21 research outputs found

    Regulation of soluble vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (sFlt-1/sVEGFR-1) expression and release in endothelial cells by human follicular fluid and granulosa cells

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    BACKGROUND: During the female reproductive cycle, follicular development and corpus luteum formation crucially depend on the fast generation of new blood vessels. The importance of granulosa cells and follicular fluid in controlling this angiogenesis is still not completely understood. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) produced by granulosa cells and secreted into the follicular fluid plays an essential role in this process. On the other hand, soluble VEGF receptor-1 (sFlt-1) produced by endothelial cells acts as a negative modulator for the bioavailability of VEGF. However, the regulation of sFlt-1 production remains to be determined. METHODS: We analyzed the influence of human follicular fluid obtained from FSH-stimulated women as well as of human granulosa cell conditioned medium on sFlt-1 production in and release from human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) in vitro. Soluble Flt-1 gene expression was determined by RT-PCR analysis, amount of sFlt-1-protein was quantified by Sandwich-ELISA. RESULTS: Human follicular fluid as well as granulosa cell-conditioned medium significantly inhibit the production of sFlt-1 by endothelial cells on a posttranscriptional level. Treatment of cultured granulosa cells with either hCG or FSH had not impact on the production of sFlt-1 inhibiting factors. We further present data suggesting that this as yet unknown sFlt-1 regulating factor secreted by granulosa cells is not heat-sensitive, not steroidal, and it is of low molecular mass (< 1000 Da). CONCLUSION: We provide strong support that follicular fluid and granulosa cells control VEGF availability by down regulation of the soluble antagonist sFlt-1 leading to an increase of free, bioactive VEGF for maximal induction of vessel growth in the ovary

    Measurements of the Higgs boson production and decay rates and coupling strengths using pp collision data at √S=7 and 8 TeV in the ATLAS experiment

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    Combined analyses of the Higgs boson production and decay rates as well as its coupling strengths to vector bosons and fermions are presented. The combinations include the results of the analyses of the H -> gamma gamma, ZZ*, WW*, Z gamma, b (b) over bar, tau tau and mu mu decay modes, and the constraints on the associated production with a pair of top quarks and on the off-shell coupling strengths of the Higgs boson. The results are based on the LHC proton-proton collision datasets, with integrated luminosities of up to 4.7 fb(-1) at root s = 7 TeV and 20.3 fb(-1) at root s = 8 TeV, recorded by the ATLAS detector in 2011 and 2012. Combining all production modes and decay channels, the measured signal yield, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, is 1.18(-0.14)(+0.15). The observed Higgs boson production and decay rates are interpreted in a leading-order coupling framework, exploring a wide range of benchmark coupling models both with and without assumptions on the Higgs boson width and on the Standard Model particle content in loop processes. The data are found to be compatible with the Standard Model expectations for a Higgs boson at a mass of 125.36 GeV for all models considered

    Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into Wb in pp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    Measurement of the charge asymmetry in top-quark pair production in the lepton-plus-jets final state in pp collision data at s=8TeV\sqrt{s}=8\,\mathrm TeV{} with the ATLAS detector

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    ATLAS Run 1 searches for direct pair production of third-generation squarks at the Large Hadron Collider

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    Transition for adolescents with a rare disease

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    Purpose\bf Purpose The transition process from paediatric/adolescent to adult medical care settings is of utmost importance for the future health of adolescents with chronic diseases and poses even more difficulties in the context of rare diseases (RDs). Paediatric care teams are challenged to deliver adolescent-appropriate information and structures. Here we present a structured transition pathway which is patient-focused and adoptable for different RDs. Methods\bf Methods The transition pathway for adolescents 16 years and older was developed and implemented as part of a multi-centre study in 10 university hospitals in Germany. Key elements of the pathway included: assessment of patients' disease-related knowledge and needs, training/educational and counselling sessions, a structured epicrisis and a transfer appointment jointly with the paediatric and adult specialist. Specific care coordinators from the participating university hospitals were in charge of organization and coordination of the transition process. Results\bf Results Of a total of 292 patients, 286 completed the pathway. Deficits in disease-specific knowledge were present in more than 90% of participants. A need for genetic or socio-legal counselling was indicated by > 60%. A mean of 2.1 training sessions per patient were provided over a period of almost 1 year, followed by the transfer to adult care in 267 cases. Twelve patients remained in paediatric care as no adult health care specialist could be identified. Targeted training and counselling resulted in improved disease-specific knowledge and contributed to empowering of patients. Conclusion\bf Conclusion The described transition pathway succeeds to improve health literacy in adolescents with RDs and can be implemented by paediatric care teams in any RD specialty. Patient empowerment was mainly achieved by individualized training and counselling
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