Age-dependent defective TGF-beta1 signaling in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting.

Background: Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine, which is deregulated in atherosclerosis; however the role of age in this process is unknown. We aimed to assess whether TGF-β1 signaling is affected by age.

Methods: Vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) were obtained from patients undergoing abdominal surgery.

The complex regulation of TGF-β in cardiovascular disease.

Transforming growth factor β (TGF-β1) is a pleiotropic cytokine with many and complex effects in cell and tissue physiology. This is made possible by a very complex and interwoven signaling system, whose regulation continues to be the focus of a growing line of research. This complex regulation translates to a key role in cardiovascular physiology, hemostasis, and the blood-vessel interface.

Decreased pre-surgical CD34+/CD144+ cell number in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting compared to coronary artery disease-free valvular patients.

Background: Cardiovascular disease has been linked to endothelial progenitor cell (EPC) depletion and functional impairment in atherosclerosis and aortic stenosis. EPCs may play a pivotal role in vascular grafting. However, the EPC depletion in coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients has not been compared to coronary artery disease-free valvular replacement patients with aortic stenosis.

Pharmacological basis and clinical evidence of dabigatran therapy.

Dabigatran is an emerging oral anticoagulant which is a direct inhibitor of thrombin activity. It has been approved in the European Union and the United States of America for the prevention of thrombosis after major orthopedic surgery. It has also been approved by the American Food and Drug Administration and the European Medicines Agency for the prevention of stroke in chronic atrial fibrillation.

Role of TGF-beta1 and MAP kinases in the antiproliferative effect of aspirin in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

Background: We aimed to test the antiproliferative effect of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from bypass surgery patients and the role of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-beta1).

Methodology/principal Findings: VSMC were isolated from remaining internal mammary artery from patients who underwent bypass surgery. Cell proliferation and DNA fragmentation were assessed by ELISA.