymes and the inhibition of cell adhesion to ECM proteins.

question:
Context: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is defined by pruritus, elevated total fasting serum bile salts (TBS) and transaminases, and an increased risk of adverse fetal outcome. An accurate diagnostic marker is needed. Increased serum autotaxin correlates with cholestasis-associated pruritus. We aimed at unraveling the diagnostic accuracy of autotaxin in ICP.', 'Serum samples and placental tissue were collected from 44 women with uncomplicated pregnancies and 105 with pruritus and/or elevated serum transaminases. Autotaxin serum levels were quantified enzymatically and by Western blotting, autotaxin gene expression by quantitative PCR.', 'Serum autotaxin was increased in ICP (mean SD: 43.5 18.2 nmol ml(-1)min(-1), n=55, p<0.0001) compared to other pruritic disorders of pregnancy (16.8 6.7 nmol ml(-1)min(-1), n=33), pre-eclampsia complicated by HELLP-syndrome (16.8 8.9 nmol ml(-1)min(-1), n=17), and pregnant controls (19.6 5.7 nmol ml(-1)min(-1), n=44). Longitudinal analysis during pregnancy revealed a marked rise in serum autotaxin with onset of ICP-related pruritus. Serum autotaxin was increased in women taking oral contraceptives. Increased serum autotaxin during ICP was not associated with increased autotaxin mRNA in placenta. With a cut-off value of 27.0 nmol ml(-1)min(-1), autotaxin had an excellent sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing ICP from other pruritic disorders or pre-eclampsia/HELLP-syndrome. Serum autotaxin displayed no circadian rhythm and was not influenced by food intake.\Question: Does autotaxin activity have a high accuracy to diagnose intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy?
answer:
Increased serum autotaxin activity represents a highly sensitive, specific and robust diagnostic marker of ICP, distinguishing ICP from other pruritic disorders of pregnancy and pregnancy-related liver diseases. Pregnancy and oral contraception increase serum autotaxin to a much lesser extent than ICP.

question:
Context: Dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) and thymidylate synthase (TS) are crucial enzymes in DNA synthesis. In alveolata both enzymes are expressed as one bifunctional enzyme.', "Loss of this essential enzyme activities after successful allelic assortment of knock out alleles yields an auxotrophic marker in ciliates. Here the cloning, characterisation and functional analysis of Tetrahymena thermophila's DHFR-TS is presented. A first aspect of the presented work relates to destruction of DHFR-TS enzyme function in an alveolate thereby causing an auxotrophy for thymidine. A second aspect is to knock in an expression cassette encoding for a foreign gene with subsequent expression of the target protein.\Question: Does the bifunctional dihydrofolate reductase thymidylate synthase of Tetrahymena thermophila provide a tool for molecular and biotechnology applications?
answer:
This system avoids the use of antibiotics or other drugs and therefore is of high interest for biotechnological applications.