Activated protein C (aPC) is a natural anticoagulant and a potent anti-inflammatory and cytoprotective agent. At the expense of increased bleeding risk aPC has been used - with some success - in sepsis. The design of cytoprotective-selective aPC variants circumvents this limitation of increased bleeding, reviving the interest in aPC as a therapeutic agent. Emerging studies suggest that aPC`s be...

The present study was carried out to investigate the antioxidant, cytoprotective and antibacterial effects of aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of Hippophae rhamnoides L. (Sea buckthorn) (SBT) leaves by using various in vitro systems and analysis of marker compounds by reverse phase-high performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC). The chemical composition of the leaf extracts was quantified ...

We have investigated the potential cytoprotective role of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) molecular chaperones in a cultured cell model of renal ischemia. Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells were pretreated with tunicamycin (an inducer of ER but not cytosolic molecular chaperones) for 12-16 h, followed by 6 h of ATP depletion. A rapid and severe depletion of cellular ATP was noted in both control...

The common wood frog, Rana sylvatica, utilizes freeze tolerance as a means of winter survival. Concealed beneath a layer of leaf litter and blanketed by snow, these frogs withstand subzero temperatures by allowing approximately 65-70% of total body water to freeze. Freezing is generally considered to be an ischemic event in which the blood oxygen supply is impeded and may lead to low levels of ...

A20 is a stress response gene in endothelial cells (ECs). A20 serves a dual cytoprotective function, protecting from tumor necrosis factor (TNF)–mediated apoptosis and inhibiting inflammation via blockade of the transcription factor nuclear factor– B (NFB). In this study, we evaluated the molecular basis of the cytoprotective function of A20 in EC cultures and questioned whether its protective ...

Monocyte activation, apoptosis and differentiation are hallmarks of most inflammatory vascular disorders. We studied the effects of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) induced by its substrate hemin on apoptosis, caspase-3 expression and the differentiation of freshly isolated human monocytes. Hemin induced HO-1 in a dose- and time-dependent fashion as measured by semi-quantitative RT-PCR and flow cytometr...