Potential roles of large mafs in cell lineages and developing pancreas.

Objectives: Maf is a family of transcription factor proteins characterized by a typical bZip structure, and mafA, a member of the large-maf family, is a strong transactivator of insulin in cell lines. The present study investigated the expression profiles of the large-maf family proteins in porcine pancreatic tissue and in primary culture cells.

Methods: Immunohistochemical staining was performed to localize each maf protein.

Effects of antisecretory agents on angiogenesis during healing of gastric ulcers.

Background: We studied the effects of a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) and an H2-receptor antagonist (H2-blocker) on angiogenesis during gastric ulcer healing, by examining stromal cell-derived factor (SDF-1) and CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) expression in the gastric mucosa.

Methods: Patients with gastric ulcers were allocated to an untreated control group, consisting of patients with active ulcers (GA), healing ulcers (GH), and ulcer scars (GS) or a PPI group (P; given rabeprazole at 20 mg/day), or an H2-blocker group (H; given nizatidine at 800 mg/day). Frozen sections of biopsy specimens were examined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to analyze SDF-1 and CXCR4 mRNA.

Relation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha to vascular endothelial growth factor and vasoactive factors during healing of gastric ulcers.

We studied the relation of hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha (HIF-1alpha) to vascular endothelial growth factor and vasoactive factors during the healing of gastric ulcers. The gastric ulcers were divided into three stages (active stage, healing stage and scar stage). The expression of HIF-1alpha, endothelin-1, inducible nitric oxide synthase, and vascular endothelial growth factor mRNA was highest during the active stage of ulcer healing, and endothelin-1, vascular endothelial growth factor protein levels and nitric oxide were higher during the healing stage.

Roles of angiogenic factors and endothelin-1 in gastric ulcer healing.

Endothelins (ETs) participate directly and indirectly in angiogenesis via ET receptors. During early fetal angiogenesis, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its receptors kinase insert domain-containing receptor (KDR) and fms-like tyrosine kinase-1 (Flt-1) are required for the development of the systemic vasculature. In late angiogenesis, stromal-cell-derived factor (SDF-1) and its receptor CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4) act in an organ-specific manner to promote the formation and development of large blood vessels supplying the gastrointestinal tract.