San Francisco Bay is facing a legacy of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) spread widely across the land surface of the watershed, mixed deep into the sediment of the Bay, and contaminating the Bay food web to a degree that poses health risks to humans and wildlife. In response to this persistent problem, water quality managers are establishing a PCB total maximum daily load (TMDL) and implementa...

An effective treatment for hepatic fibrosis is not available clinically. Nuclear factor (NF)-κB plays a central role in inflammation and fibrosis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of an NF-κB inhibitor, BAY-11-7082 (BAY), on mouse liver fibrosis. The effects of BAY on hepatic stellate cell (HSC) activation were measured in the lipopolysaccharide-activated rat HSC-T6 ce...

The accurate identification of bay leaf in natural products commerce may often be confusing as the name is applied to several different species of aromatic plants. The true "bay leaf", also known as "bay laurel" or "sweet bay", is sourced from the tree Laurus nobilis, a native of the Mediterranean region. Nevertheless, the leaves of several other species including Cinnamomum tamala, Litsea glau...

Breast cancer cells generally develop resistance to TNF-Related Apoptosis-Inducing Ligand (TRAIL) and, therefore, assistance from sensitizers is required. In our study, we have demonstrated that Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor Bay 61-3606 was identified as a TRAIL sensitizer. Amplification of TRAIL-induced apoptosis by Bay 61-3606 was accompanied by the strong activation of Bak, caspases...

Abnormal L-type Ca(2+) channel (LTCC, also named Cav1.2) density and regulation are important contributors to depressed contractility in failing hearts. The LTCC agonist BAY K 8644 (BAY K) has reduced inotropic effects on failing myocardium. We hypothesized that BAY K effects on the LTCC current (I(CaL)) in failing myocytes would be reduced because of increased basal activity. Since support of ...

BAY 41-2272 (BAY), a stimulator of soluble guanylyl cyclase, increases cyclic nucleotides and inhibits proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In this study, we elucidated mechanisms of action of BAY in its regulation of vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein (VASP) with an emphasis on VSMC phosphodiesterases (PDEs). BAY alone increased phosphorylation of VASP(Ser239) and VASP(Ser...

Decreases in intrinsic NO cause cerebral vasospasms because of the dysregulation of cGMP formation by NO-mediated pathways. Because 5-cyclopropyl-2-{1-(2-fluorobenzyl)-1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridin-3-yl}pyrimidin-4-ylamine (BAY 41-2272) is a potent soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) stimulator in an NO-independent manner, this study aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying the relaxant effects of...

Heman airway preparations at resting tone were relaxed with either the leukotriene synthesis inhibitor BAY x1005 (3 muM), chlorpheniramine (1 muM) or the thromboxane receptor antagonist BAY u3405 (0.1 muM). The response to anti-IgE (1:1000) was 58 +/- 8% of acetylcholine pre-contraction (2.19 +/- 0.28 g). Indomethacin (3 muM) enhanced the anti-IgE-induced contraction by 28%. The anti-IgE maxima...

Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) is partly due to impaired nitric oxide (NO)-cGMP signaling. BAY 41-2272 is a novel direct activator of soluble guanylate cyclase, but whether this drug may be an effective therapy for PPHN is unknown. We hypothesized that BAY 41-2272 would cause pulmonary vasodilation in a model of severe PPHN. To test this hypothesis, we compared the hemo...