Background: The mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway is one of the major signaling pathways that transmit intracellular signals initiated by extracellular stimuli to the nucleus. The stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK)/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase is a subfamily of MAP kinases implicated in cytokine and stress responses. Objective: In this study, we have examined total and phosphoryl...

OBJECTIVE To test whether angiotensin II (AngII) could modulate apoptosis of human granulosa-lutein (GL) cells from gonadotropin-stimulated follicles. DESIGN In vitro assays on mural and cumulus granulosa cells. SETTING University laboratory and private IVF practice. PATIENT(S) One hundred six consecutive women undergoing 113 IVF cycles. INTERVENTION(S) Purified human GL mural or cumulu...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the frequency of lymph node metastasis (LNM) in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs), and we have not been able to determine how much lymph node dissection is necessary in individual cases. The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive factors for the LNM in IPMNs. METHODS Medical records of 120 patients pathologically diagnosed as having...

Catheter-associated candidemia is a common problem in immunocompromised patients. A leukemic patient had Candida right ventricular mural endocarditis complicating an indwelling right atrial catheter. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of Candida right ventricular mural vegetation visualized by two-dimensional echocardiography.

sister mary joseph nodule or sister mary joseph sign refers to a palpable nodule bulging into the umbilicus as a result of metastasis of a malignant cancer in the pelvis or abdomen. a rare case of sister mary joseph nodule, manifesting as ascites, cachexia and bleeding per rectum, is presented without any primary tumor despite extensive search for the same. normal 0 false false false microsofti...

Mural cells (vascular smooth muscle cells and pericytes) play an essential role in the development of the vasculature, promoting vascular quiescence and long-term vessel stabilization through their interactions with endothelial cells. However, the mechanistic details of how mural cells stabilize vessels are not fully understood. We have examined the emergence and functional role of mural cells ...

BACKGROUND The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether the polarized flow of cells from polar to mural trophectoderm is related to the axis of bilateral symmetry of the blastocyst in the mouse, and whether trophectoderm cells can initiate new cycles once they have left the polar region. METHODS AND RESULTS Two different approaches were used to investigate the relationship of polar t...

BACKGROUND Abciximab and ticlopidine reduce adverse cardiovascular events after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). The goal of the current study was to determine if combined abciximab/ticlopidine therapy inhibits arterial thrombosis more effectively than either treatment alone. The effect of each therapy on platelet-leukocyte interactions was also investigated. METHODS AND...