Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0038454 (stroke)
 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Hypercholesterolemia (HCL) is commonly associated with impaired vascular relaxation response and augmented vasoconstriction. Interestingly, it was shown that animals with HCL were less vulnerable to seizures and several clinical studies also revealed a better outcome after stroke in the patients with HCL. To this context, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that HCL would enhance the animals' resistance to severe systemic hypoxia and in turn prolong their survival time under such noxious condition. Four groups of middle-aged (mean age: 51.1 +/- 2.8 weeks) male C57BL/6J wild-type mice (C57BL-WT) and low-density lipoprotein receptor knockout mice (LDLR-KO) were included in the study: two groups were exposed to severe normobaric hypoxia (5% F(I)O(2)) and other two groups were used for brain tissue sample collection and Western blot analysis. The survival time under the hypoxic condition was recorded for each animal. Individual blood samples were collected immedtately after the cessation of spontaneous breathing for measuring plasma total cholesterol (TCL) and triglycerides. The results show that the hypoxia survival time was longer in LDLR-KO than C57BL-WT (i.e. 3.7 +/- 0.5 versus 2.3 +/- 0.2 min; P < 0.05). A positive correlation was found between TCL and the survival time (r (2) = 0.43; P < 0.05). Furthermore, a significant downregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was observed in the brain tissue of LDLR-KO, as compared with C57BL-WT (n, = 3/group; P < 0.05), whereas expression of heme oxygenase 1 was similar in these two groups. We conclude that HCL enhances resistance to lethal systemic hypoxia (i.e. 61% increase in survival time) in middle-aged mice. This paradoxical protective effect of HCL was associated with a concomitant downregulation of cerebral VEGF expression, which could potentially blunt the hypoxia-triggered and VEGF-mediated pathophysiological events leading to death.
 ...
PMID:Hypercholesterolemia enhances tolerance to lethal systemic hypoxia in middle-aged mice: possible role of VEGF downregulation in brain. 1671 61

Neurogenesis declines with advancing age. The mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 encodes a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, which controls neuronal differentiation. In this study, we first tested whether atorvastatin treatment enhances neurological functional outcome and neuronal differentiation after stroke in retired breeder 12 month rats. Rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion and treated with or without atorvastatin (3 mg/kg) for 7 days. Atorvastatin significantly increased expression of mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1, beta-tubulin III, and vascular endothelial growth factor in the ischemic brain, and concomitantly improved functional outcome compared with middle cerebral artery occlusion control rats. Increased neurogenesis significantly correlated with functional recovery after stroke. To further investigate the mechanisms of atorvastatin-induced neuronal differentiation, experiments were performed on neurospheres derived from retired breeder rat subventricular zone cells. Atorvastatin increased neuronal differentiation and upregulated vascular endothelial growth factor and mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 gene expression in cultured neurospheres. Vascular endothelial growth factor-treated neurospheres significantly increased mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 and beta-tubulin III expression. Inhibition of vascular endothelial growth factor decreased atorvastatin-induced mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 and beta-tubulin III expression. These data indicate that atorvastatin increases neuronal differentiation in retired breeder rats. In addition, atorvastatin upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor expression, influences mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 transcription factor, which in turn, facilitates an increase in subventricular zone neuronal differentiation. These atorvastatin-mediated molecular events may contribute to the improved functional outcome in retired breeder rats subjected to stroke.
 ...
PMID:Vascular endothelial growth factor mediates atorvastatin-induced mammalian achaete-scute homologue-1 gene expression and neuronal differentiation after stroke in retired breeder rats. 1673 Sep 14

At the joint meeting of the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and the Australasian Pharmaceutical Sciences Association, held December 4-7, 2005, in Melbourne, Australia, and other select meetings, drugs for the treatment of the overactive bladder, benign prostatic hyperplasia, cancer, stroke, pain, malaria and cardiovascular disease were discussed. During these discussions, the following possible drug targets were considered: urothelium-derived inhibitory factor, muscarinic receptors in the bladder, purinergic signaling, pacemaking cells in the urogenital tract, cannabinoid receptors in the prostate, vascular endothelial growth factor in cancer, the nonselective cation channel TPRV1 in pain, and angiotensin receptors, Rho kinase, connective tissue growth factor and NADPH oxidase in cardiovascular disease.
 ...
PMID:Pharmacology down under in 2005--focus on targets. 1682 99

Ischemic stroke is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in industrialized nations. We tested the effect of postischemic treatment of cyclo-RGDfV (cRGDfV), a selective inhibitor of integrin alphavbeta3, in the middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of ischemic stroke in rats. Rats were randomly divided into three groups: sham operation (n = 13), MCAO with no treatment (n = 18), and MCAO with cRGDfV treatment (n = 28). Focal ischemia was induced with the suture occlusion method for 2 hr, and treatment was given 1 hr after reperfusion (3 hr after ischemia). All animals were sacrificed 24 hr after reperfusion. Assessment included neurological scores, infarction volumes, brain water content, Evans blue exudation, IgG exudation, histology, immunohistochemistry, and Western blotting. Treatment with cRGDfV ameliorated neurological deficits, reduced brain edema, and reduced exudation of Evans blue dye and IgG, but failed to reduce infarction volumes. Western blotting showed a reduction in phosphorylation of one subset of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) receptors in the cRGDfV treatment group. Western blotting also demonstrated a significant reduction of fibrinogen in the cRGDfV treatment group. We conclude that poststroke treatment with cRGDfV reduces blood-brain barrier breakdown in focal ischemia, possibly through inhibition of VEGF-mediated vascular breakdown.
 ...
PMID:Inhibition of integrin alphavbeta3 reduces blood-brain barrier breakdown in focal ischemia in rats. 1701 55

To elucidate whether vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) improves stroke-induced striatal neurogenesis, we intraventricularly injected human VEGF(165)-expressive plasmid (phVEGF) mixed with liposome into adult rats after a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO). The results showed that EGFP, a reporter protein, positive cells appeared at 2 hr, further enhanced at 4 hr, reached the maximum at 3 days and still remained at 14 days after a single injection. Treatment with phVEGF increased angiogenesis, as indicated by double staining of vWF, a marker of endothelial cells, and 5'-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), a marker of cell proliferation. The phVEGF treatment dose-dependently reduced infarct volume of brain at 2 weeks after MCAO. The neuroprotection by VEGF could be obtained when the plasmid was injected within 2 hr after stroke. Moreover, VEGF overexpression significantly increased cell proliferation in the ipsilateral SVZ and the numbers of BrdU(+)-CRMP-4(+) and BrdU(+)-Tuj1(+), two markers of immature newborn neurons, and BrdU(+)-MAP-2(+), a marker of mature newborn neurons, cells in the ipsilateral striatum to MCAO. Present results show that VEGF plasmid treatment after stroke can significantly reduce infarct volume and enhance striatal neurogenesis in adult rat brain. This suggests that VEGF overexpression acquires significant functions of neuronal protection and repair in the injured brain, which provides a possibility to develop a novel therapeutic strategy for the patients with stroke.
 ...
PMID:VEGF overexpression enhances striatal neurogenesis in brain of adult rat after a transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. 1706 Dec 57

Restoration of local blood supply in the post-ischemic brain plays a critical role in tissue repair and functional recovery. The present investigation explored beneficial effects of recombinant human erythropoietin (rhEPO) on vascular endothelial cell survival, angiogenesis, and restoration of local cerebral blood flow (LCBF) after permanent focal cerebral ischemia in adult mice. Saline or rhEPO (5,000 U/kg, intraperitoneal) was administered 30 mins before ischemia and once daily after ischemic stroke. Immunohistochemistry showed an enhancing effect of rhEPO on expression of EPO receptor (EPOR) of endothelial cells in the penumbra region 3 to 21 days after the ischemic insult. The treatment with rhEPO decreased ischemia-induced cell death and infarct volume 3 days after stroke. Specifically, rhEPO reduced the number of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase biotin-dUPT nick end labeling- and caspase-3-positive endothelial cells in the penumbra region. Colocalization of the vessel marker glucose transporter-1 (Glut-1) and cell proliferation marker 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine indicated enhanced angiogenic activity in rhEPO-treated mice 7 to 21 days after stroke. Western blot showed upregulation of the expression of angiogenic factors Tie-2, Angiopoietin-2, and vascular endothelial growth factor in rhEPO-treated animals. Local cerebral blood flow was measured by laser scanning imaging 3 to 21 days after stroke. At 14 days, LCBF in the penumbra was recovered to preischemia levels in rhEPO-treated mice but not in control mice. Our data suggest that rhEPO treatment upregulates the EPOR level in vascular endothelial cells, confers neurovascular protection, and enhances angiogenesis. We further show a promoting effect of rhEPO on LCBF recovery in the ischemic brain. These rhEPO-induced effects may contribute to therapeutic benefits in the treatment of ischemic stroke.
 ...
PMID:Erythropoietin-induced neurovascular protection, angiogenesis, and cerebral blood flow restoration after focal ischemia in mice. 1707 15

One approach for developing targeted stroke therapies is to identify the neuronal protective and destructive signaling pathways and gene expression that follow ischemic insult. In some neural injury models, the transforming growth factor-beta family member activin can provide neuroprotective effects in vivo and promote neuronal survival. This study tests if activin supports cortical neurons after ischemic challenge in vitro and if signals after cerebral ischemia involve activin in vivo. In a defined cell culture model that uses hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-free radical stress, activin addition maintained neuronal survival. H(2)O(2) treatment increased activin mRNA twofold in surviving cortical neurons, and inhibition of activin with neutralizing antibodies caused neuronal death. These data identify activin gene changes as a rapid response to oxidative stress, and indicate that endogenous activin acts as a protective factor for cortical neurons in vitro. Similarly, after transient focal cerebral ischemia in adult mice, activin mRNA increased at 1 and 4 h ipsilateral to the infarct but returned to control values at 24 h after reperfusion. Intracellular activated smad signals were detected in neurons adjacent to the infarct. Activin was also increased after 2 h of 11% hypoxia. Activin mRNA increased at 1 h but not 4 or 24 h after hypoxia, similar to the time course of erythropoietin and vascular endothelial growth factor induction. These findings identify activin as an early-regulated gene response to transient ischemia and hypoxia, and its function in cortical neuron survival during oxidative challenge provides a basis to test activin as a potential therapeutic in stroke injury.
 ...
PMID:Activin is a neuronal survival factor that is rapidly increased after transient cerebral ischemia and hypoxia in mice. 1713 27

Studies of adaptive mechanisms to hypoxia led to the discovery of the transcription factor called hypoxia inducible factor (HIF). HIF is a ubiquitously expressed, heterodimeric transcription factor that regulates a cassette of genes that can provide compensation for hypoxia, metabolic compromise, and oxidative stress including erythropoietin, vascular endothelial growth factor, or glycolytic enzymes. Diseases associated with oxygen deprivation and consequent metabolic compromise such as stroke or Alzheimer's disease may result from inadequate engagement of adaptive signaling pathways that culminate in HIF activation. The discovery that HIF stability and activation are governed by a family of dioxygenases called HIF prolyl 4 hydroxylases (PHDs) identified a new target to augment the transcriptional activity of HIF and thus the adaptive machinery that governs neuroprotection. PHDs lose activity when cells are deprived of oxygen, iron or 2-oxoglutarate. Inhibition of PHD activity triggers the cellular homeostatic response to oxygen and glucose deprivation by stabilizing HIF and other proteins. Herein, we discuss the possible role of PHDs in regulation of both HIF-dependent and -independent cell survival pathways in the nervous system with particular attention to the co-substrate requirements for these enzymes. The emergence of neuroprotective therapies that modulate genes capable of combating metabolic compromise is an affirmation of elegant studies done by John Blass and colleagues over the past five decades implicating altered metabolism in neurodegeneration.
 ...
PMID:Hypoxia inducible factor prolyl 4-hydroxylase enzymes: center stage in the battle against hypoxia, metabolic compromise and oxidative stress. 1734 11

Bone marrow stromal cells (MSCs) increase vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression and promote angiogenesis after stroke. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) and its receptor Tie2 mediate vascular integrity and angiogenesis as does VEGF and its receptors. In this study, we tested whether MSC treatment of stroke increases Ang1/Tie2 expression, and whether Ang1/Tie2 with VEGF/ vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) (Flk1), in combination, induced by MSCs enhances angiogenesis and vascular integrity. Male Wistar rats were subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) and treated with or without MSCs. Marrow stromal cell treatment significantly decreased blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage and increased Ang1, Tie2, and occludin (a tight junction protein) expression in the ischemic border compared with MCAo control. To further test the mechanisms of MSC-induced angiogenesis and vascular stabilization, cocultures of MSCs with mouse brain endothelial cells (MBECs) or astrocytes were performed. Supernatant derived from MSCs cocultured with MBECs significantly increased MBEC expression of Ang1/Tie2 and Flk1 compared with MBEC alone. Marrow stromal cells cocultured with astrocytes also significantly increased astrocyte VEGF and Ang1/Tie2 expression compared with astrocyte culture alone. Conditioned media from MSCs alone, and media from cocultures of MSCs with astrocytes or MBECs, all significantly increased capillary tube-like formation of MBEC compared with control Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium media. Inhibition of Flk1 and/or Ang1 significantly decreased MSC-induced MBEC tube formation. Knockdown of Tie2 expression in MBECs significantly inhibited MSC-induced tube formation. Our data indicate MSC treatment of stroke promotes angiogenesis and vascular stabilization, which is at least partially mediated by VEGF/Flk1 and Ang1/Tie2.
 ...
PMID:Angiopoietin1/Tie2 and VEGF/Flk1 induced by MSC treatment amplifies angiogenesis and vascular stabilization after stroke. 1735 62

The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is still a difficult diagnostic and therapeutic problem. OHSS is associated with significant hypertrophy of the ovaries associated with the loss of the intravascular fluid to the third space which results in hypovolaemia, oliguria, electrolyte imbalance, and a rise in haematocrit. The endogenous OHSS is rare. Most often OHSS appears as a complication of induction of ovulation. The fundamental issue in pathophysiology of OHSS is an increase of capillary permeability which results in the leakage of fluid to the third space. The vascular endothelial growth factor--VEGF--is considered to be the factor directly responsible for the processes involved. The most common are the mild and moderate forms of the syndrome. The severe form of OHSS is a life-threatening condition. The following symptoms may be present: ascites, pleural and pericardial effusion, oliguria, dyspnoea with tachypnoe, tachycardia, adult respiratory distress syndrome, renal failure, venous thrombosis, ischaemic stroke, haemorrhage from a ruptured ovary. Therapy should be based on the correction of hypovolaemia, hypotension and oliguria. Antithrombotic prophylaxis is an integral part of the OHSS management. Some interesting attempts have been undertaken to re-infuse the protein-rich ascites fluid directly to the systemic circulation, so called continuous auto-transfusion system of the ascites (CATSA).
 ...
PMID:[The ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome--diagnostic criteria, management procedures]. 1737 30


<< Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next >>