Urotensin-II controls ion/water homeostasis in fish and vascular tone in rodents. We hypothesised that common genetic variants in urotensin-II pathway genes are associated with human blood pressure or renal function. We performed family-based analysis of association between blood pressure, glomerular filtration and genes of the urotensin-II pathway (urotensin-II, urotensin-II related peptide, u...

BACKGROUND Urotensin II is a vasoactive polypeptide. It is known that some vasoactive polypeptides are produced and secreted by tumor cells, and act as a paracrine growth stimulant. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between urotensin II and its receptor's messenger RNA expression in breast cancer. MATERIAL/METHODS Fifty-nine women with breast cancer were included in this s...

Urotensin II is a small peptide whose receptor was recently identified in mammals as the orphan G protein-coupled receptor-14. The reported cardiovascular responses to systemic urotensin II administration are variable, and there is little detailed information on its central cardiovascular actions. We examined the cardiovascular and humoral actions of intracerebroventricular urotensin II (0.02 a...

OBJECTIVE We aimed to evaluate the controversial association between human urotensin II and essential hypertension in untreated hypertensive cases and normotensive controls. METHODS 197 newly diagnosed hypertensive patients and 197 age- and sex-matched normotensive controls were studied. Plasma urotensin II, nitric oxide metabolites, and other traditional biomarkers were examined. RESULTS H...

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a destructive lung disease that can arise sporadically or in adults suffering from the tumor syndrome tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Microscopic tumors ('LAM nodules') in the lung interstitium arise from lymphatic invasion and metastasis. These consist of smooth muscle-like cells (LAM cells) that exhibit markers of neural crest differentiation and loss of th...

OBJECTIVE Urotensin II is a potent vasoactive peptide that has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many diseases. There is no study reporting the role and level of this peptide in recipients of kidney transplant. So we aimed to study the plasma levels of urotensin II in this group of patients. METHODS Plasma urotensin II levels were analyzed in 110 subjects, who were divided into three ...

The urotensin II receptor, bound by the ligand urotensin II, generates second messengers, ie, inositol triphosphate and diacylglycerol, which stimulate the subsequent release of calcium (Ca(2+)) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Ca(2+) influx leads to the activation of Ca(2+)-dependent kinases (CaMK) via calmodulin binding, resulting in cellular proliferation. We hypothesize that urotensin II si...

There has been considerable excitement and a flurry of contemporary research into the physiological actions of the 11-amino-acid peptide, urotensin II ; however, urotensin II itself is not a new discovery. It was first described approximately 35 years ago in the urophysis of the teleost fish [1]. It was, in fact, the discovery by Ames et al. [2]. of an endogenous ligand for urotensin II (GPR 14...

Aims Rheumatic valve diseases are most common etiological valve diseases in developing countries. Urotensin II is cardiovascular autacoid/hormone and may be associated with patients of heart valve diseases. The present study was to measure plasma urotensin II concentrations in patients with left-sided rheumatic valve diseases such as mitral regurgitation (MR) and aortic regurgitation (AR), and ...