Hyperinsulinemia, Intracellular Calcium, and Membrane Function in Essential Hypertension We read with interest comments by Dr. Sela et al dealing with a possible link between intracellular calcium content of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) and plasma insulin level in patients with essential hypertension. The results of their presented study demonstrated that PMN in essential hypertension sho...

In ischemic/reperfusion (I/R) injured hearts, severe oxidative stress occurs and is associated with intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) overload. Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have been shown to exert cardioprotection in I/R heart. However, there is little information regarding the effects of GLP-1 analogue on the intracellular Ca(2+) regulation in the presence of oxidative stress. There...

HIV-1 protein Tat is neurotoxic and increases macrophage and microglia production of TNF-alpha, a cytopathic cytokine linked to the neuropathogenesis of HIV dementia. Others have shown that intracellular calcium regulates TNF-alpha production in macrophages, and we have shown that Tat releases calcium from inositol 1,4, 5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor-regulated stores in neurons and astrocytes. ...

The calcium ion is one of the most versatile biological signaling molecules, known to regulate physiological systems at every level from membrane potential and ion transporters to kinases, transcription factors, and even cell morphology. It is also one of the most universal and ancient of cellular signals. A diverse host of diseases, importantly including a number of rare syndromes that include...

We investigated the effects of 1 and 3 mM 2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM, diacetyl monoxime) on excitation and contraction of cardiac muscle in several types of preparations at various levels of organization. We selected a concentration of BDM that was not expected to affect sarcolemmal calcium flux and action potential duration in cardiac tissue. Two indicators were used to record intracellular...

BACKGROUND Wnt signaling affects fundamental development pathways by regulating cell proliferation and differentiation. Aberrant activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling promotes the development of several cancers and is an attractive target for chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic agents. RESULTS In order to identify the novel antagonists for the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway, we employed a cell-...

After lactation, weaning causes mammary epithelial cell (MEC) apoptosis. MECs express the plasma membrane calcium-ATPase 2 (PMCA2), which transports calcium across the apical surface of the cells into milk. Here we show that PMCA2 is down-regulated early in mammary involution associated with changes in MEC shape. We demonstrate that loss of PMCA2 expression raises intracellular calcium levels a...

BACKGROUND/AIMS The importance of sperm capacitation for mammalian fertilization has been confirmed in the present study via sperm metabolism. Involvement of the metabolic enzymes pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHc) and its E3 subunit, dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DLD) in hamster in vitro fertilization (IVF) via in vitro sperm capacitation is being proposed through regulation of sperm intr...