Background: To evaluate gastrointestinal pathology in computed tomography (CT) scan, optimum distention, mural visualization and gastrointestinal tract discrimination are necessary. High attenuation oral contrast material in the form of iodine solution has drawbacks in mural visualization and tolerance. Milk can be used as a low attenuation CT oral contrast agent in gastrointestinal tract discr...

New blood vessels are initially formed through the assembly or sprouting of endothelial cells, but the recruitment of supporting pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (mural cells) ensures the formation of a mature and stable vascular network. Defective mural-cell coverage is associated with the poorly organized and leaky vasculature seen in tumors or other human diseases. Here we report t...

The molecular pathways by which newly formed, immature endothelial cell tubes remodel to form a mature network of vessels supported by perivascular mural cells are not well understood. The zebrafish iguana (igu) genetic mutant has a mutation in the daz-interacting protein 1 (dzip1), a member of the hedgehog signaling pathway. Loss of dzip1 results in decreased size of the cranial dorsal aortae,...

ARTS (Sept4_i2) is a mitochondrial pro-apoptotic protein that functions as a tumor suppressor. Its expression is significantly reduced in leukemia and lymphoma patients. ARTS binds and inhibits XIAP (X-linked Inhibitor of Apoptosis protein) by interacting with its Bir3 domain. ARTS promotes degradation of XIAP through the proteasome pathway. By doing so, ARTS removes XIAP inhibition of caspases...

AIM To define sensitive and reliable Doppler parameters for measurements in the superior mesenteric artery and mural arteries of affected bowel loops used in the assessment of Crohn disease activity. METHODS We performed cross-sectional study at a tertiary care setting in Zagreb, Croatia, between January 2001 and March 2005. We measured arterial flow in the superior mesenteric artery and affe...

OBJECTIVE Determine whether size and other preoperative parameters predict malignant or invasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasia (IPMN). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA From 1991 to 2006, 150 patients underwent 156 operations for IPMN. METHODS Prospectively collected, retrospective review of a single academic institution's experience. All preoperative parameters including a detailed radiol...

In this study, we tested the possibility that macrophages might contribute to neointima formation by stimulating microRNA expressions in mural cells. Thoracic aortas from F344 rats were transplanted into recipient Lewis rats. Clodronate liposome was used for in vivo macrophage depletion. Using miR-21 as a prototypic example of vascular enriched microRNA, we showed that macrophage depletion redu...

Ovarian cystic tumors with a mural nodule are a rare entity. We report a case of a mural nodule of anaplastic spindle cell carcinoma in an ovarian mucinous cystic tumor of borderline malignancy. The patient was a 45-years-old Japanese woman who presented with an ovarian cyst. She suffered from mature cystic teratoma of both ovaries 9 years before the present history. Image analysis and laborato...

BACKGROUND Noninvasive intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) have a favorable prognosis; however, the prognosis of invasive intraductal papillary mucinous carcinoma (invasive IPMC) is poor. Identification of predictive factors for differentiating IPMC from benign IPMNs would assist in providing appropriate treatment. DESIGN Retrospective study (1999-2006). SETTING Wakayama Medica...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The biological mechanisms predisposing intracranial saccular aneurysms to growth and rupture are not yet fully understood. Mural cell loss is a histological hallmark of ruptured cerebral aneurysms. It remains unclear whether mural cell loss predisposes to aneurysm growth and eventual rupture. METHODS Sodium dodecyl sulfate decellularized and nondecellularized saccular a...