The relationship between Doppler indices from inferior vena cava and hepatic veins in normal human fetuses.

This study was conducted to determine the gestational age-related reference range of the preload index [peak velocity during atrial contraction (A)/peak velocity during ventricular systole (S)] for the inferior vena cava (IVC), the right hepatic vein, the middle hepatic vein and the left hepatic vein. The slope and the intercept of the regression line for each preload index were compared among the 4 veins using analysis of covariance. Doppler measurements were obtained for the 4 veins of 316 normal fetuses at 22-40 weeks of gestation. A and S values were measured from the recorded flow velocity waveform of each vein and the A/S ratio was calculated as the preload index. The regression lines for the preload index of the 4 veins decreased gradually throughout gestation. Analysis of covariance revealed no significant differences in the slopes of the regression lines for the 4 veins. However, the intercepts of the regression lines for all hepatic veins were significantly higher than that of the regression line for the IVC (P&#60;0.0001), with the difference ranging from 0.024 to 0.033. There were no significant differences among the intercepts of the regression lines for different hepatic veins. We concluded that the relationship between the preload index and the duration of gestation was statistically similar for all hepatic veins, and strongly resembled that for the IVC.</p

Osteopontin Plays a Critical Role in Interstitial Fibrosis but Not Glomerular Sclerosis in Diabetic Nephropathy

Background/Aims: Osteopontin (OPN) has been implicated in the pathology of several renal conditions. The aim of this study was to clarify the roles of OPN in diabetic nephropathy. Methods: Diabetes mellitus (DM) was induced in wild-type (WT) and OPN knockout (KO) mice by injecting streptozotocin. The mice were killed 20 weeks after induction of DM and their kidneys removed. Results: Renal mRNA expression of OPN was increased in WT-DM mice compared to WT-sham mice. Immunohistochemistry showed high levels of OPN expression in the proximal tubules of WT-DM mice. Kidney weight and urinary albumin excretion increased to similar levels in the WT-DM and KO-DM mice. Interstitial fibrosis was increased in WT-DM mice compared to KO-DM mice. However, there were no differences in the degree of mesangial expansion or glomerular hypertrophy between the two groups. F4/80-positive cells (macrophages) and FSP-1-positive cells (fibroblasts) showed significantly higher infiltration in WT-DM mice than in KO-DM mice. Renal mRNA expression of NADPH oxidase subunits and urinary 8-isoprostane excretion were also increased in WT-DM mice. Conclusions: These results indicated that OPN is a key molecule that induces interstitial fibrosis in the diabetic kidney, but does not induce glomerular sclerosis

Identifying the true origin of sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia associated with dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A case of successful catheter ablation

AbstractThis case report describes sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) caused by a large epicardial scar, related to dilated-phase hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mimicking VT originating from the apical septum. VT resolved with epicardial catheter ablation. The exit of the VT circuit suggested that a 12-lead electrocardiogram can be remote with respect to the critical isthmus in this case. In patients with structural heart disease, it is difficult to identify the VT reentrant circuit by surface electrocardiography, which shows only the exit site. VT originating in the epicardium should be considered, even if the suspected origin is another ventricular site

Biological and Biochemical Studies on Melanogenesis and M elanoma Cells

For the previous ten years, we have been studying intracellular transport of melanosoma1 proteins and their biological and biochemical functions in melanoma cells. Melanosoma1 proteins,tyrosinase, tyrosinase-related protein 1 (TYRP1) and TYRP2/DOPAchrome tautomerase (DCT), gp100/Pme117 are transported from the trans-Golgi network (TGN) to earlystage melanosomes via endosoma1 compartments. We suggest that Rab7 is involved in the vesicular transport of tyrosinase and TYRP1 and in the melanogenesis through the regulation of gp100/Pme117 maturation. TYRP1 and TYRP 2/DCT were shown to play an essential role in suppressing TYR-mediated cytotoxicity in melanocytic cells, possibly through interaction with TYR in melanosomes. We also studied apoptotic cell death of melanoma cells and death mediators. Among p53 family members, p51A (p63) induced apoptosis in both wild-type and mutant p53-expressing melanoma cells more significantly than p53 and 73β. Interferon(IFN) exerts anti-tumor activities possibly by regulating IFN-stimulated genes. Caspase-2 activation was commonly associated with induction of apoptosis in IFN一β一sensitive melanoma cells. The diacylglycero1 kinase (DGK) , expressed in several human melanoma cell lines but not in melanocytes, was a novel positive regulator of NF-KB, which suppresses TNF一α一induced melanoma cell apoptosis

Predictive Value of the Cardio-Ankle Vascular Index for Cardiovascular Events in Patients at Cardiovascular Risk

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness is an important predictor of cardiovascular events; however, indexes for measuring arterial stiffness have not been widely incorporated into routine clinical practice. This study aimed to determine whether the cardio-ankle vascular index (CAVI), based on the blood pressure-independent stiffness parameter beta and reflecting arterial stiffness from the origin of the ascending aorta, is a good predictor of cardiovascular events in patients with cardiovascular disease risk factors in a large prospective cohort. METHODS AND RESULTS: This multicenter prospective cohort study, commencing in May 2013, with a 5-year follow-up period, included patients (aged 40-74 years) with cardiovascular disease risks. The primary outcome was the composite of cardiovascular death, nonfatal stroke, or nonfatal myocardial infarction. Among 2932 included patients, 2001 (68.3%) were men; the mean (SD) age at diagnosis was 63 (8) years. During the median follow-up of 4.9 years, 82 participants experienced primary outcomes. The CAVI predicted the primary outcome (hazard ratio, 1.38; 95% CI, 1.16-1.65; P CONCLUSIONS: This large cohort study demonstrated that the CAVI predicted cardiovascular events