BACKGROUND Obesity is generally accepted as a risk factor for premature atherosclerosis. Subclinical inflammation as quantified by blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) contributes to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that inflammation in obese children is related to functional and early morphological vascular changes. METHODS AND RESULTS Blood levels of h...

Objective. Respiratory bacterial infections are associated with important coagulation disturbances that amplify the pulmonary lesions and determine a more severe course of the disease. The aim of our study was to investigate the correlation between the evolution of the general clinical parameters and the occurrence of thrombotic events on one side, and plasma levels of selected proteins involve...

Maintaining cell cohesiveness within tissues requires that intercellular adhesions develop sufficient strength to support traction forces applied by myosin motors and by neighboring cells. Cadherins are transmembrane receptors that mediate intercellular adhesion. The cadherin cytoplasmic domain recruits several partners, including catenins and vinculin, at sites of cell-cell adhesion. Our study...

In connective tissues, intercellular adhesion is essential for tissue morphogenesis, development and wound healing. However, the signaling mechanisms initiated by cell-cell adhesion in fibroblasts and that regulate it are not known. In this study we tested the hypothesis that intracellular calcium signaling is required to mediate intercellular adhesion between fibroblasts. Fura-2 or fluo-3 labe...

OBJECTIVE Carbamylated low-density lipoprotein (LDL), the most abundant modified LDL isoform in human blood, has been recently implicated in causing the atherosclerosis-prone injuries to endothelial cells in vitro and atherosclerosis in humans. This study was aimed at testing the hypothesis that carbamylated LDL acts via inducing monocyte adhesion to endothelial cells and determining the adhesi...

Intercellular adhesion is measured by a new method based on determination of the rates of attachment of single cells to confluent cell monolayers. The procedure is simple, rapid, and reproducible. Specific and nonspecific intercellular adhesions can be quantitated and distinguished from each other, and from the adhesion to glass (or plastic). The rate of adhesion of single cells to the monolaye...