We have used Affymetrix gene chip technology to look for changes in gene expression caused by a 24 h exposure of rat primary neonatal cardiac myocytes to the cardioprotective agent urocortin. We observed a 2.5-fold down-regulation at both the mRNA and protein levels of a specific calcium-insensitive phospholipase A2 enzyme. Levels of lysophosphatidylcholine, a toxic metabolite of phospholipase ...

AIM Preterm delivery is a serious problem during pregnancy with remarkable neonatal adverse effects. Prediction of preterm delivery in women with preterm uterine contractions or signs of preterm labor is critical because if these women are identified they can be referred to tertiary centers. The present study aimed to evaluate the value of maternal serum urocortin concentration for predicting p...

Organisms exposed to challenging stimuli that alter the status quo inside or outside of the body are required for survival purposes to generate appropriate coping responses that counteract departures from homeostasis. Identification of an executive control mechanism within the brain capable of coordinating the multitude of endocrine, physiological, and functional coping responses has high utili...

Two receptors (CRH receptor type 1 and CRH receptor type 2) have been identified for the stress-induced neuropeptide, CRH and related peptides, urocortin, and urocortin II. We previously found marked down-regulation of cardiac CRH receptor type 2 expression following administration of bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide, a model of systemic immune activation, and inflammation. We postulated...

OBJECTIVES This study assesses the mechanisms of apoptosis in patients after on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery and the potential involvement of the endogenous cardiac peptide urocortin as a cardiomyocyte salvage mechanism. We have previously described the mechanisms of apoptosis after ischemia-reperfusion injury in the rat heart and shown that endogenous urocortin is cardioprotective...

BACKGROUND Urocortin II has previously been shown in anesthetized pigs to increase coronary blood flow through activation of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) pathway and involvement of the subtype 2 of corticotropin releasing factor receptors (CRFR2). However, little information has been available regarding the intracellular signalling through these receptors and leading to the rele...

The major objective of this study was to determine whether urocortin, a member of the corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) family, protects adult rat cardiomyocytes from ischemia that has been simulated by glucose deprivation and acidosis. When it was present during simulated ischemia, urocortin (0.1 microM) markedly attenuated the cellular injury, which was assessed by increases in creatine k...

BACKGROUND The urocortins are emerging as potentially important contributors to neurohumoral regulation of the circulation with recent reports attributing a powerful array of hemodynamic, renal, and neurohumoral effects to the urocortins in cardiac failure. These peptides also seem to have cardioprotective effects in the setting of ischemia-reperfusion. Little is known concerning the plasma con...

Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) is considered to be a main adrenocorticotropin-releasing factor in vertebrates. In non-mammalian species, CRF and related peptides cause the release of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) from the anterior pituitary. The actions of CRF peptides are mediated by two G protein coupled receptors (CRF1 and CRF2) that have different ligand specificities. Using ligan...

Urocortin is a potent regulator of cardiac function, with actions that are prolonged in experimental animals. These changes are mediated via binding to corticotropin-releasing factor receptors found in peripheral tissues. The effects of urocortin on behavior, appetite, inflammation, and the cardiovascular system suggest that this peptide may be an endogenous factor mediating actions previously ...