PURPOSE Contractile activity of the trabecular meshwork (TM) and ciliary muscle (CM) influences aqueous humor drainage; however, the mechanisms linking tissue contractility and regulation of aqueous humor drainage are not well understood. Regulator of G Protein Signaling 2 (RGS2), a GTPase-activating protein of the Galphaq family of proteins, plays a critical role in regulation of contractile a...

Over the past decade, emerging evidence has linked alterations in the gut microbial composition to a wide range of diseases including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are the major mediators for the interactions between gut microbiota and host innate immune system, which is involved in the localization and structuring of host gut microbiota. A pre...

OBJECTIVE Insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBPs) are involved in glucose and lipid metabolism, and their actions are modulated by proteases. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of an IGFBP-5 protease, pregnancy associated plasma protein-A2 (PAPP-A2), on glucose metabolism and susceptibility to diet-induced obesity. DESIGN Postnatal growth, circulating IGF-I, IGFBP-3...

There is considerable evidence that osteoclasts are involved in the pathogenesis of focal bone erosion in rheumatoid arthritis. Tumor necrosis factor-related activation-induced cytokine, also known as receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaB ligand (TRANCE/RANKL) is an essential factor for osteoclast differentiation. In addition to its role in osteoclast differentiation and activation, TRANC...

Complement factor H (CfH) is a key regulator of the alternative pathway, and its presence on mouse platelets and podocytes allows the processing of immune complexes. Because of the role of immune complexes in the pathophysiology of lupus nephritis, we studied the role of CfH in the development of nephritis in MRL-lpr mice, an animal model of lupus. At 12 weeks, CfH-deficient MRL-lpr mice had si...

Hepatocytes from hypothyroid rats respire more slowly than those from control animals; cells from hyperthyroid rats respire faster. We have identified the blocks of reactions whose kinetics are significantly affected by thyroid hormones and have quantified the contribution of flux through different blocks of energy-dissipating reactions to the altered oxygen consumption. In cells from hypothyro...

The early role of natural killer cells and gamma delta T cells in the development of protective immunity to the blood stage of nonlethal Plasmodium yoelii infection was studied. Splenic cytokine levels were measured 24 h after infection of natural killer cell-depleted immunodeficient and littermate mice or transiently T-cell-depleted normal mice. Splenic gamma interferon levels were significant...

It has been suggested previously that the increased litter size of the prolific Chinese Meishan pig may result from an increased littermate embryonic synchrony. This study compared embryonic diversity in Meishan and domestic (white line crossbred) sows. Third-parity Meishan sows (n = 14) and second-parity domestic sows (n = 15) were observed for estrus every 6 h and were hand-mated at 24 and 30...

BACKGROUND Reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been implicated in the development of cardiovascular pathologies. NAD(P)H oxidases (Noxes) are major sources of reactive oxygen species in the vessel wall, but the importance of individual Nox homologues in specific layers of the vascular wall is unclear. Nox1 upregulation has been implicated in cardiovascular pathologies such as hypertension and re...

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which is characterized by chronic or recurring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, affects 1.4 million persons in the United States alone. KLF5, a Krüppel-like factor (KLF) family member, is expressed within the epithelia of the gastrointestinal tract and has been implicated in rapid cell proliferation, migration, and remodeling in a number of tissues. ...