Efforts to eradicate cardiovascular disease (CVD) are progressing no faster than The Race for the Cure1 is in breast cancer. In the case of CVD, although therapies for the ravages of atherosclerosis continue to improve, the prevalence of disease is more than keeping pace. Recently, the World Health Organization has predicted that today’s 17 million deaths worldwide attributable to heart disease...

Pyrrole-imidazole (Py-Im) polyamides can bind to the predetermined base pairs in the minor groove of double-helical DNA with high affinity. These synthetic small molecules can interfere with transcription factor-DNA interaction and inhibit or activate the transcription of corresponding genes. In the present study, we designed and synthesized a Py-Im polyamide to target 545 to 539 base pairs of ...

Glucose’s effect on the transcription factor FOXO1 isn’t sweet. The protein usually fosters tissue repair, but Zhang et al. reveal that FOXO1 inhibits healing when sugar levels are high (1). This role reversal helps explain why wounds heal slowly in people with diabetes. For diabetes patients, even a cut or scrape can result in severe complications. Because the skin doesn’t close promptly, bact...

Efforts to eradicate cardiovascular disease (CVD) are progressing no faster than The Race for the Cure1 is in breast cancer. In the case of CVD, although therapies for the ravages of atherosclerosis continue to improve, the prevalence of disease is more than keeping pace. Recently, the World Health Organization has predicted that today’s 17 million deaths worldwide attributable to heart disease...

MACROPHAGES ARE A GROUP of fascinating immune cells that play a critical role in mediating kidney injury, repair, and fibrosis (9). The vast majority, if not all, of the macrophages originate from myeloid precursors in the bone marrow and are released into circulation as monocytes (10). They then infiltrate the kidney and display a unique spectrum of activities in multiple injury models includi...

Late-Breaking Basic Science Abstracts From the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2005. November 13–16, 2005 Dallas Convention Center Dallas, TX Late-Breaking Basic Science: Stem Cells and Cardiac Cell Replacement 5000 Adult Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells Differentiate into Cardiovascular Lineages and Generate Functional Cardiomyocytes Kaomei Guan, Department of Cardiology and Pneu...

Endoglin is an endothelial membrane glycoprotein involved in cardiovascular morphogenesis and vascular remodeling. It associates with transforming growth factor(TGF) signaling receptors to bind TGFfamily members, forming a functional receptor complex. Arterial injury leads to up-regulation of endoglin, but the underlying regulatory events are unknown. The transcription factor KLF6, an immediate...

Thrombin activates protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) on endothelial cells (ECs) and is critical for angiogenesis and vascular development. However, the mechanism underlying the proangiogenic effect of thrombin has not been elucidated yet. Here, we report the discovery of a novel functional link between thrombin-PAR1 and transforming growth factor(TGF) signaling pathways. We showed that throm...

A metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) tumor model xenograft that expresses the targetable, membrane-bound tumor-associated antigen carbonic anhydrase type 9 (CA IX) is described. The xenograft, established from a high-grade type-2 chromophil RCC (cRCC), has been serially transplanted in immune compromised mice, in which it grows orthotopically under the renal capsule, doubling its size every ...

17 -Estradiol (E2) and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), such as tamoxifen, mediate numerous effects in the brain, including neurosecretion, neuroprotection, and the induction of synaptic plasticity. Astrocytes, the most abundant cell type in the brain, influence many of these same functions and thus may represent a mediator of estrogen action. The present study examined the regul...