Dongdong Zheng^1,#, Chi Shen^1,2,#, Wenshi Liu¹, Wenjing Lv¹, Xiaofei Li^1,*

Congenital Heart Disease, Vol.16, No.4, pp. 373-381, 2021, DOI:10.32604/CHD.2021.015260

Abstract Objectives: Pulmonary arterial hypertension in congenital heart disease (PAH-CHD) is the most common type of PAH and increases morbidity and mortality in patients with CHD. Right heart catheterization (RHC) is the standard method to diagnose PAH. However, RHC is an invasive and complicated method with relatively high cost. Noninvasive, feasible, and cost-efficient methods are urgently needed. The objective of this study was to evaluate three potential biomarkers of PAH-CHD: Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), osteopontin (OPN), and suppression of tumorigenicity 2 (ST2). Methods: Plasma samples were collected from patients with CHD (n = 46) and healthy individuals (n = 22) and… More >

MI HEON RYU^1,a, JEONG HEE PARK^1,a, JI EUN PARK¹, JIN CHUNG², CHANG HUN LEE³AND HAE RYOUN PARK^1*

BIOCELL, Vol.34, No.1, pp. 15-22, 2010, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2010.34.015

Abstract Tumor cells are often found under hypoxic conditions due to the rapid outgrowth of their vascular supply, and, in order to survive hypoxia, these cells induce numerous signaling factors. Akt is an important kinase in cell survival, and its activity is regulated by the upstream phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs). In this study, we examined Akt activation and RTKs/PI3K/Akt signaling using the hypoxia-mimetic cobalt chloride in oral squamous carcinoma cells. Cobalt chloride increases Akt phosphorylation in both a dose- and time-dependent manner. Blocking the activation of the PI3K/Akt pathway using LY294002 abolished Akt activation in response to… More >

WANG JIANMIN, SONG RUIHUA, CHEN LEI, YIN LIANGJUN, CHEN BO, SUN JING, GOU YUANBING, ZHAO LING, CHEN LIN

BIOCELL, Vol.30, No.2, pp. 269-278, 2006, DOI:10.32604/biocell.2006.30.269

Abstract Objective: To investigate the functions of Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor-2 (FGFR2) at different stages of cell differentiation. The engineered murine embryonic stem (ES) cells with conditional knockout of FGFR2 were developed depending on Cre-loxP. Methods: Cre-loxP system was used in a conditional targeting vector. The competent AM-1 bacteria, which expressed Cre-recombinase, was used to confirm the Cre-mediated deletion of the floxed exons 7 and 8 of FGFR2. The targeting vector was electroporated into the ES cells, and the transfected ES cells were screened with G418 and Ganciclovir. Finally, the ES clones with correct targeting events were identified by Southern Blot… More >

Shuang Ge¹, Ruolin Du¹, Yuhua Huang¹, Guixue Wang¹, Yazhou Wang¹, Tieying Yin^1,*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.16, Suppl.2, pp. 136-137, 2019, DOI:10.32604/mcb.2019.07317

Abstract Stent implantation is the most effective method in the treatment of cardiovascular disease which always destroy the integrity of the vascular endothelium and the local mechanical environment at the stent segment was changed, especially the biodegradable stents [1]. In this study, 3D printed biodegradable poly (L-lactic acid) stents were implanted into SD rat abdominal aorta and the endothelialization, intimal hyperplasia, and MGF after stent implantation were studied. Besides, based on the MGF we explored the effects of mechanical stimulation on MGF express in vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, and also the effects of MGF with different concentrations on… More >

Zheng LI^{1, §}, Zhongle ZHAO^{2, §}, Peng ZHANG³

BIOCELL, Vol.43, No.3, pp. 183-190, 2019, DOI: 10.32604/biocell.2019.06922

Abstract Stroke remains the leading cause of death and disability worldwide, which destroys the quality of patients’ lives and thus is becoming a heavy burden to the society. However, the current therapeutic approaches are far from satisfaction. The objective of this study is to elucidate the impact of nerve growth factor (NGF) on the brain damage induced by cerebral ischemia and its potential molecular mechanism. Middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rats were used as animal models and neurological functions were evaluated by modified Neurological Severity Score (NSS). Brain cell apoptosis was analyzed by TUNEL-positive staining while brain infarct size was determined… More >

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 21-36, 2018, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2018.015.021

Abstract Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent professional antigen presenting cells as now known, which play critical roles in the initiation, programming and regulation of the immune response. Transforming growth factor-β₁ (TGF-β₁), one of the major suppressive cytokines in tumor microenvironment, can deteriorate the biomechanical characteristics and motility of mature dendritic cells (mDCs)，but the underlying molecular mechanisms are not well defined. In this study, the effects of TGF-β₁ on the motilities and T cell priming capabilities of mDCs as well as the molecular regulatory mechanisms were investigated. The results showed that the cytoskeleton (F-actin) organizations of mDCs were abnormally remodeled… More >

Virginia Aragon Sanabria¹, Cheng Dong^*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.15, No.1, pp. 1-19, 2018, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2018.015.001

Abstract Endothelial barrier function is critical for tissue homeostasis throughout the body. Disruption of the endothelial monolayer leads to edema, vascular diseases and even cancer metastasis among other pathological conditions. Breakdown of the endothelial barrier integrity triggered by cytokines (e.g.IL-8,IL-1β) and growth factors (e.g.VEGF) is well documented. However, endothelial cells are subject to major biomechanical forces that affect their behavior. Due to their unique location at the interface between circulating blood and surrounding tissues, endothelial cells experience shear stress, strain and contraction forces. More than three decades ago, it was already appreciated that shear flow caused endothelial cells alignment in the… More >