Engineered zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) are currently being produced in high tonnage. Exposure to ZnO-NPs presents potential risks to cardiovascular system. Thus far, the toxicological effects of ZnO-NPs on cardiovascular system have not been well characterized. In this study, human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were exposed to ZnO-NPs directly or indirectly using a transwell...

Rapamycin is a macrolide antibiotic that inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration and that is used clinically on drug-eluting stents to inhibit in-stent restenosis. Although inhibition of cell migration is an asset in preventing restenosis, it also leads to impaired stent endothelialization, a significant limitation of current drug-eluting stent technology that necessita...

Adipocytes are nowadays recognised as cells able to produce and secrete a large variety of active substances termed adipokines, which exert direct effects on vascular cells. Among these adipokines, leptin has been proposed to play a role in the pathophysiology of acute coronary syndromes, as well as in increasing cardiovascular risk. At the moment, however, the mechanisms linking leptin to card...

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have high risk of cardiovascular complications. Plasma levels of carbamylated proteins produced by urea-derived isocyanate or thiocyanate are elevated in CKD patients and that they are significant predictors of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. Carbamylated LDL (cLDL) has pro-atherogenic properties and is known to affect major biological p...

Activation of NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) is a potential therapeutic intervention against endothelial cell oxidative stress and associated vascular disease. We hypothesized that treatment with the phytochemicals in the patented dietary supplement Protandim would induce Nrf2 nuclear localization and phase II antioxidant enzyme protein in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs), protec...

Elastin peptides (EPs) generated by hydrolysis of elastic fibers by elastinolytic enzymes display a wide spectrum of biological activities. Here, we investigated their influence on rat heart ischemia-mediated injury using the Langendorff ex vivo model. EPs, i.e., kappa elastin, at 1.32- and 660-nM concentrations, when administered before the ischemia period, elicited a beneficial influence agai...

Trypanosoma cruzi infection, which is the etiological agent of Chagas disease, is associated with intense inflammation during the acute and chronic phases. The pathological progression of Chagas disease is influenced by the infiltration and transmigration of inflammatory cells across the endothelium to infected tissues, which are carefully regulated processes involving several molecular mediato...

Although atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used extensively to characterize cell membrane structure and cellular processes such as endocytosis and exocytosis, the corrugated surface of the cell membrane hinders the visualization of extracellular entities, such as liposomes, that may interact with the cell. To overcome this barrier, we used 90 nm nanogold particles to label FITC liposomes a...

The relative radiation sensitivities of the various compartments of the heart are poorly characterized. Cardiac fibrosis is a common side effect of radiotherapy, suggesting that endothelial barrier function is an important factor in radiation-induced pathology. We employed Electric Cell Substrate Impedance Sensing (ECIS) to assess cytoskeletal rearrangement, permeability changes and endothelial...