Vitamin E in heart transplantation: effects on cardiac gene expression.

Background: Oxidative stress, as induced in organ storage or upon reperfusion, may impact the quality of the transplant. Vitamin E, a radical scavenger, may alleviate stress associated with cardiac surgery.

Methods: We investigated the effects of vitamin E treatment in a rat heart transplantation model and link dose to tissue and plasma vitamin E levels.

Androgen metabolism in thymus of fetal and adult rats.

Cytochrome P450 (P450) monooxygenases play a role in target tissue metabolic activation of xenobiotics and/or endogenous compounds, such as vasoactive molecules or hormones. Indeed, tissue-specific metabolism of steroids is important in a variety of organs, including thymus, and may alter tissue-specific functions. Steroids have been shown to regulate thymus growth and function, but surprisingly little is known about expression of the responsible enzyme systems in thymus tissue, nor is the thymus-specific biotransformation of testosterone known.