Estradiol administration differentially affects the response to experimental psychosocial stress in post-menopausal women with or without a history of major depression.

Background:: The effects of estradiol on the brain regions involved in the response to stress and emotional processes may be particularly important in women who have alterations in these systems that make them vulnerable to Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This study examined whether the effect of estradiol administration on the subjective distress and mood response to a laboratory-based psychosocial stress task differs in women with and without a history of MDD.

Methods:: Participants were 65 euthymic postmenopausal women, with and without a history of MDD.

Stanniocalcin-2 overexpression reduces atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic mice.

Background And Aim: The metalloproteinase pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) has been suggested as a proatherogenic molecule by its ability to locally increase insulin-like growth factor signaling. Stanniocalcin-2 (STC2) was recently discovered to be a potent inhibitor of PAPP-A activity, but has not previously been implicated in vascular disease. The aim of this study was to substantiate the interaction between PAPP-A and STC2 as a potential local regulatory mechanism in the artery wall.

Rough-Form Lipopolysaccharide Increases Apoptosis in Human CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T Lymphocytes.

Immunosuppression induced by lymphocyte apoptosis is considered an important factor in the pathogenesis of sepsis and has been demonstrated in both animal models of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemia and septic patients. As rough-form LPS (R-LPS) has recently been shown to elicit a stronger immunological response than regular smooth-form LPS (S-LPS), we aimed to assess the apoptosis-inducing capabilities of R-LPS in different subsets of lymphocytes (CD4(+) T cells, CD8(+) T cell, B cells and NK cells). Using multicolour flow cytometry on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells, we found that R-LPS increased apoptosis in CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells assessed by annexin V and propidium iodide (AV(+) PI(-)), compared with both S-LPS-stimulated and unstimulated cells.

Effects of glucose, glycerol, 3-hydroxybutyrate, insulin, and leptin on placental growth hormone secretion in placental explants.

Placental growth hormone (PGH) is secreted from the syncytiotrophoblast in increasing amounts during pregnancy. The physiology and regulation of PGH is not well known; however, low glucose levels appear to stimulate PGH liberation IN VITRO and IN VIVO. PGH appears to have lipolytic effects, and inverse correlations between maternal body mass index and serum PGH levels have been reported.

Bone morphogenetic proteins regulate osteoprotegerin and its ligands in human vascular smooth muscle cells.

The bone-related protein osteoprotegerin (OPG) may be involved in the development of vascular calcifications, especially in diabetes, where it has been found in increased amounts in the arterial wall. Experimental studies suggest that members of the TGF-superfamily are involved in the transformation of human vascular smooth muscle cells (HVSMC) to osteoblast-like cells. In this study, we evaluated the effect of BMP-2, BMP-7 and transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta1) on the secretion and mRNA expression of OPG and its ligands receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappabeta ligand (RANKL) and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) in HVSMC.