Previously, we reported that 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced apoptosis of LNCaP human prostate cancer cells was accompanied by prolonged translocation of protein kinase C (PKC)alpha to non-nuclear membranes and that TPA-resistant LNCaP cells had down-regulated PKCalpha. Here we show that 10 nM bryostatin 1 induced transient membrane translocation and down-regulation of PKCalp...

Introduction: Osteoporosis is a bone disease in which there is a reduction in the amount of bone mineral content leading to an increase in the risk of bone fractures. The affected individuals not only have to go through lots of pain and suffering but this disease also results in high economic costs to the society due to a large number of fractures.  A timely and accurate diagnosis of this disea...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE To test the role of fibrinolysis in stroke, we used a mouse model in which preformed 2.5- to 3-microm-diameter fibrin microemboli are injected into the cerebral circulation. The microemboli lodge in the downstream precapillary vasculature and are susceptible to fibrinolysis. METHODS We injected various doses of microemboli into the internal carotid artery in mice and ch...

The effects of 12-o-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) on isometric tension, unloaded shortening velocity determined using the slack test (Vmax), and phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLC20) were investigated in intact and skinned muscle tissues of the rabbit mesenteric artery. In intact muscles exposed to 128 mM K+, the Vmax reached a maximum before the peak of the phasic component of ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) thresholds for tissue infarction have been identified in acute stroke. IV tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is associated with tissue salvage. We hypothesized that tPA would lower the ADC threshold for infarction. METHODS ADC and mean transit time (MTT) maps were generated for 26 patients imaged within 6 hours of stroke onset (12 tP...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The aim of this study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) treatment in the 3- to 4.5-hour time window after ischemic stroke. METHODS Decision-analytic and Markov state-transition models were created to determine the cost-effectiveness of treatment of ischemic stroke patients with intravenous tPA administered in the 3- to 4....

BACKGROUND Previous economic studies conducted in developed countries showed intravenous tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is cost-effective for acute ischemic stroke. The present study aimed to determine the cost-effectiveness of tPA treatment in China, the largest developing country. METHODS A combination of decision tree and Markov model was developed to determine the cost-effectiven...

BACKGROUND In patients with established ischemic heart disease, prospective cohort studies have indicated that plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), the inhibitor of the fibrinolytic system, may predict cardiovascular events. So far, there have been no primary prospective studies of PAI-1. METHODS AND RESULTS The aim of the present study was to test whether plasma levels of PAI-1, tissue-t...

The measurement of anti-streptokinase antibodies can distinguish the patients who may benefit from streptokinase and those who should be treated with some other thrombolytic regimen. Neutralising titration test is a commonly used classical assay for measuring anti-streptokinase antibodies and in this assay the ability of anti-streptokinase antibodies in patients' sera in preventing the lytic ef...