Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is defined as an impairment in the vasodilatory, anti-thrombotic, and anti-inflammatory properties of the cells that make up the lining of blood vessels. ED is considered a key step in the development of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The association between ED and systemic inflammatory diseases is well established.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe thymic development of regulatory T (T) cells, crucial suppressors of the responses of effector T (T) cells, is governed by the transcription factor FOXP3. Despite the clinical importance of T cells, there is a dearth of druggable molecular targets capable of increasing their numbers in vivo. We found that inhibiting the function of the TRPM7 chanzyme (ion channel and enzyme) potentiated the thymic development of T cells in mice and led to a substantially higher frequency of functional T cells in the periphery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropathic pain symptoms respond poorly to available therapeutics, with most treated patients reporting unrelieved pain and significant impairment in daily life. Here, we show that Pannexin 1 (Panx1) in hematopoietic cells is required for pain-like responses following nerve injury in mice, and a potential therapeutic target. Panx1 knockout mice (Panx1) were protected from hypersensitivity in two sciatic nerve injury models.
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