The regulation of phosphate (Pi) handling is crucial during calcification of the aortic valve. Gene profiling of Pi transporters revealed that VIC culture expresses SLC201A1/Pit1 and SLC20A2/Pit2. On exposure to a mineralizing medium (2 mM Pi), the expression of Pi transporters in VIC culture is increased several folds, with the highest magnitude for SLC20A1. By using siRNAs, we established tha...

Dustin J. Flanagan,1,2,10 Toby J. Phesse,3,10,11 Nick Barker,4,5,10 Renate H.M. Schwab,1,2 Nancy Amin,1,2 JordaneMalaterre,6 Daniel E. Stange,7 Cameron J. Nowell,3 Scott A. Currie,1,2 Jarel T.S. Saw,1,2 Eva Beuchert,1,2 Robert G. Ramsay,6 Owen J. Sansom,8 Matthias Ernst,3,11 Hans Clevers,7 and Elizabeth Vincan1,2,9,* 1Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, V...

Heart valve disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Little is known about valve disease pathogenesis, but increasing evidence implicates a genetic basis for valve disease, suggesting a developmental origin. Although the cellular and molecular processes involved in early valvulogenesis have been well described, less is known about the regulation of valve extracellular...

Monoclonal antibodies were produced against surface antigens of live cells from a human acute monocytic leukaemia cell line (THP-1). One clone, VIC-C2, when assayed by immunofluorescence microscopy, brightly stained the surface of THP-1 cells and the cytoplasm of Langerhans cells, fibroblasts and melanocytes in sections of human skin. The immunoreactive cytoplasmic structures were filamentous a...

AIMS Aortic valve stenosis (AS) is the most common valvulopathy and is characterized by inflammation, extracellular matrix (ECM) remodelling and calcification, causing a narrowing of the valve and the consequential obstruction of the cardiac outflow. Although intraleaflet haemorrhage is associated with AS progression, the mechanisms involved are not known. The aims of this study were to identif...

Three-phase three-level dual-active-bridge (3L-DAB3) converters are a potential topology for high-voltage and high-power applications. Neutral-point voltage balancing is complex important issue (3L) circuits. Compared with the single-phase 3L converter, self-balancing capability of 3L-DAB3 limited. To guarantee reliability neutral-point method proposed in this paper. First, principle analyzed. ...

Neisseria meningitidis is the causative agent of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD). A recombinant vaccine called Bexsero® incorporates four subcapsular antigens (fHbp, NHBA, NadA and PorA) which are used to assign a Bexsero® antigen sequence type (BAST) to each meningococcal strain. The vaccine elicits an immune response against combinations of variants of these antigens which have been grou...

BACKGROUND Epithelial cells affected by somatic mutations undergo transition from a tumour-suppressive to a carcinogenic Smad pathway during sporadic colorectal carcinogenesis, and the specific linker threonine phosphorylation of Smad2/3 in colon epithelial cells indicates stem-like cells. This study extends previous observations to a model of colitis-associated colorectal cancer. METHODS Aft...