Adiponectin Attenuates Angiotensin II-Induced Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Remodeling through Nitric Oxide and the RhoA/ROCK Pathway.

Introduction: Adiponectin (APN), an adipocytokine, exerts protective effects on cardiac remodeling, while angiotensin II (Ang II) induces hypertension and vascular remodeling. The potential protective role of APN on the vasculature during hypertension has not been fully elucidated yet. Here, we evaluate the molecular mechanisms of the protective role of APN in the physiological response of the vascular wall to Ang II.

Anti-angiogenesis therapy and gap junction inhibition reduce MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell invasion and metastasis in vitro and in vivo.

Cancer cells secrete VEGF, which plays a key role in their growth, invasion, extravasation and metastasis. Direct cancer cell-endothelial cell interaction, mediated by gap junctions, is of critical importance in the extravasation process. In this study, we evaluated avastin (Av), an anti-VEGF antibody; and oleamide (OL), a gap junction inhibitor, using MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells in vitro and a xenograft murine model in vivo.

Acellular bone marrow extracts significantly enhance engraftment levels of human hematopoietic stem cells in mouse xeno-transplantation models.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) derived from cord blood (CB), bone marrow (BM), or mobilized peripheral blood (PBSC) can differentiate into multiple lineages such as lymphoid, myeloid, erythroid cells and platelets. The local microenvironment is critical to the differentiation of HSCs and to the preservation of their phenotype in vivo. This microenvironment comprises a physical support supplied by the organ matrix as well as tissue specific cytokines, chemokines and growth factors.

Characterization of Hwp2, a Candida albicans putative GPI-anchored cell wall protein necessary for invasive growth.

Various factors are thought to be responsible for Candida albicans virulence, such as lipases, proteases and adhesins. Many of these factors are GPI-anchored cell surface proteins responsible for pathogenicity. Hwp2 is a putative GPI-anchored protein.

The Candida albicans Ddr48 protein is essential for filamentation, stress response, and confers partial antifungal drug resistance.

Background: Candida albicans is a dimorphic pathogenic fungus that causes mucosal and systemic infections. C. albicans pathogenicity is attributed to its ability to exist in different morphologic states and to respond to stress by up regulating several key genes.