Plasmodium falciparum infection can abruptly progress to severe malaria, a life-threatening complication resulting from sequestration of parasitized red blood cells (PRBC) in the microvasculature of various organs such as the brain and lungs. PRBC adhesion can induce endothelial cell (EC) activation and apoptosis, thereby disrupting the blood-brain barrier. Moreover, hemozoin, the malarial pigm...

BACKGROUND Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is the leading genetic cause of infant death. It is caused by mutations/deletions of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene and is typified by the loss of spinal cord motor neurons, muscular atrophy, and in severe cases, death. The SMN protein is ubiquitously expressed and various cellular- and tissue-specific functions have been investigated to explain...

The mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) involve multiple pathways, such as inflammation, epithelial mesenchymal transition, coagulation, oxidative stress, and developmental processes. The small GTPase, RhoA, and its target protein, Rho-kinase (ROCK), may interact with other signaling pathways known to contribute to pulmonary fibrosis. This study aimed t...

Liver cancer is the fifth most commonly diagnosed malignancy, of which hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) represents the dominating histological subtype. Antiangiogenic therapy aimed at vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has shown promising but deficient clinical prospects on account of vasculogenic mimicry, a highly patterned vascular channel distinguished from the endothelium-dependent blo...

INTRODUCTION It remains controversial whether statins have a beneficial effect on pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This study is intended to evaluate whether statin, co-administered with Rho-kinase inhibitor, could enhance its efficacy. Although Rho-kinase inhibitors, including fasudil, have been reported to improve pulmonary hypertension in experimental and clinical studies, the combinat...

Resistance mechanisms of rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitors are associated with the enhanced expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The therapeutic effects of ROCK on nervous system diseases might be enhanced by COX-2 inhibitors. This study investigated the synergistic effect of the combined use of the ROCK inhibitor fasudil and a COX-2 inhibitor celecoxib on spinal cord injury in a rat m...

BACKGROUND Increased activity of Rho-kinase causes hypercontraction of vascular smooth muscle and has been implicated as playing a pathogenetic role in divergent cardiovascular diseases such as coronary artery spasm. We examined whether an intracoronary infusion of fasudil, a selective Rho-kinase inhibitor, would attenuate coronary vasoconstrictor responses to acetylcholine (ACh) in patients wi...

The Rho/Rho-kinase pathway plays an important role in many cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, heart failure, and myocardial infarction. Although previous studies have shown that Rho-kinase inhibitors reduce ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and cytokine production, the role of Rho-kinase in leukocytes during I/R injury is not well understood. Mice were subjected to 3...

Fasudil hydrochloride is a new type of intracellular calcium antagonist, different from the calcium entry blockers that are commonly employed for clinical use. Since September 1995, the combination of fasudil hydrochloride and ozagrel sodium, an inhibitor of thromboxane A2 synthesis, has been used to treat 60 patients at risk of cerebral vasospasm after aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. The e...

Purpose: Since Rho-Rho kinase calcium sensitizing pathway is being regarded as a potential target not only for the treatment of erectile dysfunction but also atherosclerosis, we designed a study to prevent vasculogenic erectile dysfunction in an atherosclerotic rat model by chronic administration of fasudil, oral Rho kinase inhibitor. Materials and Methods: Rats (3 months old) were divided into...