Publications by authors named "L Loufrani"

δ-Sarcoglycan mutation reduces mechanotransduction and induces dilated cardiomyopathy with aging. We hypothesized that in young hamsters with δ-sarcoglycan mutation, which do not show cardiomyopathy, flow mechanotransduction might be affected in resistance arteries as the control of local blood flow. Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured in isolated mesenteric resistance arteries, using 3-mo-old hamsters carrying a mutation in the δ-sarcoglycan gene (CH-147) and their control littermates.

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Aneurysm is the second-most common disease affecting the aorta worldwide after atherosclerosis. While several clinical metabolomic studies have been reported, no study has reported deep metabolomic phenotyping in experimental animal models of aortic aneurysm. We performed a targeted metabolomics study on the blood and aortas of an experimental mice model of aortic aneurysm generated by high-cholesterol diet and angiotensin II in Ldlr mice.

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Flow (shear stress)-mediated dilation (FMD) of resistance arteries is a rapid endothelial response involved in tissue perfusion. FMD is reduced early in cardiovascular diseases, generating a major risk factor for atherosclerosis. As alteration of mitochondrial fusion reduces endothelial cells' (ECs) sprouting and angiogenesis, we investigated its role in ECs responses to flow.

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Article Synopsis
  • Hypoxia and inflammation are key players in the process of revascularization after ischemic events, and sildenafil has been studied for its potential role in enhancing this process.
  • In an experiment with rats, treatment with sildenafil significantly improved vascular density in ischemic limbs compared to control rats, showing almost double the increase in blood flow and arteriolar density at both 7 and 21 days post-ligation.
  • The study indicated that sildenafil promotes tissue blood flow and the growth of new blood vessels through mechanisms independent of VEGF, instead activating pathways involving PI3-kinase, Akt, and eNOS.
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Flow-mediated dilation (FMD) of resistance arteries is essential for tissue perfusion but it decreases with ageing. As estrogen receptor alpha (Erα encoded by ), and more precisely membrane ERα, plays an important role in FMD in young mice in a ligand-independent fashion, we evaluated its influence on this arteriolar function in ageing. We first confirmed that in young (6-month-old) mice, FMD of mesenteric resistance arteries was reduced in (lacking ERα) and C451A-ERα (lacking membrane ERα).

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