In mice, dystrophic cardiovascular calcification (DCC) is controlled by a major locus on proximal mouse chromosome 7 named Dyscalc1. Here we present a strategy that combines in silico analysis, expression analysis, and extensive sequencing for ultrafine mapping of the Dyscalc1 locus. We subjected 15 laboratory mouse strains to freeze-thaw injury of the heart, and association with respective gen...

OBJECTIVE Growing evidence suggests that endothelial injury is involved in the pathophysiology of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Circulating endothelial microparticles (EMPs) increase in patients with COPD because of the presence of endothelial injury. We examined the relationship between EMP number and changes in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) in patients with COPD. DE...

BACKGROUND Climacteric increases the risk of thrombotic events by alteration of plasmatic coagulation. Up to now, less is known about changes in platelet- (PMP) and endothelial cell-derived microparticles (EMP). METHODS In this prospective study, plasma levels of microparticles (MP) were compared in 21 premenopausal and 19 postmenopausal women. RESULTS No altered numbers of total MP or EMP ...

The Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway is generally considered to be the biochemical standard for glucose catabolism. Alas, its native genomic organization and the control of gene expression in Escherichia coli are both very intricate, which limits the portability of the EMP pathway to other biotechnologically important bacterial hosts that lack the route. In this work, the genes encoding all...

Microparticles are small vesicles playing a crucial role in cell communication by promoting prothrombotic and proinflammatory responses. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their release are still elusive. We previously established that thrombin promoted the generation of endothelial microparticles (EMPs). In the present study, gene profiling identified TRAIL/Apo2L, a cytokine belongin...

BACKGROUND Myelomatous pleural effusion (MPE) is a rare occurrence in patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Fewer than 20 cases of MPE have been reported as an initial manifestation of MM. Extramedullary plasmacytoma (EMP) occurs in fewer than 5% patients with MM, and mediastinal EMP is even rarer, with only about 80 cases reported in the literature. We present a case study involving a patient w...