BACKGROUND Losartan plays an important role in the inhibition of myocardial fibrosis. But the underlying mechanism is not entirely clear. Emerging evidences have indicated that endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EndMT) plays a crucial role in cardiac fibrosis. Here the present study aims to first investigated the effect of Losartan on EndMT in cardiac fibrosis of spontaneous hypertensive ra...

We conducted the present study to test the hypothesis that sympathetic responsiveness, rather than its absolute level of activity, is a determinant of salt-sensitive hypertension. Sprague-Dawley rats were instrumented for computerized recordings of arterial pressure and placed in metabolic cages. In one group (n = 10), the alpha 1-adrenergic antagonist prazosin was chronically infused throughou...

To investigate the effect of prazosin on patients with diabetic nephropathy (DN), α1-adrenergic receptor (α1-R) autoantibodies and refractory hypertension, a total of 126 patients with DN and hypertension were recruited. The patients were divided into a refractory hypertension group, (n=76) and a non-refractory hypertension group (n=50). The epitope of the second extracellular loop of the α1-R ...

This was an observational study of 74 veterans of Operation Iraqi Freedom/ Operation Enduring Freedom (OIF/ OEF) who reported histories of exposures to explosions that produced mild traumatic brain injury (TBI), also called concussion. Each of these OIF/OEF veterans had headaches, and each had abnormal findings on neurological examination, performance deficits on neuropsychological testing, or ...

The purpose of this study was to determine whether both a,and a,-adrenergic receptors exist on vascular smooth muscle of microvessels and whether adrenergic constriction of anatomically distinct microvascular segments is differentially subserved by either receptor subtype. The cremaster skeletal muscle of anesthetized rats was acutely denervated and suspended in a Krebs bath containing cocaine,...

The role of aand /9-adrenoceptors in the development of catecholamine-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vivo was investigated. Rats received a constant intravenous infusion of norepinephrine or sodium chloride (control) for 3 days. The norepinephrine infusion was combined with the a-blocker prazosin, the 0-blocker metoprolol, or both blockers. For modulation of the work load of the heart, the calc...

This study examined peripheral mechanisms responsible for changes in mean arterial blood pressure, heart rate, and renal, mesenteric, and hindquarter vascular resistances produced by microinjections of l-glutamate (l-Glu) into the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS) of conscious rats. Microinjection ofl-Glu produced an initial pressor response, bradycardia, and vasoconstriction in each vascular bed...

Sustained elevations in circulating glucocorticoids elicit reductions in skeletal muscle microvascular content, but little is known of the underlying mechanisms. We hypothesized that glucocorticoid-induced oxidative stress contributes to this phenomenon. In rats that were implanted with corticosterone (CORT) or control pellets, CORT caused a significant decrease in muscle glutathione levels and...

BACKGROUND Naftopidil, an α1-adrenoceptor blocker, has been clinically used for the treatment of benign prostate hyperplasia and hypertension. Emerging evidence has shown that naftopidil exhibits an antitumor effect on a variety of cancer types including prostate cancer. The aim of the present study was to investigate naftopidil-induced apoptosis in human malignant mesothelioma cells and to she...