SEE PAGE 47 A MP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a molecular energy sensor that is essential to the stress response in the heart (1). AMPK is activated during energy imbalance, when the ADPor AMP-toATP ratio increases. Because few proteins have adenine nucleotide binding domains, the activation of a protein kinase, which phosphorylates numerous downstream proteins, amplifies the energy stres...

Epidemiological studies show that particulate matter (PM) is the principal instigator of some adverse clinical symptoms involving cardiovascular diseases. PM exposure can increase experimental infarct size and potentiate myocardial ischemia and arrhythmias in experimental MI models such as ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury.The present study was aimed to evaluate the effects of particulate matte...

In this study we sought to determine the effect of sepsis on two sequelae of prolonged (24-h) beta-agonist administration, myocardial hypertrophy and catecholamine-induced cardiotoxicity. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to cecal ligation and perforation (CLP) or sham study groups and then further randomized to receive isoproterenol (2.4 mg. kg-1. day-1 iv) or placebo treatment. At 24 h, myo...

NIKOLIC-HEITZLER, V., RABUZIN, F., TATZBER, F., VRKIC, N., BULJ, N., BOROVIC, S., WONISCH, W., SUNKO, B.M. and ZARKOVIC, N. Persistent Oxidative Stress after Myocardial Infarction Treated by Percutaneous Coronary Intervention. Tohoku J. Exp. Med., 2006, 210 (3), 247-255── Acute myocardial infarction causing cardiac ischemia is responsible for the majority of cardiac related deaths. Medical inte...

SUDDEN CARDIAC ARREST IS THE most common lethal consequence of cardiovascular disease. Even if return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) from cardiac arrest is achieved, approximately 60% of patients will not survive to hospital discharge. The high mortality is attributed to the postcardiac arrest syndrome, which involves global ischemiareperfusion injury, myocardial stunning, and anoxic brain i...

We read with interest the study by Christiansen and colleagues [1] in the previous issue of Critical Care. In a large cohort study, the authors report that among diabetic patients who are admitted to the ICU, the preadmission use of metformin is associated with a lower mortality rate. Here, we highlight that metformin limits ischemiareperfusion injury (IRI) and modulates inflammation by increas...

The incidence and severity of primary cardiac events are inversely related to the plasma concentration of high-density lipoproteins (HDLs). We investigated whether HDLs may exert a direct cardioprotection in buffer-perfused isolated rat hearts, which underwent a 20-minute low-flow ischemia followed by a 30-minute reperfusion. The administration of HDLs at physiological concentrations (0.5 and 1...

Wang M, Zhang W, Crisostomo P, Markel T, Meldrum KK, Fu XY, Meldrum DR. Endothelial STAT3 plays a critical role in generalized myocardial proinflammatory and proapoptotic signaling. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 293: H2101–H2108, 2007. First published August 3, 2007; doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00125.2007.—Signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 is involved in mediating a broad ran...

This study aimed to investigate tourniquet-induced compartment syndrome of the limb, consequential development multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, and its counteraction with pentadecapeptide BPC 157 therapy.