Chronic hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) is an important factor in development of arterial hypertension. HHcy is associated with activation of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs); however, it is unclear whether HHcy-dependent extracellular matrix (ECM) accumulation plays a role in arterial hypertrophy and hypertension. We tested the hypothesis that in HHcy the mechanism of arterial hypertension involve...

High-pressure ventilation triggers different inflammatory and matrix remodeling responses within the lung. Although some of them may cause injury, the involvement of these mediators in repair is largely unknown. To identify mechanisms of repair after ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI), mice were randomly assigned to baseline conditions (no ventilation), injury [90 min of high-pressure ventil...

BACKGROUND Metabolic syndrome (MetS) contains a cluster of cardiovascular risk factors. People with MetS are more susceptible to cardiovascular disease, diabetes mellitus, and cancer. Endothelin-1 (ET-1) and matrix metallopeptidase-9 (MMP-9) have been implicated in the development of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus and cancers. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the associat...

Chronic hypertension leads to adaptive processes in the heart, called remodeling, which are characterized by hypertrophic changes of cardiomyocytes and by structural alterations of the extracellular matrix. Although these processes are initially compensatory and preserve cardiac contractile performance, they finally lead to left ventricular (LV) dilatation and heart failure. Thus, factors playi...

Abstract The Water Alternating Gas (WAG) process is a cyclic of injecting alternating water followed by gas. main purpose WAG injection to improve both macroscopic and microscopic sweep efficiency, maintaining nearly initial high pressure, slow down the gas breakthrough reduced oil viscosity. also decreases residual saturation resulted from flow three phases effects associated with relative per...

Mechanical ventilation is a life-saving therapy that can also damage the lungs. Ventilator-induced lung injury (VILI) promotes inflammation and up-regulates matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Among these enzymes, MMP-8 is involved in the onset of inflammation by processing different immune mediators. To clarify the role of MMP-8 in a model of VILI and their relevance as a therapeutic target, we ...

In Japan, the refrigerant used in room air-conditioners has been changed from HCFC-22 (R-22) to R-410A, a blend of HFC-32 and HFC-125 (50/50 vt%), in order to protect the ozone layer. Generally, the miscibility between the refrigerant and refrigeration oil must be assured, because the oil needs to return to the compressor from the refrigeration cycle and lubricate the sliding parts. Alternative...

TIMP-2 protein has been intensively studied as a promising anticancer candidate agent, but the in vivo mechanism underlying its anticancer effect has not been clearly elucidated by previous works. In this study, we investigated the mechanism underlying the anti-tumor effects of a TIMP-2 fusion protein conjugated with human serum albumin (HSA/TIMP-2). Systemic administration of HSA/TIMP-2 effect...

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE STUDY It has been shown previously that the exposure of porcine aortic valve leaflets (PAVL) to elevated pressure or steady shear stress increases extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis. It was hypothesized that exposure of the aortic valves to pressure or shear stress would regulate valvular expression of proteases such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and cathepsins...

BACKGROUND Bone microvascular remodeling is the primary predictor of bone structure and function. Remodeling by its very nature implies synthesis and degradation of the extracellular matrix. Normally, 50% of total protein in the vessel wall is elastin. During remodeling, elastin is degraded by specialized matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Because the turnover of elastin is 1000-fold slower than...