Apoptosis is defined on the basis of morphological changes like nuclear fragmentation and chromatin condensation, which are dependent on caspases. Many forms of caspase-independent cell death have been reported, but the mechanisms are still poorly understood. We found that hypoxic cell death was independent of caspases and was associated with significant nuclear shrinkage. Neither Bcl-2 nor Apa...

Vipoxin from the venom of Vipera ammodytes meridionalis is an unique neurotoxic complex between a toxic phospholipase A2 and a highly homologous non-toxic protein inhibitor. It is an example of evolution of a catalytic and toxic function into inhibitory and non-toxic one. The activity of the V. ammodytes meridionalis toxin is 1.7 times higher than that of the closely related (92% sequence ident...

BACKGROUND The platelet fibrinogen receptor represents the final common pathway of platelet activation, and is formed from two glycoprotein (GP) subunits (GPIIb/IIIa). Carriage of the mutant PlA2 allele of GPIIIa has been shown to confer an increased risk of cardiovascular events, but published studies have disagreed as to the mechanism for this association. OBJECTIVES To assess whether carri...

Oocyst formation is a critical stage in the development of the malaria parasite in the mosquito. We have discovered that the phospholipase A(2) (PLA2) from the venom of the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) inhibits oocyst formation when added to infected chicken blood and fed to mosquitoes. A similar transmission-blocking activity was demonstrated for PLA2s from the venom o...

This prospective study aimed to determine the effects of the persistence of overweight for three years and the PLA2G7 V279F polymorphism, as well as the interaction between these factors, on the association of age with blood pressure (BP). Healthy middle-aged subjects with normotensive BP were divided into the normal-weight and overweight groups. The PLA2G7 V279F genotype, BP, lipoprotein-assoc...

High sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) is a marker of metabolic syndrome (MS) and cardiovascular (CV) disease. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) also predicts CV disease. There are no reports comparing these markers as predictors of MS. Methods. Cross-sectional study comparing Lp-PLA2 and hsCRP as predictors of MS in asymptomatic subjects was carried out; 152 subjects witho...

Lipoprotein associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) - an enzyme with several pro-inflammatory properties - has been hypothesized to be involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and plaque vulnerability. Lp-PLA2 activity has been demonstrated to be an independent predictor of coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke. However, it has been recently reported that carriers of loss of fun...

OBJECTIVE Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) may be a new and independent predictor of cardiovascular events. The effect of Lp-PLA2 may be exerted through effects of the enzyme on the development of atherosclerosis. Therefore, we investigated the association between Lp-PLA2 activity and measures of extracoronary atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS Lp-PLA2 activity was determin...

Objective: To observe the effect of Fastigial Nucleus Stimulation (FNS) on serum inflammatory factors in patients with coronary heart disease. Methods: 144 disease were randomly divided into experimental group (n = 72) and control 72). The received conventional medication for was given cerebellar nucleus electrical stimulation basis routine medication. High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CR...

BACKGROUND Subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) is a metabolic disorder characterized by elevated TSH level but normal T4 level. Some previous studies suggest that SCH is associated with inflammation. OBJECTIVES The present study aimed to compare lipid serum levels in SCH patients and normal participants, also explore possible association between SCH and the two inflammatory markers hs-CRP and PL...