AIMS To determine the diagnostic utility of circulating angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and its antagonist angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) as potential biomarkers of disease severity or response to treatment in idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH). Imbalances in angiogenic factors including vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) and the angiopoetin-Tie2 receptor system have been implicated i...

Background The ability of Shigella to invade, colonize, and eventually kill host cells is influenced by many virulence factors. However, there is no analysis of related genes in Jiangsu Province of China so far. Shigella flexneri was collected from 13 cities of Jiangsu Province through the provincial Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for analysis of distribution of major virulence genes (ipaH, ...

BACKGROUND Identification, understanding of antibiotic sensitivity patterns and molecular characterization of genetic elements of Shigella species are important because of both epidemiological and clinical indications in developing countries. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyze molecular epidemiology of Shigella isolates recovered from children with diarrhea in Shiraz (Southern Ir...

conclusions cp could be considered as an index for the prediction of vasoreactivity in patients with ipah. prediction of long-term response to calcium channel blockers in patients with ipah and a positive vasoreactive test by this index should be addressed in further studies. patients and methods fourteen patients with ipah and a vasoreactive adenosine vasoreactivity testing according to the es...

Pathogenicity of many Gram-negative bacteria relies on a type III secretion (T3S) apparatus, which is used for delivery of bacterial effectors into the host cell cytoplasm allowing the bacteria to manipulate host cell cytoskeleton network as well as to interfere with intracellular signaling pathways. In this study, we investigated the potential of the Shigella flexneri T3SA as an in vivo delive...

Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) is a rare, chronically progressive disease associated with high mortality. Despite remarkable achievements in treatment, prognosis remains poor with a survival rate of ,60% 3 years after diagnosis [1]. The clinical course of the disease (short survival and no cure), as well as its pathophysiological aspects, reveals analogies between IPAH and ne...

We present a case of a 36-year-old woman who developed a severe form of Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH) during pregnancy and after emergency delivery. The management of IPAH during or after pregnancy is complex. Due to the severity of her IPAH, an upfront triple combination therapy, including i.v. epoprostenol, was started. The rapid institution of this treatment regimen allow...

Objective. Systemic sclerosis-associated pulmonary arterial hypertension (SScPAH) has a disturbed function of the right ventricle (RV) when compared to idiopathic PAH (IPAH). Systemic sclerosis may also affect the heart. We hypothesize that RV differences may occur at the level of interstitial inflammation and-fibrosis and compared inflammatory cell infiltrate and fibrosis between the RV of SSc...

BACKGROUND Systemic sclerosis–associated pulmonary artery hypertension (SScPAH) has a worse prognosis compared with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), with a median survival of 3 years after diagnosis often caused by right ventricular (RV) failure. We tested whether SScPAH or systemic sclerosis–related pulmonary hypertension with interstitial lung disease imposes a greater pulmo...

Oxidative stress may play a role in the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) [1–4]. A major contributor to oxidative stress is the endothelium-bound enzyme xanthine oxidase (XO), which is involved in the generation of superoxide anions and peroxynitrite [5]. These reactive oxygen species have been implicated in endothelial dysfunction and vascular damage [5]. In viv...