Intramyocardial arterial cushions of coronary vessels in animals and humans: morphology, occurrence and relation to heart disease.

The existence of coronary endoarterial cushions (CEC) in the human heart as nonpathological, functional entities has been debated, and CEC have been sparsely reported in animals. Arterial cushions are localized thickenings that protrude into the lumen of specific arteries. We have identified CEC in the rhesus monkey, dog, sheep, goat, pig, rabbit and rat, and in the human heart.

Characterization and identification of interleukin-1 receptors on bovine fibroblasts.

Interleukin-1 (IL-1), a pro-inflammatory cytokine, initiates its many biological effects by first binding to cell-surface receptors. Prior to this study, there were no published reports addressing the nature of the bovine IL-1 receptor. In this study, we characterized and identified cell-surface IL-1 receptors on bovine fibroblasts.