Background Liver fibrosis and cirrhosis are late complications common to liver diseases of different etiology such as viral hepatitis and alcoholic liver disease. Irrespective of the initial cause of liver disease, activation of hepatic stellate cells is a crucial step in the fibrotic pathomechanism. Activated hepatic stellate cells produce excess collagen as well as profibrotic cytokines and c...

TLR ligands are potent activators of dendritic cells and therefore function as adjuvants for the induction of immune responses. We analyzed the capacity of TLR ligands to enhance CD8+ T cell responses toward soluble protein Ag. Immunization with OVA together with LPS or poly(I:C) elicited weak CD8+ T cell responses in wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Surprisingly, these responses were greatly increased ...

Nitric oxide (NO) is an essential vasodilator. In vascular diseases, oxidative stress attenuates NO signaling by both chemical scavenging of free NO and oxidation and downregulation of its major intracellular receptor, the alphabeta heterodimeric heme-containing soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC). Oxidation can also induce loss of the heme of sGC, as well as the responsiveness of sGC to NO. sGC ac...

Oxidative stress, a central mediator of cardiovascular disease, results in loss of the prosthetic haem group of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), preventing its activation by nitric oxide (NO). Here we introduce Apo-sGC mice expressing haem-free sGC. Apo-sGC mice are viable and develop hypertension. The haemodynamic effects of NO are abolished, but those of the sGC activator cinaciguat are enhan...

Purified human pancreatic alpha-amylase (alpha-1,4-glucan 4-glucano-hydrolase, EC 3.2.1.1) was found to be stable over a wide range of pH values (5.0 to 10.5) with an optimal pH for the enzymatic activity of 7.0. The Michaelis constant of the enzyme at optimal pH and assay conditions was found to be 2.51 mg per ml for soluble starch. Halide ions were required for the activity of the enzyme wher...

The activation of plasminogen by two novel hybrid enzymes, constructed from the A-chain of plasmin and the B-chains of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) or urokinase, was compared with the activation by the parent enzymes. Basal kinetic constants for 'Lys-plasminogen' (human plasminogen with N-terminal lysine) and 'Glu-plasminogen' (human plasminogen with N-terminal glutamic acid) activa...

This article assesses the state-of-the-art for research on one-part alkali-activated materials, with particular emphasis recent work dealing constituent preparation methods, fresh properties, mechanical and durability characteristics. The review, which covers over 170 studies, first discusses different precursors, solid activators, admixtures, aggregates used within such materials. Preparation ...

Introduction Cinaciguat (BAY 58-2667) is an nitric oxide (NO)-independent and heme-independent soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) activator. Cinaciguat preferentially activates sGC in its oxidized or heme-free state, when the enzyme is insensitive to its endogenous ligand NO and exogenous nitrovasodilators [1]. Endothelium-derived NO is one of the mechanisms by which platelet aggregation and throm...

pletely inhibit EVT migration, plateletderived soluble factors other than chemokines most likely also play a role in EVT migration. Though other studies have suggested that a lipid mediator, sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), is released from platelets,4 Sato and colleagues found that lipid removal from platelet-CM by charcoal stripping did not affect migration. However, heat inactivation of peptid...

cAMP is a critical second messenger mediating activity-dependent neuronal survival and neurite growth. We investigated the expression and function of the soluble adenylyl cyclase (sAC, ADCY10) in CNS retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). We found sAC protein expressed in multiple RGC compartments including the nucleus, cytoplasm and axons. sAC activation increased cAMP above the level seen with transm...