Cigarette smoke (CS) causes about 480,000 deaths each year worldwide, and it is well-known to have harmful effects on the human body, leading to heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and cardiovascular problems. In this study, the effects of formaldehyde (FA) and benzene (Bz), the main components of CS, on cell proliferation and epithelial mesenchymal transition (EMT) of JEG-3 human choriocarcino...

Arbogast, Sandrine, and Michael B. Reid. Oxidant activity in skeletal muscle fibers is influenced by temperature, CO2 level, and muscle-derived nitric oxide. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 287: R698–R705, 2004. First published June 3, 2004; 10.1152/ ajpregu.00072.2004.—Free radicals are produced continuously by skeletal muscle fibers. Extracellular release of reactive oxygen species (RO...

BACKGROUND Based on clinical medications and related studies, we established a Yang-Gan Jie-Du Sang-Jie (YGJDSJ) herbal formula for hepatocarcinoma treatment. In present study, we evaluated the anti-cancer potential of YGJDSJ on suspension-grown human hepatocellular carcinoma Bel-7402 cells. METHODS Bel-7402 cells were cultured in poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (poly-HEMA) coated plates an...

It has been well documented previously that 17beta-estradiol (E2) exerts a protective effect on cardiovascular tissue. The possible role of E2 in the regulation of endothelin (ET)-1 production has been previously reported, although the complex mechanisms by which E2 inhibits ET-1 expression are not completely understood. The aims of this study were to examine whether E2 was able to alter strain...

Inactivation of the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor (VHL) is an early event in >60% of sporadic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Loss of VHL E3 ubiquitin ligase function results in accumulation of the A-subunit of the hypoxiainducible heterodimeric transcription factor (HIF-A) and transcription of an array of genes including vascular endothelial growth factor, transforming growth facto...

Flow-induced dilation (FID) is dependent largely on hyperpolarization of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in human coronary arterioles (HCA) from patients with coronary disease. Animal studies show that shear stress induces endothelial generation of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), which is proposed as an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF). We tested the hypothesis that H2O2 contrib...

PURPOSE Degenerative retinal diseases are characterized by inflammation and microglial activation. The nonpsychoactive cannabinoid, cannabidiol (CBD), is an anti-inflammatory in models of diabetes and glaucoma. However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. We tested the hypothesis that retinal inflammation and microglia activation are initiated and sustained by oxidative s...

INTRODUCTION Recent evidence suggests that GSK3 activity is chondroprotective in osteoarthritis (OA), but at the same time, its inactivation has been proposed as an anti-inflammatory therapeutic option. Here we evaluated the extent of GSK3β inactivation in vivo in OA knee cartilage and the molecular events downstream GSK3β inactivation in vitro to assess their contribution to cell senescence an...

Free radicals are produced continuously by skeletal muscle fibers. Extracellular release of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nitric oxide (NO) derivatives has been demonstrated, but little is known about intracellular oxidant regulation. We used a fluorescent oxidant probe, 2',7'-dichlorofluorescin (DCFH), to assess net oxidant activity in passive muscle fiber bundles isolated from mouse diaph...

BACKGROUND We tried to determine whether morphine mimics preconditioning (PC) to reduce cell death in cultured cardiomyocytes and whether opioid delta(1) receptors, free radicals, and K(ATP) channels mediate this effect. METHODS AND RESULTS Chick embryonic ventricular myocytes were studied in a flow-through chamber while flow rate, pH, and O(2) and CO(2) tension were controlled. Cardiomyocyte...