In blood vessels, vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) generally exist in two major phenotypes: contractile and non-contractile (synthetic). The contractile phenotype is predominant and includes quiescent or differentiated VSMCs, which function as the regulators of blood vessel diameter and blood flow. According to some literature in the field, contractile VSMCs do not switch to the non-contractile phenotype due to the activation of specific transcription factors that are considered as guardians of the contractile phenotype.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEndocardial endothelial cells (EECs) form a monolayer lining the ventricular cavities. Studies from our laboratory and the literature have shown differences between EECs isolated from the right and left ventricles (EECRs and EECLs, respectively). Angiotensin II (Ang II) was shown to induce apoptosis of different cell types mainly via AT receptor activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this paper, exposure to Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) related to bovine meat consumption is assessed based on multiples sources of data, namely data collected within the national research project "SoMeat" that objectively assesses the potential risks and benefits of organic and conventional food production systems in terms of contaminants respective contents. The work focuses on dioxin like PCBs in bovine meat in France. A modular Bayesian approach is proposed including measures after production, effect of cooking, levels and frequency of consumption and effect of digestion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious studies focused on the right ventricular endocardial endothelial cells (EECRs) and showed that angiotensin II (Ang II) induced increase in cytosolic and nuclear calcium via AT receptor activation. In the present study, we verified whether the response of left EECs (EECLs) to Ang II is different than that of EECRs. Our results showed that the EC of the Ang II-induced increase of cytosolic and nuclear calcium in EECLs was 10× higher (around 2 × 10 mol/L) than in EECRs (around 8 × 10 mol/L).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe objective of the present study was to evaluate the anticancer and radio-sensitizing efficacy of a Withania somnifera extract/Gadolinium III oxide nanocomposite (WSGNC) in mice. WSGNC was injected to solid Ehrlich carcinoma-bearing mice via i.p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to describe a short-term ex vivo assay to predict response to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) targeted therapy (gefitinib) in adenocarcinoma patients. Four patients with locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma were treated with gefitinib (250 mg/day) for 14 days and pharmacokinetic (PK) studies were conducted to monitor plasma drug concentrations. Tumor cells were sampled by endoscopic biopsy prior to (baseline, day 0) and at the completion of (day 14) treatment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMetastatic cancers adopt certain properties of normal cells in developing or regenerating organs, such as the ability to proliferate and alter tissue organization. We find here that activity of the Hedgehog (Hh) signalling pathway, which has essential roles in developmental patterning, is required for regeneration of prostate epithelium, and that continuous pathway activation transforms prostate progenitor cells and renders them tumorigenic. Elevated pathway activity furthermore distinguishes metastatic from localized prostate cancer, and pathway manipulation can modulate invasiveness and metastasis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the present study the upper reference limits (URLs) for resting plasma norepinephrine, epinephrine, serum aldosterone, plasma renin activity, aldosterone/renin activity ratio, as well as urinary vanillylmandelic acid in healthy Egyptian normotensive subjects over a range of ages (5-60 yr) were established. There was a significant age effect on plasma norepinephrine, UVMA, serum aldosterone and PRA, whereas a single URL for plasma epinephrine level is satisfactory. In uncomplicated untreated essential hypertensive subjects (5-60 yr), the average prevalence of elevation in the plasma norepinephrine, epinephrine and urinary vanillylmandelic acid above their corresponding URLs was 85.
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