Background & Objective: The combination of two or more therapeutic agents and their synergetic impacts can be therapeutically effective against multifactorial diseases, such as diabetic foot ulcers. This study demonstrates the application of a nanofiber-based drug delivery system with a controlled release of the growth factor. Various studies have shown that vascular endothelial growth facto...

Chronic estrogen treatment increases endothelial vasodilator function in cerebral arteries. Endothelial nitric oxide (NO) synthase (eNOS) is a primary target of the hormone, but other endothelial factors may be modulated as well. In light of possible interactions between NO and prostaglandins, we tested the hypothesis that estrogen treatment increases prostanoid-mediated dilation using NOS-defi...

Endothelial dysfunction, as manifested by an attenuation of nitric oxide (NO)–mediated vasodilation, is recognized to be a fundamental abnormality in the genesis of hypertension, atherosclerosis, and coronary artery disease (1). Metabolic risk factors, such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D), can initiate and accelerate endothelial dysfunction leading to cardiovascular di...

RATIONALE Atherosclerotic lesions develop in regions of disturbed flow, whereas laminar flow protects from atherogenesis; however, the mechanisms involved are not completely elucidated. Integrins are mechanosensors of shear stress in endothelial cells, and integrin-linked kinase (ILK) is important for blood vessel integrity and cardiovascular development. OBJECTIVES To explore the role of ILK...

Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is the primary physiological source of nitric oxide (NO) that regulates cardiovascular homeostasis. Historically eNOS has been thought to be a constitutively expressed enzyme regulated by calcium and calmodulin. However, in the last five years it is clear that eNOS activity and NO release can be regulated by post-translational control mechanisms (fatty a...

OBJECTIVE Loss-of-function mutations in genes coding for transforming growth factor-beta/bone morphogenetic protein receptors and changes in nitric oxide(*) (NO(*)) bioavailability are associated with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and some forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension. How these abnormalities lead to seemingly disparate pulmonary pathologies remains unknown. Endoglin (Eng), ...

For the specific analysis of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) function in the coronary vasculature, we generated a mouse homozygous for a defective eNOS gene (eNOS-/-). Western blot as well as immunohistochemical staining revealed the absence of eNOS protein in eNOS-/- mice. Aortic endothelial cells derived from eNOS-/- mice displayed only background levels of NOx formation compared with wild-typ...

The present study tests the hypothesis that age-dependent increases in endothelial vasodilator capacity are due to maturational increases in endothelial NO synthesis and release. Intact 4-cm carotid artery segments taken from term fetal lambs and non-pregnant adult sheep were perfused using a closed system that enabled independent control of flow and inflow pressure, and facilitated complete re...

Although chronic and excessive alcohol consumption is associated with liver disease, the mechanism of alcoholic liver injury is still not clear. Whether reduced hepatic production of nitric oxide, which is evident in models of liver injury, is associated with alcohol-induced liver injury has not been investigated. We measured nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity in the liver of pair-fed rats re...

Improving the dysfunction of endothelial progenitor cell (EPCs) in patients with diabetes mellitus is important for preventing vascular complication. Vaspin, an adipocytokine, has the anti-atherogenic properties rely on its positive effect on nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability. We hypothesis that vaspin may ameliorate high glucose induced dysfunction of EPCs. In rat bone marrow derived EPCs, glu...