Pulmonary Macrophages Attenuate Hypoxic Pulmonary Vasoconstriction via β3AR/iNOS Pathway in Rats Exposed to Chronic Intermittent Hypoxia.

Chronic intermittent hypoxia (IH) induces activation of the sympathoadrenal system, which plays a pivotal role in attenuating hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction (HPV) via central β1-adrenergic receptors (AR) (brain) and peripheral β2AR (pulmonary arteries). Prolonged hypercatecholemia has been shown to upregulate β3AR. However, the relationship between IH and β3AR in the modification of HPV is unknown.

A common FMO3 polymorphism may amplify the effect of nicotine exposure in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Smoking during pregnancy has been identified as one of the major modifiable risk factors of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). It has been demonstrated that the risk of SIDS increases with increasing cigarette consumption. A variety of hypotheses have been proposed for explanation, including a genetic predisposition.

Impact of sodium/proton exchanger 3 gene variants on sudden infant death syndrome.

Objective: To determine the contribution of variations in the sodium/proton exchanger 3 (NHE3) gene in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

Study Design: Variations in the exons and promoter of the NHE3 gene were analyzed with direct sequencing analysis and mini sequencing (SNaPshot analysis) in 251 cases of SIDS, plus 50 infant control subjects who had died of other causes, and 170 healthy adults.

Results: The C2405T variant (exon 16) and 2 polymorphisms in the promoter (G1131A and C1197T) were encountered significantly more frequently in cases of SIDS than in control subjects.

Life-threatening hobbies in the youth? Two autoptic cases suggesting arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy.

Determining the cause for the sudden death in young adults tends to be complex and difficult. Two cases of death of young people were autoptically investigated who died suddenly while carrying out their hobbies (a 22-year-old male musician and a 20-year-old female dancer). In both cases neither the police investigation, the autopsy, nor the toxicological investigations gave any relevant results.

Adeno-associated virus serotypes 1 to 5 mediated tumor cell directed gene transfer and improvement of transduction efficiency.

Background: Gene therapy is an attractive new approach for the treatment of cancer. Therefore, the development of efficient vector systems is of crucial importance in this field. Different adeno-associated virus (AAV) serotypes have been characterized so far, which show considerable differences in tissue tropism.