Gene expression after crush injury of human saphenous vein: using microarrays to define the transcriptional profile.

Background: Vein graft stenosis is believed to be the pathophysiologic response of vascular tissue to injury and is the major cause of vein graft failure. Therapeutic interventions might improve with knowledge of the physiologic pathways involved in the hyperplastic response to vascular injury. In this study, our purpose was to identify induced, early pathways that might be important in the human response to vascular injury.

A new method to measure thyroid uptake with a gamma camera without routine use of a standard source.

Purpose: This study was designed to validate a reliable gamma camera-based method for measuring thyroid uptake. The method is based on a stable calibration procedure and does not require daily use of a standard source. In addition, the method is designed to overcome deadtime losses inherent in uptake probe measurements with iodine-123.

Validation of an in vitro model of human saphenous vein hyperplasia.

Objective: The purpose of this study was the validation of the physiologic appropriateness of in vitro organ culture of human saphenous vein as a model with the demonstration of the occurrence of the processes of cell proliferation, remodeling, and hyperplasia.

Methods: Saphenous vein from 28 patients was cross-sectioned into seven 2-mm segments and maintained in organ culture for 2 days or 2 weeks. Three organ culture media were used: a chemically well-defined medium (RPMI-1640) and the same medium supplemented with the undefined protein-containing supplements fetal bovine serum (FBS) or pooled adult human plasma (type AB).

The sequence of gene expression in cultured human saphenous vein after injury.

Objective: The objective of this study was a description of changes in gene expression that occur in response to mechanical injury of cultured human saphenous vein.

Methods: Restriction fragment differential display (Display Systems Biotech, Vista, Calif) was used for the comparison of the gene expression profile in seven sets of vein, with the first set representing gene expression at the time of harvest of the vein and the other six sets representing different lengths of time in culture with or without crush injury. All seven sets were from a single, freshly harvested vein.