Biomechanical rationale of coronary artery bypass grafting of multivessel disease

The biomechanical model of human coronary arteries was modified for improving the quality of diagnosis and surgical treatment for coronary heart disease. The problem of hemodynamics in the left coronary artery with multivessel bed disease – 45% stenosis of the anterior descending branch and 75% stenosis of the circumflex branch – was particularly considered. Numerical simulation of the coronary arterial bypass of the main trunk was carried out to estimate the functional condition of the coronary arteries after restoring myocardial blood supply by surgery.     

Identification of smooth muscle-derived foam cells in the atherosclerotic plaque of human aorta with monoclonal antibody IIG10

We have developed a monoclonal antibody that specifically interacts with a surface antigen of human fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells. The antibody (antibody IIG10) recognizes a polypeptide of molecular mass 330,000, revealed by immunoblotting in fibroblast and smooth muscle cell extract, but not in vascular endothelial cells, peritoneal macrophages, peripheral blood lymphocytes nor hepatocytes. In tissue sections the antibody stained smooth muscle cells of myometrium, aorta and smaller blood vessels, and fibroblasts of connective tissue. Specificity of the antibody was further confirmed by double staining of aorta sections. Antibody IIG10 was used to identify smooth muscle-derived foam cells in the atherosclerotic plaque of human aorta.     

Thermochemistry of aqueous solutions of alkylated nucleic acid bases. VI. Enthalpies of hydration of 2-alkyl-9-methyladenines

Enthalpies of solution in water, delta H0sol, and vant'Hoff enthalpies of sublimation, delta H0subl, were determined experimentally for a number of crystalline 2-alkyl derivatives of 9-methyladenine: m2(2,9)Ade, e2m9Ade, pr2m9Ade and but2m9Ade. Standard enthalpies of hydration, delta H0hydr derived from these data were corrected for the calculated cavity terms, delta H0cav, to yield enthalpies of interaction, delta H0int, of the solutes with their hydration shells. The apparent residual contribution of alkyl groups, R, to the enthalpy of interaction delta delta H0int (R) was found to increase linearly with the number of CH2 groups added upon alkyl substitution, whereas this contribution calculated per unit area of the water-accessible molecular surface, SB, of alkyl residues delta delta H0int (R): delta SB(R) appeared constant over the whole series of the compounds investigated. This indicates that alkyl groups substituted at the C(2) carbon atom of the adenine contribute additively to the van der Waals' part of the enthalpy of interaction and do not affect the electrostatic part of the energy of interaction of the solutes with their hydration shells.     

Association of low-density lipoprotein with particulate connective tissue matrix components enhances cholesterol accumulation in cultured subendothelial cells of human aorta

Low-density lipoproteins (LDL) were incubated with elastin particles, collagenase-resistant debris isolated from human aorta, and latex beads of 1.13 microns in diameter. As a result of incubation, insoluble LDL-associates were formed. These associates, as well as LDL-heparin-fibronectin-gelatin complexes described by other workers, were added to a 7-day primary culture of enzyme-isolated cells of human aortic subendothelial intima. The culture contained a mixed cell population made up mostly of typical and modified smooth muscle cells. 24 h later, total cholesterol, phospholipid, triacylglycerol, free cholesterol and cholesteryl ester levels were measured. Addition of insoluble LDL-complexes as well as LDL-associates to culture brought about a substantial accumulation of intracellular lipids; primarily, cholesteryl esters. The total cholesterol level in cultured cells was raised 3- to 8-fold. Addition of free LDL or LDL-free particles had no effect on the content of intracellular lipids. The results obtained allow the assumption that the occurrence of the LDL-mediated accumulation of intracellular lipids is due mainly to the LDL penetration inside the cell via 'nonspecific' phagocytosis and not through a regulated receptor-dependent pathway.     

Study of the structural and functional properties of fibronectin--a high molecular weight plasma glycoproteins--by using monoclonal antibodies

Functional and structural properties of fibronectin--high molecular weight glyco-protein from human plasma--were studied by monoclonal antibodies against fibronectin. It was shown that monoclonal antibodies against human plasma fibronectin exhibit a certain species specificity. Antigenic determinant for our monoclonal antibody is located in the central part of the protein polypeptide chain--in the structural domain. The monoclonal antibodies studied do not inhibit any tested functions of fibronectin. In contrast, polyclonal antibodies are not species specific and inhibit all fibronectin functions.     

Transcriptional profiling of Zea mays roots reveals roles for jasmonic acid and terpenoids in resistance against Phytophthora cinnamomi

Phytophthora cinnamomi is a soil-borne plant pathogen that has caused widespread damage to vulnerable native ecosystems and agriculture systems across the world and shows no sign of abating. Management of the pathogen in the natural environment is difficult and the options are limited. In order to discover more about how resistant plants are able to defend themselves against this generalist pathogen, a microarray study of plant gene expression following root inoculation with P. cinnamomi was undertaken. Zea mays was used as a resistant model plant, and microarray analysis was conducted using the Affymetrix GeneChip Maize Genome Array on root samples collected at 6- and 24-h post-inoculation. Over 300 genes were differentially expressed in inoculated roots compared with controls across the two time points. Following Gene Ontology enrichment analysis and REVIGO visualisation of the up-regulated genes, many were implicated in plant defence responses to biotic stress. Genes that were up-regulated included those involved in phytoalexin biosynthesis and jasmonic acid/ethylene biosynthesis and other defence-related genes including those encoding glutathione S-transferases and serine-protease inhibitors. Of particular interest was the identification of the two most highly up-regulated genes, terpene synthase11 (Tps11) and kaurene synthase2 (An2), which are both involved in production of terpenoid phytoalexins. This is the first study that has investigated gene expression at a global level in roots in response to P. cinnamomi in a model plant species and provides valuable insights into the mechanisms involved in defence.     

A Genetically Encoded Reporter for Real-Time Imaging of Cofilin-Actin Rods in Living Neurons

Filament bundles (rods) of cofilin and actin (1:1) form in neurites of stressed neurons where they inhibit synaptic function. Live-cell imaging of rod formation is hampered by the fact that overexpression of a chimera of wild type cofilin with a fluorescent protein causes formation of spontaneous and persistent rods, which is exacerbated by the photostress of imaging. The study of rod induction in living cells calls for a rod reporter that does not cause spontaneous rods. From a study in which single cofilin surface residues were mutated, we identified a mutant, cofilinR21Q, which when fused with monomeric Red Fluorescent Protein (mRFP) and expressed several fold above endogenous cofilin, does not induce spontaneous rods even during the photostress of imaging. CofilinR21Q-mRFP only incorporates into rods when they form from endogenous proteins in stressed cells. In neurons, cofilinR21Q-mRFP reports on rods formed from endogenous cofilin and induced by all modes tested thus far. Rods have a half-life of 30–60 min upon removal of the inducer. Vesicle transport in neurites is arrested upon treatments that form rods and recovers as rods disappear. CofilinR21Q-mRFP is a genetically encoded rod reporter that is useful in live cell imaging studies of induced rod formation, including rod dynamics, and kinetics of rod elimination.     

The IRP1-HIF-2α Axis Coordinates Iron and Oxygen Sensing with Erythropoiesis and Iron Absorption

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Highlights? Derepression of HIF-2α mRNA in Irp1^?/? mice causes age-dependent polycythemia ? HIF-2α hyperactivity is observed in multiple tissues of Irp1^?/? mice ? The mRNA regulons of IRP1 and IRP2 are separable in vivo ? The IRP1-HIF-2α axis is a therapeutic target for hematologic or oncologic disorders