INTRODUCTION Endothelium-dependent dilation is improved in insulin-treated diabetic patients, but this effect is probably due to improved glycemic control. The objective of the present study was to compare endothelium-dependent dilation in patients with well-controlled type 2 diabetes who are or are not using insulin as part of their therapy. METHODS We studied 27 patients with type 2 diabete...

The causes of insulin resistance are not well-understood in either type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Insulin (INS) is known to undergo rapid non-enzymatic covalent conjugation to glucose or other sugars (glycation). Because the insulin receptor (IR) has INS-like regions associated with both glucose and INS binding, we hypothesize that hyperglycemic conditions may rapidly glycate the IR, chronically in...

Ins(1,4,5)P3 metabolism was examined in Saccharomyces cerevisiae extracts. S. cerevisiae contains readily detectable Ins(1,4,5)P3 kinase activity that is predominantly soluble, but phosphomonoesterase activity acting on Ins(1,4,5)P3 was not detected in either soluble or particulate preparations from this organism. We have purified the kinase activity approximately 685-fold in a rapid four-step ...

The activity of cervical spinal interneurones (INs) was recorded in monkeys performing alternating hand movements. The contribution of INs to voluntary movement was determined by their response patterns during ramp-and-hold wrist movements and their postspike effects on forelimb muscle activity. Most INs were active during both flexion and extension, in contrast to the unidirectional activity o...

The mechanism by which inositol 3,4,5,6-tetrakisphosphate (Ins(3,4,5, 6)P4) regulates chloride (Cl-) secretion was evaluated in the colonic epithelial cell line T84 using whole cell voltage clamp techniques. Our studies focused on the calcium-dependent chloride conductance (gClCa) that was activated either by mobilizing intracellular calcium (Cai) stores with thapsigargin or by introduction of ...

After transplantation, corticosteroid-resistant Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome (INS) rapidly recurs in 30-50% of recipients, suggesting the presence of (a) circulating factor(s) which alter(s) the glomerular filtration barrier. In this paper, we investigated the possible implication of the soluble ST2 protein (sST2), a product of the c-maf pathway and a marker of Th2 cells, in the development of...

The small ion lithium, a very effective agent in the treatment of manic depressive patients, inhibits the mammalian enzyme inositol monophosphatase, which is proposed as the biological target for the effects of lithium. In this study we investigated Dictyostelium discoideum inositol monophosphatase activity. Partial purification of the proteins in the soluble cell fraction using anion-exchange ...

BACKGROUND Clinical and immunological studies have consistently shown a possible link between atopy and idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS). However, whether allergic diseases occur after INS develops is unknown. METHODS From Taiwan's National Health Insurance database, 1340 children with newly diagnosed INS and 5360 non-INS matched controls were identified in 2000-2007. By the end of 2008, t...

Objective of this study was to characterize osmotically-induced insulin secretion in two tumor cell lines. We compared response of freshly isolated rat pancreatic islets and INS-1 and INS-1E tumor cell lines to high glucose, 30 % hypotonic medium and 20 % hypertonic medium. In Ca(2+)-containing medium glucose induced insulin release in all three cell types. Hypotonicity induced insulin secretio...

The Ins(1,4,5)P 3 receptor acts as a central hub for Ca ( 2+) signaling by integrating multiple signaling modalities into Ca ( 2+) release from intracellular stores downstream of G-protein and tyrosine kinase-coupled receptor stimulation. As such, the Ins(1,4,5)P 3 receptor plays fundamental roles in cellular physiology. The regulation of the Ins(1,4,5)P 3 receptor is complex and involves pro...