Small caliber heparin loaded ultrafine microfiber woven graft achieved high patency rate in a preliminary study of canine carotid artery implantation.

Objective: In the past five decades, many small caliber vascular grafts have been developed as bypasses for infrapopliteal or coronary arteries. However, reliable grafts have not been obtained owing to poor patency, mainly caused by early thrombosis or neointimal hyperplasia in the intermediate period after implantation. We developed a novel small caliber heparin-loaded polyethylene terephthalate ultrafine microfiber (HL-PET) graft and evaluated the feasibility to overcome those main causes of graft failure in canine carotid artery implantation.

Expression of chromobox homolog 7 (CBX7) is associated with poor prognosis in ovarian clear cell adenocarcinoma via TRAIL-induced apoptotic pathway regulation.

Ovarian cancer is the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, and clear cell adenocarcinoma of the ovary (OCCA), in particular, has a relatively poor prognosis among the ovarian cancer subtypes because of its high chemoresistance. Chromobox (CBX) 7 is a polycomb repressive complex 1 component that prolongs the lifespan of normal human cells by downregulating the INK4a/ARF expression which promotes cell-cycle progression. However, recent reports studying the relationship between CBX7 expression and patient survival have differed regarding the tumor cell origins, and the precise role of CBX7 in human carcinomas remains obscure.

A novel vitamin K1 2,3-epoxide reductase (VKOR) inhibitor, 3-acetyl-5-methyltetronic acid, reduces experimental glomerulonephritis.

Excessive proliferation of mesangial cells is observed in various types of glomerular disease including glomerulonephritis (GN), which is progressive in nature and eventually results in end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Vitamin K(1) 2,3-epoxide reductase (VKOR) and the vitamin K-dependent growth arrest-specific gene 6/Axl pathway play a key role in mesangial cell proliferation in GN. In the present study, we indicate the potential of a VKOR inhibitor, 3-acetyl-5-methyltetronic acid (AMT), to prevent the proliferation of glomerular mesangial cells and suppress the progression of GN.

Urinary cystatin C as a biomarker for acute kidney injury and its immunohistochemical localization in kidney in the CDDP-treated rats.

Cystatin C, a cysteine protease inhibitor, is a novel biomarker of renal damage. In the present study, we examined the urinary and plasma levels of cystatin C and how useful they are for the early detection of acute kidney injury (AKI) in CDDP-treated rats in comparison with other biomarkers (β2-microglobulin, calbindin, clusterin, EGF, GST-α, GST-μ, KIM-1, NGAL, osteopontin, TIMP-1, and VEGF). The urinary levels of cystatin C, GST-α, KIM-1, and EGF changed prior to proximal tubule damage and increases in plasma urea nitrogen and creatinine levels, suggesting their usefulness for predicting AKI.

Localization of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) in kidney of ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mice.

ICR-derived glomerulonephritis (ICGN) mice are a known inbred strain with hereditary nephrotic syndrome and are considered a good animal model of human idiopathic nephrotic syndrome. ICGN mice show proteinuria at a young age, and hypoalbuminemia, hyperlipidemia, anemia and edema accompanies their symptoms with aging. In addition, ICGN mice develop severe anemia with the progression of renal fibrosis similar to human chronic kidney disease (CKD).

Anticoagulant effect of sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S) in rats.

Sodium dehydroacetate (DHA-S) is used as a food additive, preservative and antimicrobial agent. Repeated oral administration of DHA-S in rats induced severe hemorrhage in multiple organs and prolongation of blood coagulation factors. To determine the mechanism of hemorrhage, the protective effect of vitamin K (VK) was investigated.

Cisplatin (CDDP)-induced acute toxicity in an experimental model of hepatic fibrosis.

Cisplatin (CDDP)-induced acute toxicity was investigated in an experimental model of liver fibrosis produced through repeated intraperitoneal injections of swine serum in rats. A significant increase in level of hepatic markers, such as plasma ASAT, LDH, glucose, total cholesterol and bile acid levels, and a significant decrease in the plasma triacylglycerol level were observed. Slight histological changes, such as necrosis, vacuolar degeneration, and the proliferation of bile ducts were observed as compared with the control fibrotic rats.

Molecular characterization of sequence and expression of chicken GPR39.

GPR39 has been recently proposed to be a specific receptor for a novel anorexic peptide, obestatin, isolated from rat stomach. Obestatin is generated from the proprotein for ghrelin by proteolytic cleavage and shows opposing action to ghrelin in the regulation of food intake and gastrointestinal movement. In this study, we performed cDNA cloning for chicken GPR39 and characterized expression profiles of its mRNA in chicken tissues.