Captopril suppresses post-transplantation angiogenic activity in rat allograft coronary vessels.

Background: The development of transplant coronary artery disease is associated with neovascularization in the thickened neointima. We previously reported that captopril inhibits neointimal proliferation in a rat allograft model. We postulated that angiogenic inducers are upregulated post-transplantation and captopril ameliorates transplant coronary artery disease by suppressing the angiogenic activity of coronaries.

One-pot oligosaccharide synthesis: reactivity tuning by post-synthetic modification of aglycon.

Post-synthetic aglycon modification of substituted aryl thioglycosides led to building blocks with multiple levels of anomeric reactivities, which can be used in rapid assembly of oligosaccharides in one-pot syntheses.

Amplification and propagation of pacemaker Ca2+ signals by cyclic ADP-ribose and the type 3 ryanodine receptor in T cells.

Ligation of the T-cell receptor/CD3 complex results in global Ca(2+) signals that are essential for T-cell activation. We have recently reported that these global Ca(2+) signals are preceded by localized pacemaker Ca(2+) signals. Here, we demonstrate for the first time for human T cells that an increase in signal frequency of subcellular pacemaker Ca(2+) signals at sites close to the plasma membrane, in the cytosol and in the nucleus depends on the type 3 ryanodine receptor (RyR) and its modulation by cyclic ADP-ribose.

Effects of oral genistein in mice.

In cell culture systems, genistein, a soy-derived isoflavone with chemopreventive and estrogenic effects, enhances cAMP-dependent activation of the most common cystic fibrosis-causing mutation, deltaF508-CFTR, by as much as 20-fold. DeltaF508-CFTR is present in the apical membrane at far lower levels than wild-type CFTR. If genistein can enhance cyclic AMP-dependent activity in vivo, the presence of deltaF508-CFTR, at even a few percent of wild-type levels, might permit genistein to be of therapeutic benefit to cystic fibrosis patients with this mutation.

Syntheses and calcium-mobilizing evaluations of N1-glycosyl-substituted stable mimics of cyclic ADP-ribose.

Cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) is not only a potent endogenous calcium modulator but also a second messenger. However, studies on the mechanism of cADPR action were limited due to its instability and lack of available structural modifications in the N1-glyosyl unit of cADPR. In the present work, a series of N1-glycosyl mimics with different configurational glycosyls or an ether strand were designed and synthesized mimicking the furanose ring.

[Effect of transfection of p27(kipl) on lung cancer cells line A549].

Background: To observe the suppressive effects of exogenous p27 gene on human lung cancer cell line A549.

Methods: An adenovirus expression vector (pAd CMV-p27) containing 570 bp human full-length p27 cDNA was transfected into human lung cancer cell line A549. Expression of exogenous p27 gene was detected by dot-blot hybridization and laser co-focal system.

Chemical synthesis and calcium release activity of N(1)-ether strand substituted cADPR mimic.

8-Chloro cyclic inosine 5'-diphosphate ethoxymethyl ether 3 was synthesized by means of chemical method from protected inosine via phenylthio-type biphosphate substrate. The detection of Ca(2+) release activity shows that 3 is a potent agonist of cADPR and has activity in intact Hela cells.

Serum vascular endothelial growth factor as a surveillance marker for cellular rejection in pediatric cardiac transplantation.

Background: Early detection and treatment of acute rejection in cardiac transplant recipients significantly improves long-term survival. Endomyocardial biopsy is used routinely for diagnosing allograft rejection; however, in young children, this procedure carries some risk. We evaluated serum vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a potential surveillance marker of acute cellular rejection.

Apoptosis Occurs in Isolated and Banked Primary Mouse Hepatocytes.

Isolation and cryopreservation of freshly isolated hepatocytes is considered a standard procedure for the long-term storage of liver cells. However, most existing methods for banking hepatocytes do not allow sufficient recovery of viable cells to meet the needs of basic research or clinical trials of hepatocyte transplantation. The mechanisms underlying this poor rate of hepatocyte recovery are unknown.