Severe Hyperosmotic Stress Issues an ER Stress-Mediated "Death Sentence" in H9c2 Cells, with p38-MAPK and Autophagy "Coming to the Rescue".

With several cardiovascular pathologies associated with osmotic perturbations, researchers are in pursuit of identifying the signaling sensors, mediators and effectors involved, aiming at formulating novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. In the present study, H9c2 cells were treated with 0.5 M sorbitol to elicit hyperosmotic stress.

Differential response of cardiac aquaporins to hyperosmotic stress; salutary role of AQP1 against the induced apoptosis.

Objective: Multiple pathophysiological conditions are associated with disturbance of myocardial osmotic equilibrium, exerting detrimental effects on cardiac performance. Cardiac myocytes may encounter hyperosmotic stress during hyperglycemia, ischemia/reperfusion injury, myocardial infarction, diabetes mellitus, severe dehydration, hypoxia or heat stress. Aquaporins (AQPs) constitute transmembrane channels that facilitate water transport in response to osmotic gradients.

Ventricular remodeling of single-chambered myh6 adult zebrafish hearts occurs via a hyperplastic response and is accompanied by elastin deposition in the atrium.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is widely used as an animal model to understand the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. Here, we present the adult cardiac phenotype of weak atrium, myh6, which carry mutations in the zebrafish atrial myosin heavy chain. Homozygous mutants survive to adulthood and are fertile despite their initial weak atrial beat.

Induction of protective cellular immune responses against experimental visceral leishmaniasis mediated by dendritic cells pulsed with the N-terminal domain of Leishmania infantum elongation factor-2 and CpG oligodeoxynucleotides.

Leishmania elongation factor 2 (EF-2) has been previously identified as a T1-stimulatory protein. In this study, we assayed the protective potential of the N-terminal domain of EF-2 (N-LiEF-2, 1-357 aa) that has been predicted to contain several overlapping MHC class I and II-restricted epitopes injected in the form of dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine. Ex vivo pulsing of DCs with the recombinant N-LiEF-2 domain along with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) resulted in their functional differentiation.

Vaccination with poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) nanoparticles loaded with soluble antigens and modified with a TNFα-mimicking peptide or monophosphoryl lipid A confers protection against experimental visceral leishmaniasis.

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) persists as a major public health problem, and since the existing chemotherapy is far from satisfactory, development of an effective vaccine emerges as the most appropriate strategy for confronting VL. The development of an effective vaccine relies on the selection of the appropriate antigen and also the right adjuvant and/or delivery vehicle. In the present study, the protective efficacy of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles (NPs), which were surface-modified with a TNFα-mimicking eight-amino-acid peptide (p8) and further functionalized by encapsulating soluble antigens (sLiAg) and monophosphoryl lipid A (MPLA), a TLR4 ligand, was evaluated against challenge with parasites in BALB/c mice.