Adrenal adaptation in potassium-depleted men: role of progesterone?

Background: In rodents, the stimulation of adrenal progesterone is necessary for renal adaptation under potassium depletion. Here, we sought to determine the role of progesterone in adrenal adaptation in potassium-depleted healthy human volunteers and compared our findings with data collected in patients with Gitelman syndrome (GS), a salt-losing tubulopathy.

Methods: Twelve healthy young men were given a potassium-depleted diet for 7 days at a tertiary referral medical centre (NCT02297048).

Rationale and design of the multicenter randomized trial investigating the effects of levosimendan pretreatment in patients with low ejection fraction (≤40 %) undergoing CABG with cardiopulmonary bypass (LICORN study).

Background: Patients with a left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of less than 40 % are at high risk of developing postoperative low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS). Despite actual treatments (inotropic agents and/or mechanical assist devices), the mortality rate of such patients remains very high (13 to 24 %). The LICORN trial aims at assessing the efficacy of a preoperative infusion of levosimendan in reducing postoperative LCOS in patients with poor LVEF undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).

The terminal six amino-acids of the carboxy cytoplasmic tail of CD36 contain a functional domain implicated in the binding and capture of oxidized low-density lipoprotein.

CD36, a major adhesion molecule expressed by monocytes/macrophages, plays a key role in the binding and internalization of oxidized low-density lipoprotein (OxLDL). This adhesion molecule, a member of an important scavenger receptor family, contains a very short C-terminal cytoplasmic tail that is known to induce intracellular signalling events. However, the domains on the cytoplasmic tail involved in such signal transduction are unknown.