Endothelial cells (EC) metabolize L-arginine mainly by arginase, which exists as two distinct isoforms, arginase I and II. To understand the roles of arginase isoforms in EC arginine metabolism, bovine coronary venular EC were stably transfected with the Escherichia coli lacZ gene (lacZ-EC, control), rat arginase I cDNA (AI-EC), or mouse arginase II cDNA (AII-EC). Western blots and enzymatic as...

      A sensitive procedure for determining total vitamin C (ascorbic acid + dehydrate ascorbic Acid) in a blood drop from a finger prick, before and after the adminis- tration of a vitamin C tablet is described. Analysis was carried out by high per- formance liquid  chromatography with  electrochemical detection (HPLC/EC). Measurements were taken one hour, two hours and six hours after the adm...

PM10 and black smoke were monitored at a suburban sampling station located in the northern Spanish city of Gijón. Thirty-two metals and total carbon (TC) (i.e., organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC)) were analyzed over a year. The study of air-mass origin based on 5-day back trajectories was carried out to assess its influence on the recovery data. Different strategies were implemented ...

Extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD) overexpression modulates cellular responses such as tumor cell suppression and is induced by IFNγ. Therefore, we examined the role of EC-SOD in IFNγ-mediated tumor cell suppression. We observed that the dominant-negative protein kinase C delta (PKCδ) suppresses IFNγ-induced EC-SOD expression in both keratinocytes and melanoma cells. Our results also s...

Pork liver contains an endogenous enzyme, ferrochelatase (FeCH), which catalyses the formation of zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP), a natural pigment great interest for meat industry. The aim this study was to analyse effect pork drying (from −10 70 °C), as stabilisation method, on FeCH activity (EA) and apparent concentration (EC app ). Drying temperatures close room conditions 10 20 °C) allowed pre...

Induction of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis is facilitated in a genetically resistant BALB/c mouse strain by a nonpathogenic strain of a neurotropic alphavirus, Semliki Forest virus (SFV-A7). One possible explanation for this enhancement is virus infection of endothelial cells (EC), causing increased permeability of the blood-brain barrier. We have now sought evidence for virus infecti...

Abstract Background Oligovascular niche mediates interactions between cerebral endothelial cells and oligodendrocyte precursor (OPCs). Disruption of OPC-endothelium trophic coupling may aggravate the progress white matter injury (WMI) because could not provide sufficient support under diseased conditions. Endothelial progenitor (EPCs) have been reported to ameliorate WMI in adult brain by boost...