The process of new blood vessel formation from pre-existing vessels is known as angiogenesis. This process is important, both during physiological processes such as development and during wound healing, as well as during pathological processes, such as cancer and arthritis. Understanding the molecular mechanism of the regulation of angiogenesis and the identification of the key players involved...

Neutrophil-endothelial cell interactions are mediated by interacting sets of cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) and chemoattractant/activator molecules to form an "adhesion cascade." The initial phase of inflammation, a transient slowing of neutrophils in postcapillary venules, is mediated by selectins. Subsequently, firm adhesion of neutrophils to the vessel wall occurs via interaction of the CD11...

Numerous reports document the role of vascular adhesion molecules in the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Recent novel findings in the field of adhesion molecules require an updated summary of current research. In this review, we highlight the role of vascular adhesion molecules including selectins, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1, intercellular adhesion molecule1 (ICAM-...

I N 1985, a review article appeared in this journal that examined the interactions of leukocytes with vascular endothelium during an immune or inflammatory response.’ The basic physiology of leukocyte emigration as well as disease states in which alterations of leukocyte-endothelial interactions may contribute to pathology were discussed. Since then there has been an explosion of interest in th...

The majority of human rhinoviruses use intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) as a cell surface receptor. Two soluble forms of ICAM-1, one corresponding to the entire extracellular portion [tICAM(453)] and one corresponding to the two N-terminal immunoglobulin-like domains [tICAM(185)], have been produced, and their effects on virus-receptor binding, virus infectivity, and virus integrity h...

Mesoangioblasts are vessel-associated progenitor cells that show therapeutic promise for the treatment of muscular dystrophy. Mesoangioblasts have the ability to undergo skeletal muscle differentiation and cross the blood vessel wall regardless of the developmental stage at which they are isolated. Here we show that PW1/Peg3 is expressed at high levels in mesoangioblasts obtained from mouse, do...

Adhesion molecules (AMs) represent one class of biomolecules that promote central nervous system regeneration. These tethered molecules provide cues to regenerating neurons that recapitulate the native brain environment. Improving cell adhesive potential of non-adhesive biomaterials is therefore a common goal in neural tissue engineering. This review discusses common AMs used in neural biomater...

Formation of axonal pathways involves a variety of molecules that influence cell-cell interactions. The polysialic acid (PSA) moiety of the neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) is present on neuronal surfaces during process outgrowth. Our studies reveal that the removal of PSA causes a decrease in the rate of elongation of retinal cell processes on a substrate of neuronal membranes derived from...

Clarithromycin (CM) has been found to inhibit the production of the intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and the secretion of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8, which may have beneficial effects on the pathophysiological changes related to rhinovirus (RV) infection. The effect of CM on RV infection in A549 cells was therefore investigated. Cells were pre-treated with 1, 10 or 100 microM CM, eithe...

We have found in the adult rat that the persistent expression of a highly polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM-H) that is generally specific to developing tissues, remains restrictively in the cells of the deepest portion of the dentate granular layer. Since the granule cells are known to continue to be generated in this region during the adult period, we have tried to determine w...