Hyperglycemia-induced endothelial dysfunction is alleviated by thioredoxin mimetic peptides through the restoration of VEGFR-2-induced responses and improved cell survival.

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an important cardiovascular risk factor characterized by elevated plasma glucose levels. High glucose (HG) negatively influences endothelial cell (EC) function, which is characterized by the inability of ECs to respond to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) stimulation. We aimed to identify potential strategies to improve EC function in diabetes.

Hyperglycaemia-induced methylglyoxal accumulation potentiates VEGF resistance of diabetic monocytes through the aberrant activation of tyrosine phosphatase SHP-2/SRC kinase signalling axis.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a major cardiovascular risk factor contributing to cardiovascular complications by inducing vascular cell dysfunction. Monocyte dysfunction could contribute to impaired arteriogenesis response in DM patients. DM monocytes show blunted chemotactic responses to arteriogenic stimuli, a condition termed as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) resistance.

Porcine coronary collateral formation in the absence of a pressure gradient remote of the ischemic border zone.

In the current paradigm on coronary collateral development, it is assumed that these vessels develop consequentially from increased fluid shear stress (FSS) through preexisting collateral arteries. The increased FSS follows from an increase in pressure gradient between the region at risk and well-perfused surroundings. The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that, in the heart, collateral connections can form in the absence of an increased FFS and consequentially at any depth and region within the ventricular wall.

Soluble Jagged-1 inhibits neointima formation by attenuating Notch-Herp2 signaling.

Objective: Notch has been implicated in neointima formation as reflected by increased Notch/Jagged expression on vascular injury and the promigratory effect of Notch signaling on smooth muscle cells. Soluble Jagged-1 (sJag1) has been shown to inhibit Notch signaling in vitro; however, its capacity to suppress neointima formation remains unknown.

Methods And Results: Balloon injury of rat carotid arteries induced Notch1, Notch3, and Jagged-1 expression at days 3 and 14 postinjury.

Feed-forward signaling by membrane-bound ligand receptor circuit: the case of NOTCH DELTA-like 4 ligand in endothelial cells.

The DELTA like-4 ligand (DLL4) belongs to the highly conserved NOTCH family and is specifically expressed in the endothelium. DLL4 regulates crucial processes in vascular growth, including endothelial cell (EC) sprouting and arterial specification. Its expression is increased by VEGF-A.

Update on therapeutic neovascularization.

Therapeutic neovascularization for cardiovascular ischemia is a promising avenue in spite of disappointing early clinical trial results. The concept of three different mechanisms of neovascularization has served to define potential therapeutic targets such as vascular remodeling and stem cell recruitment, but it is anticipated that this will lose significance as the pleiotropic nature of angiogenic cytokines becomes fully understood. With the rapidly growing body of data on growth factors and pro-angiogenic strategies, approaches will emerge that are more effective than the ones that have been tested clinically thus far.