Profiling of aortic smooth muscle cell gene expression in response to chronic inhibition of nitric oxide synthase in rats.

Background: Chronic inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) induces hypertension associated with remodeling of the arterial wall. In this study, we aimed at identifying genes and pathways involved in this process in aortic smooth muscle cells from Fischer 344 rats, which exhibit an accelerated hypertension after administration of L-NAME.

Methods And Results: We studied the transcriptional profile of aortic media after 15 days (moderate hypertension) and 30 days (accelerated hypertension) of L-NAME administration (50 mg x kg(-1) x d(-1)) by using rat Affymetrix Genechips, and we present a large-scale validation of the DNA chip results by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

The ACE gene I/D polymorphism is not associated with the blood pressure and cardiovascular benefits of ACE inhibition.

The insertion/deletion (I/D) polymorphism of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene might have consequences for the risks of vascular diseases. We examined the ACE genotype and the effects of a perindopril-based blood pressure-lowering regimen on macrovascular events, dementia, and cognitive decline among hypertensive and nonhypertensive patients with a history of cerebrovascular disease. ACE I/D genotypes were measured in 5688 of 6105 individuals with previous stroke or transient ischemic attack who participated in the PROGRESS trial.

No physical activity x CETP 1b.-629 interaction effects on lipid profile.

Introduction/purpose: Being physically active may improve the lipid profile by increasing high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (HDL-C) concentrations. Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) transfers cholesteryl esters from HDL to lipoproteins of lower density. The potential interactive effects of physical activity and the CETP A-C polymorphism on exon 1b.

Heterogeneity of linkage disequilibrium in human genes has implications for association studies of common diseases.

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) is the central concept of genetic association studies. Although LD has been shown not to be uniformly distributed across the genome, limited information is available about the characteristics of LD within candidate genes at large. We screened coding and regulatory regions of 50 candidate genes for cardiovascular diseases and identified 228 polymorphisms.

Physical activity may modulate effects of ApoE genotype on lipid profile.

Increased levels of physical activity may improve the lipid profile, but is this effect identical across apolipoprotein E (apoE) genotypes? A population-based cross-sectional survey conducted from 1999 to 2000 included 1708 randomly selected men and women aged 35 to 74 years. A validated physical activity questionnaire measured, for each participant, the total energy expenditure and its percentage used in high-intensity activities (%high-intensity activity), eg, brisk walking and sports. The effects of the apoEx%high-intensity activity interaction on the lipid profile were investigated by using multiple linear regression models.