Gender differences in experimental aortic aneurysm formation.

Objective: It is hypothesized that a male predominance, similar to that in humans, persists in a rodent model of experimental abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) via alterations in matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

Methods And Results: Group I experiments were as follows: elastase perfusion of the infrarenal aorta was performed in male (M) and female (F) rats. At 14 days, aortas were harvested for immunohistochemistry, real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and zymography.

Variation in postoperative complication rates after high-risk surgery in the United States.

Objective: Our goal was to characterize variation in complication rates across hospitals with differing volumes for select high-risk operations in the United States.

Methods: Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 1996 and 1997 were analyzed for 3 high-risk operations: esophagectomy (n=1,226), pancreatectomy (n=4,789), and intact abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (n=11,863). Complications evaluated included aspiration, cardiac complications, infection, pneumonia, pulmonary failure, renal failure, septicemia, and others.

Dominant-negative suppression of I(K1) in the mouse heart leads to altered cardiac excitability.

The inward rectifier potassium current in the heart, I(K1), has been suggested to play a significant role in cardiac excitability by contributing to the late phase of action potential (AP) repolarization and the stabilization of resting potential. To further assess the role of I(K1) in cardiac excitability we have produced transgenic mice expressing a dominant-negative subunit of the Kir2.1 channel, a major molecular determinant of I(K1) in the heart, and studied the effects of I(K1) suppression on major potassium currents, APs and the overall electrical activity of the heart.

Screening and preoperative imaging of candidates for conventional repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm.

This article summarizes considerations in screening for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) and preoperative imaging before conventional surgical repair. Because death of this relatively common disease can be prevented by an effective treatment, there is great interest in early detection and elective repair. The prevalence of AAA in older adults (65 to 80 years of age) varies from 4% to 7%.

C. elegans MAC-1, an essential member of the AAA family of ATPases, can bind CED-4 and prevent cell death.

In the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, CED-4 plays a central role in the regulation of programmed cell death. To identify proteins with essential or pleiotropic activities that might also regulate cell death, we used the yeast two-hybrid system to screen for CED-4-binding proteins. We identified MAC-1, a member of the AAA family of ATPases that is similar to Smallminded of Drosophila.