BNP controls early load-dependent regulation of SERCA through calcineurin

Heart failure is characterised by reduced expression of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium-ATPase (SERCA) and increased expression of B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP). The present study was performed to investigate causality of this inverse relationship under in vivo conditions in the transversal aortic constriction mouse model (TAC). Left ventricular SERCA-mRNA expression was significantly upregulated in TAC by 32% after 6 h, but not different from sham after 24 h. Serum proANP and BNP levels were increased in TAC after 24 h (BNP +274%, p < 0.01; proANP +60%, p < 0.05), but only proANP levels were increased after 6 h (+182%, p < 0.01). cGMP levels were only increased 24 h after TAC (+307%, p < 0.01), but not 6 h after TAC. BNP infusion inhibited the increase in SERCA expression 6 h after TAC. In BNP-receptor-knockout animals (GC-A), the expression of SERCA was still significantly increased 24 h after TAC at the mRNA level by 35% (p < 0.05), as well as at the protein level by 25% (p < 0.05). MCIP expression as an indicator of calcineurin activity was regulated in parallel to SERCA after 6 and 24 h. MCIP-mRNA was increased by 333% 6 h after TAC, but not significantly different from sham after 24 h. In the GC-A-KO mice, MCIP-mRNA was significantly increased in TAC compared to WT after 24 h. In mice with BNP infusion, MCIP was significantly lower 6 h after TAC compared to control animals. In conclusion, mechanical load leads to an upregulation of SERCA expression. This is followed by upregulation of natriuretic peptides with subsequent suppression of SERCA upregulation. Elevated natriuretic peptides may suppress SERCA expression by inhibition of calcineurin activity via activation of GC-A

A hybrid multi-particle approach to range assessment-based treatment verification in particle therapy

Particle therapy (PT) used for cancer treatment can spare healthy tissue and reduce treatment toxicity. However, full exploitation of the dosimetric advantages of PT is not yet possible due to range uncertainties, warranting development of range-monitoring techniques. This study proposes a novel range-monitoring technique introducing the yet unexplored concept of simultaneous detection and imaging of fast neutrons and prompt-gamma rays produced in beam-tissue interactions. A quasimonolithic organic detector array is proposed, and its feasibility for detecting range shifts in the context of proton therapy is explored through Monte Carlo simulations of realistic patient models and detector resolution efects. The results indicate that range shifts of 1 mm can be detected at relatively low proton intensities (22.30(13) × 107 protons/spot) when spatial information obtained through imaging of both particle species are used simultaneously. This study lays the foundation for multiparticle detection and imaging systems in the context of range verifcation in PTpublishedVersio

Stem cells in liver regeneration and therapy

The liver has adapted to the inflow of ingested toxins by the evolutionary development of unique regenerative properties and responds to injury or tissue loss by the rapid division of mature cells. Proliferation of the parenchymal cells, i.e. hepatocytes and epithelial cells of the bile duct, is regulated by numerous cytokine/growth-factor-mediated pathways and is synchronised with extracellular matrix degradation and restoration of the vasculature. Resident hepatic stem/progenitor cells have also been identified in small numbers in normal liver and implicated in liver tissue repair. Their putative role in the physiology, pathophysiology and therapy of the liver, however, is not yet precisely known. Hepatic stem/progenitor cells also known as “oval cells” in rodents have been implicated in liver tissue repair, at a time when the capacity for hepatocyte and bile duct replication is exhausted or experimentally inhibited (facultative stem/progenitor cell pool). Although much more has to be learned about the role of stem/progenitor cells in the physiology and pathophysiology of the liver, experimental analysis of the therapeutic value of these cells has been initiated. Transplantation of hepatic stem/progenitor cells or in vivo pharmacological activation of the pool of hepatic stem cells may provide novel modalities for the therapy of liver diseases. In addition, extrahepatic stem cells (e.g. bone marrow cells) are being investigated for their contribution to liver regeneration. Hepatic progenitor cells derived from embryonic stem cells are included in this review, which also discusses future perspectives of stem cell-based therapies for liver diseases

Inelastic scattering of fast neutrons from 56

The inelastic scattering of fast neutrons on 56Fe was investigated in different manners at the neutron time-of-flight facility nELBE. The scattering cross section was determined via the measurement of the γ-ray production and by means of a kinematically complete double time-of-flight method. In a further measurement the γ-ray angular distribution was determined to correct the measured cross sections for anisotropy. The resulting inelastic scattering cross section determined from the photo production cross sections is in very good agreement with evaluations and previous measurements. In contrast, the result of the double time-of-flight measurement is about 10% lower than these data, giving a hint to neutron-γ-ray angular correlations in the process of inelastic neutron scattering

E1 and M1 strength functions at low energy

We report photon-scattering experiments using bremsstrahlung at the γELBE facility of Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and using quasi-monoenergetic, polarized γ beams at the HIγS facility of the Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory in Durham. To deduce the photoabsorption cross sections at high excitation energy and high level density, unresolved strength in the quasicontinuum of nuclear states has been taken into account. In the analysis of the spectra measured by using bremsstrahlung at γELBE, we perform simulations of statistical γ-ray cascades using the code γDEX to estimate intensities of inelastic transitions to low-lying excited states. Simulated average branching ratios are compared with model-independent branching ratios obtained from spectra measured by using monoenergetic γ beams at HIγS. E1 strength in the energy region of the pygmy dipole resonance is discussed in nuclei around mass 90 and in xenon isotopes. M1 strength in the region of the spin-flip resonance is also considered for xenon isotopes. The dipole strength function of 74Ge deduced from γELBE experiments is compared with the one obtained from experiments at the Oslo Cyclotron Laboratory. The low-energy upbend seen in the Oslo data is interpreted as M1 strength on the basis of shell-model calculations