Recent publications have demonstrated the presence of tissue factor (TF)-bearing microparticles (MPs) in the blood of patients suffering from cancer. However, whether these MPs are involved in thrombosis remains unknown. We show that pancreatic and lung cancer cells produce MPs that express active TF and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (PSGL-1). Cancer cell-derived MPs aggregate platelets via ...

BACKGROUND Microparticles (MPs) are vesicles released from plasma membrane upon cell activation and during apoptosis. Human T lymphocytes undergoing activation and apoptosis generate MPs bearing morphogen Shh (MPs(Shh+)) that are able to regulate in vitro angiogenesis. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, we investigated the ability of MPs(Shh+) to modulate neovascularization in a model of mo...

The effect of the Shwartzman phenomenon on the metabolism of the acid mucopolysaccharides (MPS), hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate, from rabbits with localized lesions was studied. Quantitative changes of MPS were observed by two techniques-the in vivo incorporation of glucose C(14) into the MPS and the in vitro dilution of C(14)-labeled MPS. The results indicate an increased concentratio...

Microparticles (MPs) are increasingly recognized as important mediators of cell-cell communication in tumour growth and metastasis by facilitating angiogenesis-related processes. While the effects of the MPs on recipient cells are usually well described in the literature, the leading process remains unclear. Here we isolated MPs from ovarian cancer cells and investigated their effect on endothe...

Computational prediction of membrane protein (MP) structures is very challenging partially due to lack of sufficient solved structures for homology modeling or parameter estimation of computational methods. Recently direct evolutionary coupling analysis (DCA) sheds some light on protein contact prediction and accordingly, contact-assisted folding, but DCA is effective only on some very large-si...

UNLABELLED Recently, a clinical study on patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD) showed that external counterpulsation therapy (ECP) at high (300 mmHg) but not at low inflation pressure (80 mmHg) promoted coronary collateral growth, most likely due to shear stress-induced arteriogenesis. The exact molecular mechanisms behind shear stress-induced arteriogenesis are still obscure. We t...

Microparticles (MPs) are small submicron membrane-derived vesicles shed from a variety of cells and they have been implicated in different disorders. Accordingly, understanding of physiological characteristics of MPs and improvement of methods of their quantification are important for further advance in the field. Although flow cytometry is the most widely applied technique for MP analysis, it ...

Mucopolysaccharidosis I (MPS I) and MPS VII are due to deficient activity of the glycosaminoglycan-degrading lysosomal enzymes alpha-L-iduronidase and beta-glucuronidase, respectively, and result in abnormal bones and joints. Here, the severity of skeletal disease in MPS I and MPS VII dogs and the effects of neonatal gene therapy were evaluated. For untreated MPS VII dogs, the lengths of the se...

BACKGROUND Bone marrow-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) are critical for neovascularization. We hypothesized that microparticles (MPs), small fragments generated from the plasma membrane, can activate angiogenic programming of EPCs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We studied the effects of MPs obtained from wild type (MPs(PPARalpha+/+)) and knock-out (MPs(PPARalpha-/-)) mice on EPC ...

Classical myelofibrosis syndromes (MPS) most frequently occur in adults, but MPS unique to childhood also exist. Such syndromes include juvenile chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML), the MPS of monosomy 7 in childhood, familial chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the transient MPS of infants with trisomy 21, and childhood forms of myelofibrosis. Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is an autosomal domi...