* Corresponding author. Address: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, National Cardiovascular Center, 5-7-1 Fujishiro-dai, Suita, Osaka 565-8565, Japan. Tel.: +81 6 6833 5012; fax: +81 6 6872 8160. E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected] (T.S. Kato). Fig. 1. An abnormal structure obstructing the inflow cannula of the extracorporeal LVAD (Toyobo-LVAS; Toyobo-National Cardi...

Polymerase chain assembly (PCA) is a technique used to synthesize genes ranging from a few hundred base pairs to many kilobase pairs in length. In traditional PCA, equimolar concentrations of single stranded DNA oligonucleotides are repeatedly hybridized and extended by a polymerase enzyme into longer dsDNA constructs, with relatively few full-length sequences being assembled. Thus, traditional...

Background: Among the different existing serum tumor markers (TM), none fulfills criteria for a clinical practice in screening, diagnosis, prognosis, targeted therapy and follow-up, due to a weak sensitivity and specificity. Guidelines from different national and international expert groups in cancer have been edited relating to the best use of those serums TM for a given cancer. The goal of ou...

PURPOSE MRL/MpJ mice of substrains MRL/MpJ-fas(+)/fas(+) (MRL/+) and MRL/MpJ-fas(lpr)/fas(lpr) (MRL/lpr) spontaneously develop autoimmune dacryoadenitis and sialadenitis and are a model for the human disorder Sjögren syndrome. The dacryoadenitis in both substrains appears to be Th2 in nature, with little IFN-gamma and substantial IL-4 at the site of lacrimal gland inflammation. METHODS MRL/Mp...

The use of targeted therapeutics to replenish pathologically deficient proteins on the luminal endothelial membrane has the potential to revolutionize emergency and cardiovascular medicine. Untargeted recombinant proteins, like activated protein C (APC) and thrombomodulin (TM), have demonstrated beneficial effects in acute vascular disorders, but have failed to have a major impact on clinical c...

The envelope glycoproteins of the mammalian type C retroviruses consist of two subunits, a surface (SU) protein and a transmembrane (TM) protein. SU binds to the viral receptor and is thought to trigger conformational changes in the associated TM protein that ultimately lead to the fusion of viral and host cell membranes. For Moloney murine leukemia virus (MoMuLV), the envelope protein probably...

PURPOSE To localize thrombomodulin (TM) in the anterior segment of the human eye. TM is a vascular endothelial cell surface glycoprotein that acts as a cofactor for the thrombin-catalyzed activation of the anticoagulant protease zymogen, protein C. METHODS Immunohistochemical methods were used to detect TM expression in corneal epithelial cells, the lens epithelial cells, and other cells in t...