BACKGROUND Evaluation of lymphedema and lymph node metastasis in humans has relied primarily on invasive or radioactive modalities. While noninvasive technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) offer the potential for true three-dimensional imaging of lymphatic structures, invasive modalities, such as optical fluorescence microscopy, provide higher resolution and clearer delineation o...

The in vivo role of nitric oxide in inflammatory cell migration, vascular permeability and the development of hyperresponsiveness to methacholine (MCh) was studied in rats 24 h following ovalbumin (OVA) challenge. The NO synthase (NOS) inhibitors N(G)-mono-methyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA; nonselective), aminoguanidine (two-fold inducible NOS-selective), N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME;...

OBJECTIVE Operations coupled with cardiopulmonary bypass may provoke a systemic inflammatory response, and it has been suggested that this responses causes capillary leakage of proteins, edema formation, and even organ failure. However, capillary leak syndrome is mainly a clinical diagnosis and has not been verified as yet by actual demonstration of protein leakage from the circulation. We have...

Normobaric hyperoxia (NBO) has been shown to be neuro- and vaso-protective during ischemic stroke. However, the underlying mechanisms remain to be fully elucidated. Activation of NADPH oxidase critically contributes to ischemic brain damage via increase in ROS production. We herein tested the hypothesis that NBO protects the blood-brain barrier (BBB) via inhibiting gp91phox (or called Nox2) con...

OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of diabetes mellitus on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced pulmonary edema and alveolar neutrophil recruitment and activation. HYPOTHESIS Zucker diabetic fatty rats are resistant to the effects of intratracheal LPS on the extravasation of plasma proteins into the lungs. DESIGN Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rats (genotype fa/fa) were used as a model of diabetes m...

Mast cells are central effector cells in allergic asthma and are augmented in the airways of asthma patients. Attenuating mast cell degranulation and with it the early asthmatic response is an important intervention point to inhibit bronchoconstriction, plasma exudation and tissue oedema formation. To validate the efficacy of novel pharmacological interventions, appropriate and practicable in v...

This study was designed to examine the relationship among microvascular leakage, edema, and baseline airway function. Microvascular leakage was induced in the airways of anesthetized, tracheostomized New Zealand White rabbits (n = 22) by using nebulized N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (10 mg) and was measured in the trachea by using the Evans blue dye technique. Airway wall thickness wa...

The vertical transmission of HIV-1 from the mother to fetus is known, but the molecular mechanism regulating this transmission is not fully characterized. The fetus is highly protected by the placenta, which does not permit microbial pathogens to cross the placental barrier. In the present study, a rat model was established to observe the effect of HIV-1 protein Nef on placental barrier. Evans ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) is a common and severe form of stroke. To date, medical management of ICH has had scant impact on morbidity and mortality. Because albumin therapy is markedly neuroprotective in preclinical models of ischemic stroke, and because ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke share several common injury mechanisms, we hypothesized that albumin therapy...

Background: Since it is known that serum albumin-bound dyes can cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) after ischemia, Evans Blue dye is commonly used to assess BBB disruption because of its rapid binding to serum albumin. In addition, indocyanine green (ICG), a clinically available dye, binds to serum proteins that could also be used for assessment of BBB impairment. Unlike these near-infrared (N...