Proliferation of murine c-kit(pos) cardiac stem cells stimulated with IGF-1 is associated with Akt-1 mediated phosphorylation and nuclear export of FoxO3a and its effect on downstream cell cycle regulators.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is known to promote proliferation in many cell types including c-kit(pos) cardiac stem cells (CSCs). Downstream signaling pathways of IGF-1 induced CSC proliferation have not been investigated. An important downstream target of IGF-1/Akt-1 signaling is FoxO3a, a key negative regulator of cell-cycle progression.

Effect of apoptosis-inducing antitumor agents on endocardial endothelial cells.

Chemotherapy is one of the common treatment modalities for cancer. Some of the antineoplastic drugs have, however, been found to be toxic for vascular endothelium, resulting in complications such as endothelial dysfunction, thromboembolism, heart failure, and cardiomyopathy. In this study, we investigated the cytotoxic effect of widely used antitumor agents doxorubicin, camptothecin, and thapsigargin on primary and immortalized porcine endocardial endothelial cells and compared with the effects of these agents on human umbilical vein endothelial cells, human aortic endothelial cells, and EA.