Effect of continuous positive airway pressure treatment on serum cardiovascular risk factors in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Background: Serum levels of circulating markers associated with cardiovascular morbidity are elevated in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS). These factors are studied in patients mainly before the application of therapy with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), and the effects of CPAP treatment on them have not been thoroughly studied. Therefore, the aim of the study was to examine the effect of compliance to CPAP therapy on these factors.

Metabolic studies of hepatocytes cultured on collagen substrata modified to contain glycosaminoglycans.

Bioartificial liver devices replace the function of the failing liver, using primary hepatocytes cultured in a bioreactor module. Most devices have been based on cartridge designs, but alternative designs using monolayers of cells in a flat plate bioreactor may be more efficacious. Collagen coating improves the maintenance of hepatocytes on polymeric membranes, and in this article the effect of contact with glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) on the function of hepatocytes was assessed.

The influence of glycosaminoglycans and crosslinking agents on the phenotype of hepatocytes cultured on collagen gels.

The use of primary hepatocyte cultures as in vitro models for studying xenobiotic metabolism and toxicity is limited by the loss of liver-specific differentiated functions with time in culture and the inability of the cells to proliferate. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of incorporating 20% chondroitin-6-sulphate (Ch6SO4), a glycosaminoglycan (GAG), into collagen gels (0.3% w/v) and crosslinking the gels with either 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDAC) or 1,6-diaminohexane (DAH) on the expression of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and the activity of cytochrome P450 in hepatocytes cultured for 48 hours and 7 days.