Haematopoietic cells arise from spatiotemporally restricted domains in the developing embryo. Although studies of non-mammalian animal and in vitro embryonic stem cell models suggest a close relationship among cardiac, endocardial and haematopoietic lineages, it remains unknown whether the mammalian heart tube serves as a haemogenic organ akin to the dorsal aorta. Here we examine the haemogenic...

introduction aortic surgery has made much progress recently. yet the combination of aortic surgery and coronary artery bypass grafting has remained a major issue for the surgeons. patient and observation herein, we present a case of severe aortic insufficiency with aortic aneurysm concomitant with single coronary artery disease on the right coronary artery. the patient underwent bentall procedu...

The first definitive hematopoietic stem cells (dHSCs) in the mouse emerge in the dorsal aorta of the embryonic day (E) 10.5 to 11 aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region. Notch signaling is essential for early HSC development but is dispensable for the maintenance of adult bone marrow HSCs. How Notch signaling regulates HSC formation in the embryo is poorly understood. We demonstrate here that Not...

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) is a mitogen and chemoattractant for vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). However, the direct effects of PDGF receptor β (PDGFRβ) activation on VSMCs have not been studied in the context of atherosclerosis. Here we present a new mouse model of atherosclerosis with an activating mutation in PDGFRβ. Increased PDGFRβ signalling induces chemokine secretion and...

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) emerge from aortic endothelium via the endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition (EHT). The molecular mechanisms that initiate and regulate EHT remain poorly understood. Here, we show that adenosine signaling regulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) development in zebrafish embryos. The adenosine receptor A2b is expressed in the vascular endothelium ...

This study used high-frequency ultrasound to evaluate the flow distribution in the mouse fetal circulation at late gestation. We studied 12 fetuses (embryonic day 17.5) from 12 pregnant CD1 mice with 40 MHz ultrasound to assess the flow in 11 vessels based on Doppler measurements of blood velocity and M-mode measurements of diameter. Specifically, the intrahepatic umbilical vein (UVIH), ductus ...

We have developed a method for constructing the geometry of morphologically realistic human aorta, including aortic root (Valsalva sinus), thoracic arch with branches, abdominal aorta bifurcation vessels. The creation three-dimensional model is necessary when planning surgical interventions, performing numerical modeling blood flow in aorta. anatomical structure differs different patients, espe...

OBJECTIVE Bone morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4) is an important mediator of endothelial dysfunction in cardio-metabolic diseases, whereas platelet-derived growth factors (PDGFs) are major angiogenic and proinflammatory mediator, although the functional link between these 2 factors is unknown. The present study investigated whether PDGF mediates BMP4-induced endothelial dysfunction in diabetes melli...

Plasma homocysteine (Hcy) levels are positively correlated with cardiovascular mortality in diabetes. However, the joint effect of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy) and hyperglycemia (HG) on endothelial dysfunction (ED) and the underlying mechanisms have not been studied. Mild (22 µmol/L) and moderate (88 µmol/L) HHcy were induced in cystathionine β-synthase wild-type (Cbs(+/+)) and heterozygous-defi...

Increased oxidative stress is involved in the development of vascular dysfunction and remodeling. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP2) regulates the production of reactive oxygen species in vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs). To promote the study of the role of UCP2 in vascular diseases, a transgenic mouse model expressing human UCP2 (hUCP2) in vascular SMCs was established. We constructed a plasmid ca...