p21 (hereafter referred to as p21) is upregulated in differentiating and DNA-damaged cells, but it is also up-regulated by serum and growth factors. We show here that fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and transforming growth factor-b1 (TGF-b1) all induce p21 expression in mouse fibroblasts, but with markedly different kinetics. We link their effect on p2...

Background. TGF-b is involved in peritoneal changes during long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD). TGF-b induces big-h3 in several cell lines, and big-h3 may be a marker for biologically active TGF-b. However, no study has reported induction of big-h3 in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMCs) or its involvement in PD-related peritoneal membrane changes. Methods. We used cultured HPMCs to invest...

Peritoneal fibrosis is one of the most serious complications in patients with peritoneal dialysis (PD) and is associated with the loss of peritoneal membrane ultrafiltration function. In this study, we investigated whether suramin, an inhibitor that blocks multiple growth factors by binding to their receptors, would prevent development of peritoneal fibrosis in a rat model. Rats were given a da...

Calcific aortic stenosis is the most common aortic valve (AV) disease and is triggered by an active inflammatory process involving endothelial activation and cytokine expression. Interfacing between the leaflet and the surrounding blood flow, shear stress is presumed to play an important role in endothelial injury. This study investigated the hypothesis that pathologic alterations in shear stre...

Malignant melanoma cells are known to have altered expression of growth factors compared with normal human melanocytes. These changes probably favor tumor growth and progression and influence the tumor environment. The induction of transforming growth factor B1 (TGF-B1), TGF-B2, and TGF-B3 expression in malignant melanoma has been reported before, whereas the expression of related bone morphoge...

Larval motor neurons remodel during Drosophila neuro-muscular junction dismantling at metamorphosis. In this study, we describe the motor neuron retraction as opposed to degeneration based on the early disappearance of β-Spectrin and the continuing presence of Tubulin. By blocking cell dynamics with a dominant-negative form of Dynamin, we show that phagocytes have a key role in this process. Im...

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a chemokine involved in angiogenesis, a process vital to tumor growth. Previously, we showed that endothelial cells derived from human tumor tissue have different functional and phenotypic properties compared with normal endothelial cells. This study analyzes the role of IL-8 in regulating angiogenesis of tumor-associated brain endothelial cells (TuBEC). Results show tha...

In the mammal, definitive hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are first derived from mesodermal cells within a region of the embryonic para-aortic splanchnopleura known as the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM). Within this region, HSCs are thought to arise from hemangioblast precursors located in the ventral wall of the dorsal aorta. However, the factors that regulate HSC development in vivo are still ...

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is thought to involve lung injury caused by reactive oxygen species (ROS), which in turn is followed by abnormal fibrosis. A transforming growth factor (TGF)-b1–induced increase in myofibroblast number plays an important role in this abnormal fibrosis. We recently found that mepenzolate bromide (mepenzolate), which has been used clinically to treat gastrointestinal...