Qiliqiangxin (QL), a traditional Chinese medicine, had long been used to treat chronic heart failure. Recent studies revealed that differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) into myofibroblasts played an important role in cardiac remodelling and development of heart failure, however, little was known about the underlying mechanism and whether QL treatment being involved. This study aimed to i...

Carcinogenic effects of ionizing radiation and benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10-epoxide (B[a]PDE), a major metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P), have been well demonstrated both in vitro and in vivo. Two-stage carcinogenesis results indicate that mouse skin is highly susceptible to both ionizing radiation and benzo[a]pyrene-7,8-diol-9,10epoxide (B[a]PDE), a major metabolite of benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P...

H5N1 influenza virus infections in humans cause a characteristic systemic inflammatory response syndrome; however, the molecular mechanisms are largely unknown. Endothelial cells (ECs) play a pivotal role in hyperdynamic septic diseases. To unravel specific signaling networks activated by H5N1 we used a genome-wide comparative systems biology approach analyzing gene expression in human ECs infe...

Background. - We have established proliferating human cardiomyocyte cell lines derived from non-proliferating primary cultures of adult ventricular heart tissue, using a novel method that may be applicable to many post-mitotic primary cultures. Methods and results. - Primary cells from human ventricular tissue, were fused with SV40 transformed, uridine auxotroph human fibroblasts, devoid of mit...

The transcription factor NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cells) is a cytosolic phosphoprotein that accumulates in the nucleus following dephosphorylation by the calcium (Ca )/calmodulin-dependent phosphatase, calcineurin. A defining feature of stimuli that induce NFAT nuclear accumulation/activation is a sustained increase in global intracellular Ca . Contrary to expectations, we have found...

Upon activation by calcineurin, the nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) translocates to the nucleus and guides the transcription of numerous molecules involved in inflammation and Ca(2+) dysregulation, both of which are prominent features of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, NFAT signaling in AD remains relatively uninvestigated. Using isolated cytosolic and nuclear fractions prepared f...

BACKGROUND The bulk of human genes undergo alternative splicing (AS) upon response to physiological stimuli. AS is a great source of protein diversity and biological processes and is associated with the development of many diseases. Pheochromocytoma is a neuroendocrine tumor, characterized by an excessive Ca2+-dependent secretion of catecholamines. This underlines the importance of balanced con...

Nuclear factor of activated T cell (NFAT)-3 is a member of the transcription factor NFAT family, which has been demonstrated to be responsible for the up-regulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in the immune system. Our most recent studies have also shown that TNF is able to induce cell transformation in mouse epidermal Cl41 cells by induction of cyclooxygenase-2...

BACKGROUND A major challenge in the treatment of heart failure is the ability to reverse already-established myocardial remodeling and ventricular dysfunction, with few available pharmacological agents prescribed for the management of heart failure having demonstrated successful reversal of the remodeling and hypertrophic processes. North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) has previously be...