SINCE NONALCOHOLIC STEATOHEPATITIS (NASH) became an accepted entity in 1980, its pathogenic mechanisms have remained obscure. Strong associations with central obesity, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia have always suggested NASH is a metabolic disorder (2, 7, 19, 23), and by 2003 the connection to insulin resistance was securely evidence based (6, 21). It has remained unclear, however, why only...

ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (MI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. MI occurs when a portion of the heart is deprived of oxygen due to blockage of a coronary artery; this injures heart muscle, leading to impaired cardiac function. In patients with MI, the treatment of choice for reducing acute myocardial ischemic injury and limiting MI size is the timely and effective restor...

NUMEROUS EPIDEMIOLOGICAL studies demonstrated an association between moderate alcohol consumption and reduced coronary heart disease. Red wine, especially, is shown to be protective against numerous cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Frankel et al. (5) demonstrated that red wine polyphenols inhibited the oxidation of low-density lipoprotein more than did the established antioxidant a-tocoph...

THE REPORT by Dull et al., the current article in focus (Ref. 1, see p. L986 in this issue), evaluates the effect of different polymers of arginine and lysine as models of neutrophil-derived inflammatory proteins. Their size and concentration responses on bovine cultured lung microvascular cells were studied relative to their ability to increase monolayer permeability. Arginine and lysine polym...

The roles of diet, activity, and exercise have long been recognized as essential to a healthy lifestyle. As Plato stated, “Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.” In his Physiology is Medicine editorial, Levine points out that humans were not meant to be sedentary, nor were they meant to eat the...

HEMOPEXIN IS A MULTIFUNCTIONAL serum glycoprotein that plays important roles in iron homeostasis, antioxidant protection, anti-inflammatory effects, and signal transduction pathways (6, 8). The liver is the main source of the hemopexin synthesis (7), but expression in other tissues including the retina, peripheral nerves, and neurons of the central nervous system has also been reported. Hemopex...

To the Editor: The recent article by Na et al shows that amplification of regulatory T-cell (Treg) improves stroke outcome in both permanent and transient mechanical vascular occlusion (TMVO) models in mice. Surprisingly, Schuhmann et al published the exact opposite finding 1 month before, ie, amplification of Treg worsens stroke outcome by increasing thromboinflammation. One year after publica...

The removal of secondary lymphoid tissue is not innocuous. Infectious complications in procedures such as total splenectomies are frequent and may be fatal. Sequelae may be thromboembolic. Immune alterations are expected after such procedures. The most controversial consequence, one that is linked with immune changes, is the development of malignant tumors. Regarding post-splenectomy malignanci...

SEA0400 (2-[4-[(2,5-difluorophenyl)methoxy]phenoxy]-5-ethoxyaniline) has recently been described as a potent and selective inhibitor of Na -Ca exchange in cardiac, neuronal, and renal preparations. The inhibitory effects of SEA0400 were investigated on the cloned cardiac Na -Ca exchanger, NCX1.1, expressed in Xenopus laevis oocytes to gain insight into its inhibitory mechanism. Na -Ca exchange ...

Cerebral microvascular endothelial cells form the anatomical basis of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and the tight junctions of the BBB are critical for maintaining brain homeostasis and low permeability. Ischemia/reperfusion is known to damage the tight junctions of BBB and lead to permeability changes. Here we investigated the protective role of 3-(5 -hydroxymethyl-2 furyl)-1-benzylindazole (...