High magnesium mitigates the vasoconstriction mediated by different types of calcium influx from monocrotaline-induced pulmonary hypertensive rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? What is the involvement of Mg in mitigating the vasoconstriction in pulmonary arteries and smaller pulmonary arteries in the monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension (MCT-PAH) rat model? What are the main finding and its importance? Both store-operated Ca entry- and receptor-operated Ca entry-mediated vasoconstriction were enhanced in the MCT-PAH model. High magnesium inhibited vasoconstriction by directly antagonizing Ca and increasing NO release, and this was more notable in smaller pulmonary arteries.

Abstract: Increased extracellular magnesium concentration has been shown to attenuate the endothelin-1-induced contractile response via the release of nitric oxide (NO) from the endothelium in proximal pulmonary arteries (PAs) of chronic hypoxic mice.

TRPC3 promotes tumorigenesis of gastric cancer via the CNB2/GSK3β/NFATc2 signaling pathway.

The transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels have been implicated in various types of malignancies including gastric cancer (GC). However, the detailed mechanisms of TRPC channels underlying cell proliferation and apoptosis of GC cells remain largely unknown. Here, we report that TRPC3 was highly expressed in clinical GC specimens and correlated with GC malignant progression and poor prognosis.

Magnesium Supplementation Attenuates Pulmonary Hypertension via Regulation of Magnesium Transporters.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is characterized by profound vascular remodeling and altered Ca homeostasis in pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). Magnesium ion (Mg), a natural Ca antagonist and a cofactor for numerous enzymes, is crucial for regulating diverse cellular functions, but its roles in PH remains unclear. Here, we examined the roles of Mg and its transporters in PH development.

Synchronous detection of vascular tension and nitric oxide release in pulmonary artery: A combined application of confocal wire myograph with confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Objectives: To detect the vascular tension and nitric oxide (NO) release synchronously in mice pulmonary artery, we perform two experiments and present a novel application of confocal wire myograph coupled with the confocal laser scanning microscopy.

Methods: In the first experiment, viable endothelium-intact mouse pulmonary artery (outer diameter 100-300 μM) rings underwent a one-hour preincubation with a NO-specific fluorescent dye, 4-amino-5-methylamino-2',7'-difluorofluorescein diacetate Calbiochem (2.5 μM), and then precontracted with phenylephrine (Phen, 10 M), and subsequently dilated in acetylcholine (ACh, 10 M - 10 M).

Increased caveolin-1 expression enhances the receptor-operated Ca entry in the aorta of two-kidney, one-clip hypertensive rats.

New Findings: What is the central question of this study? The aim was to examine and compare the contributions of caveolin-1 to the contractile responses mediated by L-type voltage-dependent calcium channels, store-operated Ca channels and receptor-operated Ca channels in two different types of arteries from two-kidney, one-clip hypertensive rats. What is the main finding and its importance? We demonstrated that the density of caveolae and caveolin-1 expression were significantly upregulated in the aorta of two-kidney, one-clip hypertensive rats, but not in the third-order branches of mesenteric arteries. We highlight that caveolin-1 plays an important role in aortic constriction by enhancing receptor-operated Ca entry in the hypertensive rat model.

Gestational diabetes mellitus alters DNA methylation profiles in pancreas of the offspring mice.

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), which has an increasing global prevalence, contributes to the susceptibility to metabolic dysregulation and obesity in the offspring via epigenetic modifications. However, the underlying mechanism remains largely obscure. The current study established a GDM mice model to investigate the alternations in the metabolic phenotypes and genomic DNA methylation in the pancreas of the offspring.

Is β-cell aging involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes?

Background: β-Cells at different stages have different functions and capacity for proliferation, regenerative and apoptosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether there are changes in β-cell phonotype in the development of diabetes to identify potential β-cell targets to prevent the progression of diabetes.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed on pancreatic tissues obtained from 80 patients classified into three groups: 25 with type 2 diabetes (T2D), 25 with impaired fasting glucose (IFG), and 30 non-diabetics (ND).