Vascular complications are the primary cause of morbidity and mortality and a major contributor to health care costs in patients with diabetes (1). While the etiology of vascular disease is multifactorial, endothelial dysfunction characterized by a decrease in nitric oxide (NO) synthesis from endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) and blunted endothelium-dependent vasodilation is a seminal feature in d...

There is a growing body of evidence that bilirubin, which is generated during the physiological breakdown of heme, exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects. Previous work by our group suggests that bilirubin is able to suppress inflammatory responses by preventing the migration of leukocytes into target tissues through disruption of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1)-dependent cell signa...

The expression of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) is influenced by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Effect of bilirubin on HIF-1 expression in proximal tubular cells was investigated under physiological oxygen concentration, which is relative hypoxic condition mimicking oxygen content in the medulla of renal tissue. The human kidney (HK2) cells were cultured in 5% oxygen with or without bilirubin....

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency and interhospital variation of bilirubin testing and identified hyperbilirubinemia in a large health maintenance organization. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING Eleven Northern California Kaiser Permanente hospitals. SUBJECTS A total of 51,387 infants born in 1995-1996 at >/= 36 weeks' gestation and >/= 2000 g. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Bilirubin...

Light therapy, also called phototherapy, exposes infants with jaundice [5], a yellowing of the skin and eyes, to artificial or natural light to break down the buildup of bilirubin pigment in the blood. Bilirubin is an orange to red pigment produced when red blood cells break down, which causes infants to turn into a yellowish color. Small amounts of bilirubin in the blood are normal, but when t...

1. Renal mechanisms of conjugated bilirubin excretion have been studied in isolated rat kidneys perfused with a protein-free dextran medium, containing conjugated bilirubin isolated from human bile. 2. In nine perfused kidneys with a low glomerular filtration rate (GFR) (less than 0.5 ml/min) and depressed tubular function, there was a significant linear correlation between conjugated bilirubin...

Procedures for the synthesis, separation and determination of structure of the bilirubin-IX isomers are described. 1. The four biliverdin-IX isomers were prepared by oxidative cleavage of haemin and were separated as their dimethyl esters. The individual esters were reduced with NaBH4, and the bilirubin esters obtained were subjected to alkaline hydrolysis yielding the corresponding bilirubin-I...

Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) exerts vasoprotective effects. Such benefit in diabetic vasculopathy, however, remains unclear. We hypothesize that bilirubin mediates HO-1-induced vascular benefits in diabetes. Diabetic db/db mice were treated with hemin (HO-1 inducer) for 2 weeks, and aortas were isolated for functional and molecular assays. Nitric oxide (NO) production was measured in cultured endoth...

One aim of laboratory investigation in neonatal jaundice is to prevent kernicterus from occurring. Estimation of the bilirubin-binding capacity of serum is an important measurement along with total bilirubin determination. With a convenient Sephadex competitive binding procedure, KERNLUTE provides information on whether or not the neonate's bilirubin-binding capacity has been exceeded. Further ...

During the neonatal period, total and conjugated bilirubin determinations are necessary to identify the origin of jaundice, to predict its evolution and to treat it. We discuss the results obtained in 108 neonates (less than 15 days old), undergoing phototherapy or not, using a colorimetric diazo reaction and dual wavelength reflectance with a Kodak Ektachem analyzer. Concerning total bilirubin...