Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) cause hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS). This study investigated whether Stx2 induces hemolysis and whether complement is involved in the hemolytic process. RBCs and/or RBC-derived microvesicles from patients with STEC-HUS (n = 25) were investigated for the presence of C3 and C9 by flow cytometry. Patients exhibited increased C3 deposition on RB...

BACKGROUND Cytochrome oxidase (COX) IV complex regulates energy production in mitochondria. Impaired COX gene expression is related to obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus, but whether it is directly related to the incidence of cardiovascular events is unknown. We investigated whether COX gene expression in monocytes is predictive for cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease patients. T...

Background: Extracellular vesicles are particles ranged from 30 nm to 5µm and subcategorized into three groups; exosomes, microvesicles and apoptotic bodies, each of which have different biological impact. Lack of a standard method for the detection and isolation of MVs has led to a challenging issue that is a worth considering. In this study, we isolated MVs from the conditioned medium o...

Hereditary hemolytic anemia encompasses a heterogeneous group of anemias characterized by decreased red blood cell survival because of inherited membrane, enzyme, or hemoglobin disorders. Affected red blood cells are more fragile, less deformable, and more susceptible to shear stress and oxidative damage, and show increased vesiculation. Red blood cells, as essentially all cells, constitutively...

Nerve endings of the posterior pituitary are densely populated by dense-core neurosecretory granules which are the storage sites for peptide neurohormones. In addition, they contain numerous clear microvesicles which are the same size as small synaptic vesicles of typical presynaptic nerve terminals. Several of the major proteins of small synaptic vesicles of presynaptic nerve terminals are pre...