Fibrosis, seen in the liver, lung, heart, kidney, and skin, is a significant global disease burden. Currently, therapeutic treatment is limited, and the number of cases continues to grow. Apoptosis has been identified as a potential initiator and propagator of fibrosis. This review specifically examines the correlation between the presence of apoptotic cells and their effect on fibroblast pheno...

Background: Arteriovenous malformations are one of the most common vascular disorders of the colon. Vascular disorders present as painless, high-volume rectal bleeding. Case Presentation: This study elucidates two rare cases of vascular disorders that are diagnosed as angiodysplasia of the left colon and cavernous hemangioma of the colon and rectum.  The chief complaint in two patients ...

The productivity of bioengineered cell factories is limited by inefficiencies in nutrient delivery and waste and product removal. Current solution approaches explore changes in the physical configurations of the bioreactors. This work investigates the possibilities of exploiting self-organizing vascular networks to support producer cells within the factory. A computational model simulates de no...

Histamine-induced vascular leakage is an integral component of many highly prevalent human diseases, including allergies, asthma and anaphylaxis. Yet, how histamine induces the disruption of the endothelial barrier is not well defined. By using genetically modified animal models, pharmacologic inhibitors and a synthetic biology approach, here we show that the small GTPase RhoA mediates histamin...

Tissue samples from four progressive ethmoid hematomas were positive for expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), also known as vascular permeability factor. VEGF is known to have an important role in tumor biology, including but not limited to angiogenesis, malignant ascites, and the proliferative retinopathies. Further study of its activity in ethmoid hematoma could provide ne...

Background: New blood vessels formation is a critical step in tumor progression. Vascular density affects the clinical outcome and prognosis of malignant tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) expression and vascular density with the clinical and histopathologic features in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). &nbsp...

The role of the vascular microenvironment in the pathogenesis Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is appreciated clinically as Raynaud's syndrome with capillary nail bed change. This manifestation of vasculopathy is used diagnostically in both limited and diffuse cutaneous subsets of SSc, and is thought to precede fibrosis. The degree of subsequent fibrosis may also be determined by the vascular microenvi...

Vascular endothelium is a dynamic cellular interface that displays a unique phenotypic plasticity. This plasticity is critical for vascular function and when dysregulated is pathogenic in several diseases. Human genotype-phenotype studies of endothelium are limited by the unavailability of patient-specific endothelial cells. To establish a cellular platform for studying endothelial biology, we ...

Vascular diseases are increasing health problems affecting > 25 million individuals in westernized societies. Such patients could benefit from transplantation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts using autologous cells. One challenge that has limited this development is the need for cell isolation, and risks associated with ex vivo expanded stem cells. Here we demonstrate a novel approach to ge...