Leptin, a circulating hormone secreted mainly from adipose tissues, is involved in the control of body weight. The plasma concentrations are correlated with body mass index, and are reported to be high in patients with insulin resistance, which is one of the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease. However, the direct effect of leptin on vascular wall cells is not fully understood. In thi...

A preparation has been made from Complex I1 of beef heart mitochondria which contains in purified form two peptides, designated CItw3 and Ctt-4, with molecular weights of 13,500 and 7,000, respectively. Recombination of soluble succinate dehydrogenase with the peptides elicits ubiquinone reductase activity and, with Complex 111, antimycin-sensitive cytochrome c reductase activity, while the “lo...

Complex II (succinate dehydrogenase) is an essential mitochondrial enzyme involved in both the tricarboxylic acid cycle and the respiratory chain. In Arabidopsis thaliana, its iron-sulfur subunit (SDH2) is encoded by three genes, one of them (SDH2.3) being specifically expressed during seed maturation in the embryo. Here we show that seed SDH2.3 expression is regulated by abscisic acid (ABA) an...

Cadmium (Cd), a toxic environmental pollutant, has a long biological half-life (15–20 years) and thus can be readily accumulated in human body with age. Due to its high permeability to blood-brain barrier, Cd can evoke overproduction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and consequently induce neuronal cell death in brain. Cd has been regarded as a possible etiological factor for human neurodegener...

Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) is a hallmark manifestation of sleep apnea. A heightened carotid body activity and the resulting chemosensory reflex mediate increased sympathetic nerve activity by CIH. However, the mechanisms underlying heightened carotid body activity by CIH are not known. An elevation of intracellular calcium ion concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) in glomus cells, the primary oxyge...