Genetic Diversity and Virulence Profiling of Multi-Drug Resistant of Human, Animal, and Environmental Origins.

Rapid urbanization has increased human-animal interaction and consequently enhanced the chances to acquire zoonotic diseases. The current investigation is focused to uncover the genetic diversity of multidrug-resistant strains between different ecologies (i.e.

Association between 17q21 variants and asthma predisposition in Pashtun population from Pakistan.

Objective: Asthma is a heterogeneous and genetically complex respiratory disease, and more than 300 million people are affected worldwide. In this study, frequencies of four SNPs (rs3816470, rs7216389, rs8067378, rs12603332) in chromosome 17q21 region were analyzed and their relationship with the asthma susceptibility, in the Pashtun population of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KPK) of Pakistan were investigated.

Methods: DNA samples from 500 subjects (asthma cases/controls) were genotyped by Sanger sequencing.

Discoidin Domain-Containing Receptor 2 Is Present in Human Atherosclerotic Plaques and Involved in the Expression and Activity of MMP-2.

Discoidin domain-containing receptor 2 (DDR2) has been suggested to be involved in atherosclerotic progression, but its pathological role remains unknown. Using immunochemical staining, we located and compared the expression of DDR2 in the atherosclerotic plaques of humans and various animal models. Then, siRNA was applied to knock down the expression of DDR2 in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), and the migration, proliferation, and collagen -induced expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) were evaluated.

Thymic Stromal Lymphopoietin (TSLP) gene variant rs1837253 is significantly associated with Asthma prevalence in Pakistani Pashtun women.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness and remodeling. Thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a member of the interleukin-2 family of cytokines, is produced by activated lung and intestinal epithelial cells, mast, and other immune cells. Population-based studies identified associations between SNPs in the TSLP promoter region and asthma pathogenesis.

Macrophage-derived MMP-9 enhances the progression of atherosclerotic lesions and vascular calcification in transgenic rabbits.

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), or gelatinase B, has been hypothesized to be involved in the progression of atherosclerosis. In the arterial wall, accumulated macrophages secrete considerable amounts of MMP-9 but its pathophysiological functions in atherosclerosis have not been fully elucidated. To examine the hypothesis that macrophage-derived MMP-9 may affect atherosclerosis, we created MMP-9 transgenic (Tg) rabbits to overexpress the rabbit MMP-9 gene under the control of the scavenger receptor A enhancer/promoter and examined their susceptibility to cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis.

A novel nonsense mutation in the STS gene in a Pakistani family with X-linked recessive ichthyosis: including a very rare case of two homozygous female patients.

Background: X-linked ichthyosis (XLI; OMIM# 308100) is a recessive keratinization disorder characterized by the presence of dark brown, polygonal, adherent scales on different parts of the body surface. It almost exclusively affects males and the estimated prevalence ranges from 1:2000-6000 in males worldwide. Extracutaneous manifestations are frequent including corneal opacities, cryptorchidism, neuropsychiatric symptoms or others.

Renovascular Hypertension Aggravates Atherosclerosis in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits.

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for atherosclerotic disease. However, it is still not clear whether mechanical stress caused by hypertension directly affects the atherosclerotic development in the aorta and coronary arteries.

Objectives And Methods: We generated a hypertensive (HTN) rabbit model by surgical removal of the left kidney and partial ligation of the right renal artery.

Hypertension Enhances Advanced Atherosclerosis and Induces Cardiac Death in Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic Rabbits.

Hypertension is a major risk factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Cardiovascular risk has been reported to be significantly increased in hyperlipidemic patients with hypertension. However, it is not clear whether hypertension can directly destabilize plaques, thereby enhancing cardiovascular events.

Hepatitis B and C Virus Infections Among Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Infected People Who Inject Drugs in Lahore, Pakistan.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are the major cause of the global burden of hepatitis. One of the main routes of transmission for both viruses is through exposure to infected blood, which includes sharing blood-contaminated syringes and needles. Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) attacks the immune system and results in acquired immune deficiency syndrome and opportunistic infections.

Oncogenic Role of Tumor Viruses in Humans.

Viruses are the intracellular pathogens that reproduce only in the living cell and manipulate the cellular machinery to produce more viruses. Viral replications can affect cellular genes of the host in multiple cancerous ways. Approximately, 20% of all human oncogenesis is caused by cancer-causing viruses known as oncoviruses.

HIV-1 and hijacking of the host immune system: the current scenario.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is a major health burden across the world which leads to the development of acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). This review article discusses the prevalence of HIV, its major routes of transmission, natural immunity, and evasion from the host immune system. HIV is mostly prevalent in Sub-Saharan Africa and low income countries.

Angiotensin II Destabilizes Coronary Plaques in Watanabe Heritable Hyperlipidemic Rabbits.

Objective: Increased plasma concentrations of angiotensin II (Ang II) have been implicated in many cardiovascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, aortic aneurysms, and myocardial infarction, in humans. However, it is not known whether high levels of plasma Ang II affect coronary plaque stability and subsequent myocardial infarction. This study was designed to examine whether elevated plasma Ang II can directly induce coronary events, such as acute coronary syndrome.

High-fructose and high-fat diet-induced insulin resistance enhances atherosclerosis in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Background: Individuals with insulin resistance and resulting impaired glucose tolerance along with type 2 diabetes showed an increased prevalence of atherosclerosis. Our aim in this study was to address whether diet-induced insulin resistance plays any roles in the development of aortic and coronary atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Methods: We fed Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits with a high-fructose and high-fat diet (HFFD) with restricted normal calories and compared the lesions of both aortic and coronary atherosclerosis with those of control WHHL rabbits fed a normal chow diet.

Quantitative analysis of rabbit coronary atherosclerosis. Practical techniques utilizing open-source software.

Objective: Coronary atherosclerosis is widely recognized as a major cause of sudden cardiac death, acute myocardial infarction, and unstable angina pectoris. However, the techniques for quantitative analysis of coronary atherosclerosis have not been standardized and there is still a need for reduction in inaccuracies.

Study Design: This study reports a series of practical techniques to quantitatively analyze microscopic lesions of coronary atherosclerosis in myocardial infarction-prone Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Bisphenol A exposure induces metabolic disorders and enhances atherosclerosis in hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an artificial environmental endocrine disrupter. Excess exposure to BPA may induce many disorders in the metabolism and cardiovascular system. However, the underlying toxicological mechanisms remain largely unknown.

Bisphenol A exposure enhances atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an environmental endocrine disrupter. Excess exposure to BPA may increase susceptibility to many metabolic disorders, but it is unclear whether BPA exposure has any adverse effects on the development of atherosclerosis. To determine whether there are such effects, we investigated the response of Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits to 400-µg/kg BPA per day, administered orally by gavage, over the course of 12 weeks and compared aortic and coronary atherosclerosis in these rabbits to the vehicle group using histological and morphometric methods.

Effects of antisense oligonucleotides against C-reactive protein on the development of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits.

Increased plasma levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) are closely associated with cardiovascular diseases, but whether CRP is directly involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis is still under debate. Many controversial and contradictory results using transgenic mice and rabbits have been published but it is also unclear whether CRP lowering can be used for the treatment of atherosclerosis. In the current study, we examined the effects of the rabbit CRP antisense oligonucleotides (ASO) on the development of atherosclerosis in WHHL rabbits.

Animal models of C-reactive protein.

As the main theme of this special issue, CRP not only is an inflammatory marker but also has diverse biological functions associated with different diseases. To investigate CRP's physiologies and their relationship with human pathological significance, it is essential to use appropriate animal models for translational research. The most popular models for the study of CRP are transgenic mice.

Probucol suppresses macrophage infiltration and MMP expression in atherosclerotic plaques of WHHL rabbits.

Aim: Probucol is a lipid-lowering drug that is often prescribed for the treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia. However, it is not known whether probucol can change the lesion quality of atherosclerosis.

Methods: We examined this possibility using WHHL rabbits, a model of human familial hypercholesterolemia.

Probucol and cilostazol exert a combinatorial anti-atherogenic effect in cholesterol-fed rabbits.

Introduction: Probucol (PB) and cilostazol (CZ) both exhibit anti-atherogenic effects. However, their combinatorial effects are unclear. This study was designed to investigate their combinatorial anti-atherogenic effect in cholesterol-fed rabbits.

Associations among q-space MRI, diffusion-weighted MRI and histopathological parameters in meningiomas.

Objectives: The purposes of this MR-based study were to calculate q-space imaging (QSI)-derived mean displacement (MDP) in meningiomas, to evaluate the correlation of MDP values with apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and to investigate the relationships among these diffusion parameters, tumour cell count (TCC) and MIB-1 labelling index (LI).

Methods: MRI, including QSI and conventional diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), was performed in 44 meningioma patients (52 lesions). ADC and MDP maps were acquired from post-processing of the data.

Human apolipoprotein A-II protects against diet-induced atherosclerosis in transgenic rabbits.

Objective: Apolipoprotein (apo) A-II is the second major apo of high-density lipoproteins, yet its pathophysiological roles in the development of atherosclerosis remain unknown. We aimed to examine whether apo A-II plays any role in atherogenesis and, if so, to elucidate the mechanism involved.

Methods And Results: We compared the susceptibility of human apo A-II transgenic (Tg) rabbits to cholesterol diet-induced atherosclerosis with non-Tg littermate rabbits.

Temporal and quantitative analysis of atherosclerotic lesions in diet-induced hypercholesterolemic rabbits.

The diet-induced atherosclerotic rabbit is an ideal model for atherosclerosis study, but temporal changes in atherosclerotic development in hypercholesterolemic rabbits are poorly understood. Japanese white rabbits were fed a high-cholesterol diet to induce sustained hypercholesterolemia, and each group of 10-12 animals was then sacrificed at 6, 12, 16, or 28 weeks. The rabbit aortas were harvested, and the sizes of the gross and intima atherosclerotic lesions were quantified.

Expression of TRPV1 in rabbits and consuming hot pepper affects its body weight.

The capsaicin receptor, known as transient receptor potential vanilloid subfamily member 1 (TRPV1), is an important membrane receptor that has been implicated in obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases. The rabbit model is considered excellent for studying cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, however, the tissue expression of TRPV1 and physiological functions of its ligand capsaicin on diet-induced obesity have not been fully defined in this model. In the current study, we investigated the tissue expression of TRPV1 in normal rabbits using real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis.

Endothelial lipase mediates HDL levels in normal and hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Aim: Existing evidence suggests that endothelial lipase (EL) plays an important role in high-densitylipoprotein (HDL) metabolism. Because rabbits are a useful animal model for the study of human lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis, we characterized rabbit EL (rEL) expression and investigated its relationship with plasma HDL levels in normal and hyperlipidemic rabbits.

Methods: We cloned the rEL cDNA and analyzed the EL tissue expression using Northern blotting, real-time RT-PCR, Western blotting, and in situ hybridization.