1,525 research outputs found
The pathophysiological role of natriuretic peptide-RAAS cross talk in heart failure
No full textChronic Heart Failure (HF) is still a disease state characterized by elevated morbidity and mortality and represents an unresolved problem for its socio-economic impact. Besides many of the pathophysiological events leading to advanced HF have been widely disclosed in the past decades, the role of neuro-hormonal dysregulation accompanying HF has to be clearly assessed with the objective of better therapeutic approaches in treating such a disease. In the present review article, alongside with a brief re-evaluation of general aspects of HF physiopathology, we summarize recent advances in the cross talk between renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) with natriuretic peptides (NPs) which have been shown to play a relevant role in the development of severe HF. The role of RAAS-NPs interplay has been shown to be crucial in both hemodynamic and tissue remodeling associated to cardiomyocyte dysfunction, leading to advanced impairment of left ventricular performance. On the basis of these results, the development of drugs resetting both RAAS and NPs system seems to be promising for a successful long term treatment of chronic HF
Enjoy your journey: the bergamot polyphenols from the tree to the cell metabolism
No full textNo abstract availabl
Modulation of RAAS-natriuretic peptides in the treatment of HF: Old guys and newcomers
No full textThe use of renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors in the treatment of chronic heart failure (HF) and arterial hypertension is recommended by the European Society of Cardiology Guidelines on the basis of consolidated evidence supporting their efficacy in the development of such a disease. However, the high incidence of re-hospitalization and mortality in patients undergoing chronic HF, leads to the need for the development of novel RAAS inhibitors possessing a better pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics profile in approaching hemodynamic imbalance and myocardial dysfunction associated with the development of chronic HF. Here we summarize some of the recent advances in the area of RAAS-modulators, including novel renin inhibitors, mineralcorticoid receptor antagonists and novel AT1 and AT2-receptor modulators. In addition, the pharmacology of a new class of compounds which display both AT1-receptor blocking properties combined with inhibition of neprilysin, the vasopeptidase enzyme degradating natriuretic peptide (ARNi), will be reviewed, alongside with their impact in the pathophysiology of chronic HF
Escherichia-coli lipopolysaccharide enhances the release of a no-like factor from astrocytoma-cells in culture
No full textAn 18 h coincubation of a human astrocytoma cell line (GO-G-UVW) with E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) significantly increased nitrite concentrations in cell culture medium and potentiated the inhibition of human washed thrombin-induced platelet aggregation produced solely by astrocytoma cells. This was due to the increased release from astrocytoma cells of nitric oxide (NO) or a NO-like substance, since it was prevented by oxyhemoglobin (OxyHb), a trapping agent for NO, and potentiated by superoxide dismutase (SOD), which enhances the biological effects of NO through the removal of superoxide anions. In addition, the NO-like factor released by astrocytoma cells seems to originate from L-arginine, since its anti-aggregatory properties, as well as nitrite generation in astrocytoma cells culture medium, were blocked by incubating cells with N(G)-monomethyl-L-arginine, a selective inhibitor of NO synthase. These effects were restored by L-arginine, the precursor of NO, but not by D-arginine. In conclusion, the present experiments show that LPS is able to increase the release of NO or a NO-like substance from glial cells and suggest that, under conditions in which high levels of endotoxin are present (septic shock, severe infections), or under some pathological conditions accompanied by an abnormal permeability of the blood brain barrier, NO released from glial cells may affect neuronal activity in the brain
First person – Vincenzo Torraca
No full textFirst Person is a series of interviews with the first authors of a selection of papers published in Disease Models & Mechanisms, helping researchers promote themselves alongside their papers. Vincenzo Torraca is first author on ‘ Transcriptional profiling of zebrafish identifies host factors controlling susceptibility toShigella flexneri’, published in DMM. Vincenzo conducted the research described in this article while he was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow at Imperial College London, UK and an ISSF (Institutional Strategic Support Fund)-Wellcome Fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, where most of the work was carried out in Prof. Serge Mostowy's lab. He has just started his own group at King's College London, investigating host-pathogen interactions and antimicrobial resistance for globally relevant bacterial pathogens, such as Shigella and E. coli, using zebrafish as an in vivo model
Africa II
No full textThis map appears in another example of the several translations of Ptolemy's Geography. This one, in Latin, was a translation directly from the Greek done by Pirckheimer and revised by Giuseppe Moleti. Stevens (pg. 51) notes that the maps in this version are identical to the maps in the Italian 1561 edition, also published by Vincenzo Valgrisi
Animal models of cardiac cachexia
No full textCachexia is the loss of body weight associated with several chronic diseases including chronic heart failure (CHF). The cachectic condition is mainly due to loss of skeletal muscle mass and adipose tissue depletion. The majority of experimental in vivo studies on cachexia rely on animal models of cancer cachexia while a reliable and appropriate model for cardiac cachexia has not yet been established. A critical issue in generating a cardiac cachexia model is that genetic modifications or pharmacological treatments impairing the heart functionality and used to obtain the heart failure model might likely impair the skeletal muscle, this also being a striated muscle and sharing with the myocardium several molecular and physiological mechanisms. On the other hand, often, the induction of heart damage in the several existing models of heart failure does not necessarily lead to skeletal muscle loss and cachexia. Here we describe the main features of cardiac cachexia and illustrate some animal models proposed for cardiac cachexia studies; they include the genetic calsequestrin and Dahl salt-sensitive models, the monocrotaline model and the surgical models obtained by left anterior descending (LAD) ligation, transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and ascending aortic banding. The availability of a specific animal model for cardiac cachexia is a crucial issue since, besides the common aspects of cachexia in the different syndromes, each disease has some peculiarities in its etiology and pathophysiology leading to cachexia. Such peculiarities need to be unraveled in order to find new targets for effective therapies
Africa I
No full textThis map appears in another example of the several translations of Ptolemy's Geography. This one, in Latin, was a translation directly from the Greek done by Pirckheimer and revised by Giuseppe Moleti. Stevens (pg. 51) notes that the maps in this version are identical to the maps in the Italian 1561 edition, also published by Vincenzo Valgrisi. Includes the verso and the original sellers information
Vincenzo Errante
No full textThe headword explains the biography and the contribution of the author Vincenzo Errante to the children's literatur
Current Findings on Allium Species with Melanogenesis Inhibitory Activity
No full textAllium genus (Amaryllidaceae) is widely distributed in the Northern hemisphere. Some species, including garlic and onion, have been used since ancient times as both food ingredients and medicinal plants. Many reviews deal with the chemical constituents, particularly the typical sulfur compounds, as well as with Allium pharmacological properties, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and cytotoxic activities. The bibliographic search performed in this review is mainly focused on the potential role of Allium species in inhibiting melanogenesis, which has been mainly assessed through the evaluation of the inhibitory properties on tyrosinase, the key enzyme in melanin biosynthesis. Two well established models for identifying potential skin-whitening agents have been used to assess the anti-melanogenic effects of Allium species, the mushroom tyrosinase and the murine melanoma B16 cell line. Here, a literature search from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases has been performed using the keywords “Allium”, “tyrosinase”, “anti-melanogenic”, and “melanogenesis”, combined by means of Boolean operators. Based on selected inclusion criteria, 32 eligible papers have been selected. The aim of this systematic review is to offer an overview of the species for which the ability to affect melanogenesis has been demonstrated to date, highlighting a new and emerging perspective on the potential therapeutic use of Allium species. The biological properties of isolated pure compounds and the negative outcomes have been also considered
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