Correlated cryo-SEM and CryoNanoSIMS imaging of biological tissue.

Background: The development of nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry (NanoSIMS) has revolutionized the study of biological tissues by enabling, e.g., the visualization and quantification of metabolic processes at subcellular length scales.

Inhibition of platelet aggregation by activation of platelet intermediate conductance Ca -activated potassium channels.

Background: Within the vasculature platelets and endothelial cells play crucial roles in hemostasis and thrombosis. Platelets, like endothelial cells, possess intermediate conductance Ca -activated K (IK ) channels and generate nitric oxide (NO). Although NO limits platelet aggregation, the role of IK channels in platelet function and NO generation has not yet been explored.

Surface Analysis by Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS): Principles and Applications from Swiss laboratories.

Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (SIMS) extracts chemical, elemental, or isotopic information about a localized area of a solid target by performing mass spectrometry on secondary ions sputtered from its surface by the impact of a beam of charged particles. This primary beam sputters ionized atoms and small molecules (as well as many neutral particles) from the upper few nanometers of the sample surface. The physical basis of SIMS has been applied to a large range of applications utilizing instruments optimized with different types of mass analyzer, either dynamic SIMS with a double focusing mass spectrometer or static SIMS with a Time of Flight (TOF) analyzer.

Repurposing of the PDE5 Inhibitor Sildenafil for the Treatment of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Neonates.

Nitric oxide (NO), an important endogenous signaling molecule released from vascular endothelial cells and nerves, activates the enzyme soluble guanylate cyclase to catalyze the production of cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) from guanosine triphosphate. cGMP, in turn, activates protein kinase G to phosphorylate a range of effector proteins in smooth muscle cells that reduce intracellular Ca levels to inhibit both contractility and proliferation. The enzyme phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) curtails the actions of cGMP by hydrolyzing it into inactive 5'-GMP.

Deletion of murine slc29a4 modifies vascular responses to adenosine and 5-hydroxytryptamine in a sexually dimorphic manner.

Equilibrative nucleoside transporter 4 (ENT4), encoded by SLC29A4, mediates the flux of both 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and adenosine across cell membranes. We hypothesized that loss of ENT4 function in mice would modify the effects of these established regulators of vascular function. Male and female wild-type (WT) and slc29a4-null (ENT4-KO) mice were compared with respect to their hemodynamics and mesenteric vascular function.