Atherosclerosis stems from imbalances in lipid metabolism and leads to maladaptive inflammatory responses. The AMP-activated protein kinase (Ampk) is a highly conserved serine/threonine kinase that regulates many aspects of lipid and energy metabolism, although its specific role in controlling macrophage cholesterol homeostasis remains unclear. We sought to address this question by testing the ...

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is becoming a worldwide problem. However, current treatment options are limited. In the current study we showed that QiShenYiQi (QSYQ), a water-ethanol extract from several Chinese medicines, is a potent inhibitor of renal interstitial fibrosis. QSYQ inhibited transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-responsive α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), collagen I, and fibronecti...

BACKGROUND Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), a major regulator of the plasmin-based pericellular proteolytic cascade, is significantly increased in human arterial plaques contributing to vessel fibrosis, arteriosclerosis and thrombosis, particularly in the context of elevated tissue TGF-β1. Identification of molecular events underlying to PAI-1 induction in response to TGF-β1 may yield...

Members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β family govern a wide range of mechanisms in brain development and in the adult, in particular neuronal/glial differentiation and survival, but also cell cycle regulation and neural stem cell maintenance. This clearly created some discrepancies in the field with some studies favouring neuronal differentiation/survival of progenitors and others fa...

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (HPAI, such as H5N1) infection causes severe cytokine storm and fatal respiratory immunopathogenesis in human and animal. Although TGF-β1 and the integrin CD103 in CD8+ T cells play protective roles in H5N1 virus infection, it is not fully understood which key signaling proteins control the TGF-β1-integrin crosstalk in CD8+ T cells to protect from H5N1 vi...

The β1‑adrenergic receptor (AR) is the primary β‑AR subtype in the heart and is the target of metoprolol (Met), which is commonly used to treat angina and hypertension. Previous studies have revealed a positive correlation between the methylation levels of the adrenoreceptor β1 gene (Adrb1) promoter in the myocardium with the antihypertensive activity of Met in spontaneously hypertensive rats (...

Cerebral small-vessel disease is a common disorder in elderly populations; however, its molecular basis is not well understood. We recently demonstrated that mutations in the high-temperature requirement A (HTRA) serine peptidase 1 (HTRA1) gene cause a hereditary cerebral small-vessel disease, cerebral autosomal recessive arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CARASIL)....

The β1, β2, and β4 subunits of voltage-gated sodium channels reportedly function as cell adhesion molecules. The present crystallographic analysis of the β4 extracellular domain revealed an antiparallel arrangement of the β4 molecules in the crystal lattice. The interface between the two antiparallel β4 molecules is asymmetric, and results in a multimeric assembly. Structure-based mutagenesis a...

Intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a devastating form of stroke that results from the rupture of a blood vessel in the brain, leading to a mass of blood within the brain parenchyma. The injury causes a rapid inflammatory reaction that includes activation of the tissue-resident microglia and recruitment of blood-derived macrophages and other leukocytes. In this work, we investigated the specific ...

MicroRNA 130b (miR-130b) is significantly dysregulated in various human tumor types. In this study, using a microarray assay, we characterized the upregulation of miR-130b expression in colorectal cancer (CRC) specimens. However, there is limited knowledge about the roles of aberrant miR-130b expression in CRC. Our studies in CRC cells demonstrated that miR-130b significantly decreases cell mig...