Although in a gross sense fibrin is merely a collection of fibrinogen molecules packed together in bundles, numerous small structural differences can arise as a result of the conversion of the soluble precursor into the gelled product. Some of the consequences are obvious, others more subtle. In one way or another, all these changes are the result of a sequence of events that includes the relea...

Background Soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) is a ubiquitously expressed enzyme that synthesizes the second messenger cGMP. sGC has low basal activity which can be stimulated several hundred-fold by nitric oxide. Although, many NO activators and stimulators have been described only two chemically related sGC inhibitors exist: ODQ and NS-2028. The use of the above mentioned sGC inhibitors has helpe...

Background Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) is the signal transduction enzyme most responsible for mediating the effects of nitric oxide by producing cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) from guanosine triphosphate (GTP). NOcGMP signaling is vital to proper cardiovascular function. Deficiencies in the production of either NO or cGMP contribute to cardiovascular disorders. Therapies designed to ...

Optimal storage conditions to retain ribulose 1, 5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) activity were investigated. The soluble spinach (Spinacia oleracea) enzyme was pretreated with its activators, Mg(2+) and HCO(3) (-), and then stored for up to 30 days at 4 or -18 degrees C or in liquid N(2). Cold inactivation and conformational changes were suggested to be involved during Rubisco st...

The IL-1R/TLR family has been receiving considerable attention as potential regulators of inflammation through their ability to act as either activators or suppressors of inflammation. Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by airway hyperresponsiveness, allergic inflammation, elevated serum total, allergen-specific IgE levels, and increased Th2 cytokine production. The discover...

This review summarizes the role of soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC)-cyclic guanosine 3', 5'-monophosphate pathways in heart failure and several new drugs that modify guanylate cyclase. The sGC activators and stimulators as modulators of sGC are promising drugs in the therapy for decompensated heart failure and pulmonary hypertension. Cinaciguat is a nitric oxide (NO)-independent direct activator...

Alkali-activated materials are promising low-carbon alternatives to Portland cement; however, there remains an absence of a fundamental understanding the effect different activator types on their reaction products at atomic scale. Solid-state 27Al and 29Si magic angle spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy 1H–29Si cross-polarization MAS NMR used reveal anion nanostructure,...

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) are transcription factors belonging to the nuclear receptor superfamily. Recently, PPAR activators have been shown to inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines in macrophages or vascular smooth muscle cells. It has been reported that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) expression is elevated in the failing heart and that TNF-alph...

Transcriptional activators play a central role in gene regulation by stimulating the assembly of the transcriptional machinery at a promoter in a signal-responsive manner. Because of the significant role that misregulated or malfunctioning transcriptional activators play in human disease, there has been a strong effort towards the identification of molecules that inhibit the ability of an activ...