The curvilinearity of the atrial pressure-volume curve implies that atrial compliance decreases progressively with increasing left atrial (LA) pressure (LAP). We predicted that reduced LA compliance leads to more rapid deceleration of systolic pulmonary venous (PV) flow. With this rationale, we investigated whether the deceleration time (t dec) of PV systolic flow velocity reflects mean LAP. In...

Indirect immunofluorescence was used to establish a domain-specific marker for hepatocyte plasma membranes. In frozen sections of fixed rat liver (0.5-4 microns), antibodies directed against rat intestinal leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) recognized an antigen that was restricted to the bile canalicular plasma membrane. Fluorescence was not observed on the sinusoidal or lateral membranes, and intra...

Monitoring of HF (heart failure) with intracardiac pressure, intrathoracic impedance and/or natriuretic peptide levels has been advocated. We aimed to investigate possible differences in the response patterns of each of these monitoring modalities during HF decompensation that may have an impact on the potential for early therapeutic intervention. Six sheep were implanted with a LAP (left atria...

The formation of a non-covalent complex between mature transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and its pro region, the β1-latency-associated peptide (β1-LAP), is important in regulating the activity of this multipotent growth factor. We have overexpressed simian β1-LAP in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells to produce a cell line which secretes β1-LAP into the culture medium at " 1 mg}l, thus enab...

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Laparoscopic spleen-preserving distal pancreatectomy (LSPDP) for low-grade malignant pancreas tumors was recently demonstrated. Although the procedure with splenic vessel preservation (SVP) is optimal for LSPDP, SVP is not always possible in patients with a large tumor or a tumor attached to splenic vessels. This study aimed to analyze the safety of two procedures: LSPDP w...

BACKGROUND A CD4+CD25- regulatory T cell population expressing the surface TGF-β in its latent form LAP+ [latency associated peptide] cells was proved to be protective in experimental colitis and to be suppressive of human peripheral blood [PB] T proliferation. We investigated the frequency and function of lamina propria [LP] CD4+LAP+ T cells in inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] patients. METH...

Lipotoxic cardiomyopathy is caused by myocardial lipid accumulation and often occurs in patients with diabetes and obesity. This study investigated the effects of β-lapachone (β-lap), a natural compound that activates Sirt1 through elevation of the intracellular NAD+ level, on acyl CoA synthase (ACS) transgenic (Tg) mice, which have lipotoxic cardiomyopathy. Oral administration of β-lap to ACS ...

AIMS Lipid accumulation product (LAP), defined as a product of waist circumference and triglycerides, has recently been proposed as a predictor of cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus. The purpose of this study was to determine whether and how LAP is associated with alcohol drinking. METHODS Subjects were 21,378 men aged 35-60 years and they were divided by alcohol intake into non-, l...

Previous immunolabeling studies (Roman, L.M., and A.L. Hubbard, 1983, J. Cell Biol., 96:1548-1558; Roman, L.M., and A.L. Hubbard, 1984, J. Cell Biol., 98:1488-1496, companion paper) established leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) as a specific marker for the bile canalicular (BC) domain of the rat hepatocyte plasma membrane (PM). In this study, we have isolated membrane from a sonicated PM vesicle fra...

Pacing strategies have been investigated for elite-standard freestyle swimmers, but little is known about pacing in age-group freestyle swimmers. We investigated changes in swimming time across distances in 4,481 women and men swimmers who competed in 100, 200, 400, and 800 m freestyle age groups from 25-29 years to 90-94 years in the FINA World Masters Championships 2014. In 100 to 800 m, ther...