Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) 2 is a key negative regulator of the renin-angiotensin system and metabolizes angiotensin II (Ang II) into Ang 1 to 7. Ang II is a vasoactive peptide, which plays an important role in vascular disease. The objective of the present study was to define the role of ACE2 in pathological vascular remodeling. We found upregulation of ACE2 in dilated human aorta wit...

To explore the molecular mechanisms responsible for the variation in smooth muscle contractile kinetics, the influence of MgATP, MgADP, and inorganic phosphate (P(i)) on force and shortening velocity in thiophosphorylated "fast" (taenia coli: maximal shortening velocity Vmax = 0.11 ML/s) and "slow" (aorta: Vmax = 0.015 ML/s) smooth muscle from the guinea pig were compared. P(i) inhibited active...

The expression of the gene 2 sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic-reticulum Ca2(+)-pump isoforms (SERCA2a and SERCA2b) and of phospholamban was studied in pig smooth muscle of the stomach, longitudinal ileum, pulmonary artery and aorta. mRNA levels were determined using an RNAase protection assay. The SERCA2 isoforms and phospholamban were tested on Western blots with a panel of antibodies, some of which w...

Aging represents a major risk for vascular diseases. Diseases of the aorta causes serious back effects on the heart. This study aims to detect the histological changes of the aged aorta and to understand their underlying mechanisms to help in development of the prophylactic and treatment measures. Ten adult and ten aged male albino rats were used. Specimens from their thoracic aorta were prepar...

nigella sativa (n. sativa) is a spice plant which has been traditionally used for culinary and medicinal purposes. different therapeutic properties including the beneficial effects on asthma and dyspnea, digestive and gynecology disorders have been described for the seeds of n. sativa. there is evidence of the relaxant effects of this plant and some of its constituents on different types of smo...

Background: The vascular function of Angiotensin II-type-2 receptors in adults is controversial. We sought their location and function in mouse aortic rings at young and old mice. Materials and Methods: Male C57Bl mice (aged 4 and 14 months) were killed by CO2. The descending thoracic aorta was cleaned and dissected into rings. Aortic rings were mounted in Krebs’ solution at 37 °C an...

Fowl show spontaneous elevation of blood pressure and neointimal plaque formation in the abdominal aorta at young ages. A similar neointima can be induced by a balloon-catheter-induced endothelium injury to the fowl aorta. Both spontaneously developed and injury-induced vascular lesions exhibit subendothelial hyperplasia consisting of neointimal cells with a synthetic phenotype and abundant ext...

Smooth muscle myosin heavy chains (MHCs), the motor proteins that power smooth muscle contraction, are produced by alternative splicing from a single gene. The smooth muscle MHC gene is capable of producing four isoforms by utilizing alternative splice sites located at the regions encoding the carboxy terminus and the junction of the 25- and 50-kDa tryptic peptides. These four isoforms, SM1A, S...