Currently, controversial clinical data about the protective effects in the consumption of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in ischaemic heart diseases exist. Improved myocardial resistance to ischaemia-reperfusion (IR) injury results in non-lethal myocardial infarction, which is a relevant factor in the myocardial function. We hypothesized that chronic supplementation with PUFAs reduced ...

AIMS In myocardial ischaemia, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces permeability by activating a signalling pathway that includes VEGF receptor 2 (VEGFR2), resulting in increased oedema and inflammation and thereby expanding the area of tissue damage. In this study, we investigated the role of receptor-interacting protein 2 (Rip2) in VEGF signalling and myocardial ischaemia/reperfus...

The global prevalence of diabetes has risen to epidemic proportions and the trend is predicted to continue. The consequent burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is a major public health concern and new treatments are required to mitigate the deleterious effects of cardiovascular disease in diabetic patients. Ischaemia-reperfusion injury is well known to exacerbate the harmful effects...

RATIONALE Primary graft dysfunction in lung transplant recipients derives from the initial, largely leukocyte-dependent, ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Intravascular lung-marginated monocytes have been shown to play key roles in experimental acute lung injury, but their contribution to lung ischaemia-reperfusion injury post transplantation is unknown. OBJECTIVE To define the role of donor intr...

AIMS Gap junctions are indispensable for the function of heart and blood vessels by providing electrical coupling and direct cell-to-cell transfer of small signalling molecules. Gap junction channels between neighbouring cells are composed of 12 connexins (Cx). Changes in Cx43 expression, localization, and channel properties in cardiomyocytes contribute to infarction and reperfusion injury of t...

Loss of calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis contributes through different mechanisms to cell death occurring during the first minutes of reperfusion. One of them is an unregulated activation of a variety of Ca(2+)-dependent enzymes, including the non-lysosomal cysteine proteases known as calpains. This review analyses the involvement of the calpain family in reperfusion-induced cardiomyocyte death. Ca...

AIMS Stroke is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and its incidence increases with age. Both in animals and in humans, oxidative stress appears to play an important role in ischaemic stroke, with or without reperfusion. The adaptor protein p66(Shc) is a key regulator of reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and a mediator of ischaemia/reperfusion damage in ex vivo hearts. Hence, we ...

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) remains one of the leading causes of death in the developed world. There is emerging evidence that the cytokine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) is a crucial player in AMI. Cardioprotection by MIF is likely to be a multifactorial phenomenon mediated by receptor-mediated signalling processes, intracellular protein-protein interactions, and enzymatic ...

The onset of coronary occlusion caused by vasospasm, thrombosis, or atherosclerotic plaque rupture produces myocardial ischaemia, and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can result within minutes. Reperfusion with minimal time lapse is the treatment of choice for AMI, but coronary reperfusion can also enhance myocardial injury and the induction of life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias. In 1986, it...

Activation of the PI3K/AKT pathway protects the heart from ischaemia-reperfusion injury. Phosphatase and Tensin Homolog deleted on Chromosome10 (PTEN) is a negative regulator of this pathway. The hypothesis on which this thesis was based stated that inhibition of PTEN would confer protection against ischaemia-reperfusion injury. PTEN was reduced using: 1) a PTEN inhibitor, bpV(HOpic), 2) a mous...