The conversion of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) from contractile to proliferative phenotype is thought to play an important role in atherosclerosis. However, the contribution of this process to plaque growth has never been fully defined. In this …

To determine whether hepatic de- pletion of vitamin A (VA) stores has an effect on the postnatal heart, studies were carried out with mice lacking liver retinyl ester stores fed either a VA-sufficient (LRVAS) or VA-deficient (LRVAD) diet (to deplete …

Alco- holic cardiomyopathy in humans develops in response to chronic excessive alcohol consumption; however, good models of alcohol- induced cardiomyopathy in mice are lacking. Herein we describe mouse models of alcoholic cardiomyopathies induced by …

Polydatin (PD), a resveratrol (RES) glycoside, has a stronger antioxidative effect than RES. It is known that RES is an autophagic enhancer and exerts a cardioprotective effect against ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. However, the effect of PD …

BACKGROUND The striated muscle costamere, a multiprotein complex at the boundary between the sarcomere and the sarcolemma, plays an integral role in maintaining striated muscle structure and function. Multiple costamere-associated proteins, such as …

Cardiopulmonary complications are the leading cause of mortality in sickle cell anemia (SCA). Elevated tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity, pulmonary hypertension, diastolic, and autonomic dysfunction have all been described, but a unifying pathophysiology …

The study of the mechanisms leading to cardiac hypertro- phy is essential to better understand cardiac development and regeneration. Pathological conditions such as ischemia or pressure overload can induce a release of extracellular nucleotides within the …

Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors limit myocardial injury caused by stresses, including doxorubicin chemotherapy. cGMP binding to PKG I ? attenuates oxidant-induced disulfide formation. Because PDE5 inhibition elevates cGMP and pro- tects from …

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of the death worldwide. An increasing number of studies have found that autophagy is involved in the progression or prevention of CVD. However, the precise mechanism of autophagy in CVD, especially the …

Excessive cardiac interstitial fibrosis impairs normal cardiac function. We have shown that the α11β1 (α11) integrin mediates fibrotic responses to glycated collagen in rat myocardium by a pathway involving transforming growth factor-β. Little is known of …