To evaluate the acute effect of lovastatin on diabetic endothelial dysfunction, we examined this effect on the aortic rings of streptozotocin-diabetic rats. The endothelial function was assessed in aortic rings isolated from diabetic rats, 12 weeks after treatment with streptozotocin (45 mg/kg, i.p.). The concentration-response curve to acetylcholine (Ach) in the aortic rings precontracted with...

kcnk2 was previously shown to regulate immune-cell trafficking into the central nervous system (cns). kcnk2-/- mice demonstrated a more severe disease course in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis, an animal model of multiple sclerosis, due to an increased immune-cell migration into the cns. an upregulation of the cellular adhesion molecules icam1 and vcam1 on brain endothelial cells in k...

inducible nitric oxide synthase (inos) gene expresses a calcium calmudolin-independent enzyme which can catalyse no production from l-arginine. the induction of inos activity has been demonstrated in a wide variety of cell types under stimulation with cytokines and lipopoly saccharide (lps). previous studies indicated that all nitric oxide synthases (nos) activated in human umbilical vein endot...

Introduction: Endothelial progenitor colony forming unit-endothelial cells (CFU-EC) were first believed to be the progenitors of endothelial cells, named endothelial progenitor cells. Further studies revealed that they are monocytes regulating vasculogenesis. The main hindrance of these cells for therapeutic purposes is their low frequency and limited replicative potentials. This study was unde...

Background: Bioactive compounds such as terpenoids, chondroitin sulfate, and polysaccharides with added value can be found in prestine marine creatures. These compounds often do have highly valuable therapeutic applications such as being antioxidant, antitumorogenic, anti-infl ammatory and anti-angiogenic. For the latter, varieties of angiogenesis factors can suppress this issu...

Introduction: Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hADSCs) are easily accessible in the body, and under appropriate conditions, they can be directed toward various phenotypes. Therefore, hADSCs have been considered as a potential cell source for tissue engineering applications. hADSCs are able to differentiate into endothelial cells which covers the interior surface of vessels, in vi...

purpose: to evaluate the visual outcomes and complications of deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (dlek) for management of corneal endothelial disorders. methods: from 2003 to 2005, nine eyes of nine patients with severe bullous keratopathy due to endothelial dysfunction underwent dlek. uncorrected (ucva) and best-corrected (bcva) visual acuity were evaluated pre- and one week, 1, 3 and 6 mo...

background: alpha-thalassemia syndrome includes a group of hereditary anemia in which expression of alpha globin chains is decreased or absent. impaired rbc in patients with thalassemia causes vessel involvement and endothelial cell vessel disturbance. vascular endothelial growth factor (vegf) is the most important regulator for endothelial cell proliferation. so, the aim of this study is to co...

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells, capable of differentiating into different cell lines.They can sense their surrounding biochemical and biophysical factors, which play major roles in their differentiation toward different phenotypes. Therefore, the exposure of these cells to endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as well as hemodynamic biomechanical forces, which act on...