Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0729233 (Thoracic)
 6,478 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

1. The aims of the present study were to explore the protective effect of curcumin against the acute vascular endothelial dysfunction induced by high glucose and to investigate the possible role of heme oxygenase (HO)-1 in this protective action. 2. Thoracic aortic rings, with or without endothelium, obtained from male Sprague-Dawley rats were mounted in an organ bath. Isometric contraction of the rings was recorded. After completion of the organ bath studies, rings were homogenized and centrifuged (30,000 g, 4 degrees C, 15 min) and HO activity was determined in the supernatant. 3. After 2 h incubation of aortic rings in the presence of high glucose (44 mmol/L), the relaxation evoked by acetylcholine (3 x 10(-8) to 3 x 10(-5) mol/L) was significantly decreased only in rings with an intact endothelium. When rings were coincubated in the presence of curcumin (10(-13) to 10(-11) mol/L) and high glucose, curcumin reversed the vasodilator dysfunction induced by high glucose dose dependently. 4. Curcumin (10(-11) mol/L) increased HO activity in the aortic rings compared with activity in control rings (63.1 +/- 3.6 vs control 43.2 +/- 2.9 pmol/mg per h, respectively; P < 0.01). Protoporphyrin IX zinc (10(-6) mol/L), an inhibitor of HO-1, offset the protective effects of curcumin. In addition, the non-selective guanylate cyclase (GC) inhibitor methylene blue (10(-6) mol/L) completely abolished the protective effects of curcumin. 5. In conclusion, the results of the present study show that curcumin alleviates the acute endothelium-dependent vasodilator dysfunction induced by high glucose in rat aortic rings. Increased HO-1 activity and stimulation of GC may be involved in the protective effects of curcumin.
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PMID:Curcumin ameliorates high glucose-induced acute vascular endothelial dysfunction in rat thoracic aorta. 1947 93

Thoracic aortic dissection is a life-threatening condition with an incompletely understood pathogenesis. Trace elements are essential for the functioning of different processes in the body, including the immune system and associated responses to infection/inflammation. Because inflammation may be part of the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection, we investigated whether trace element changes associated with inflammation occur in serum and tissue samples during the disease. The study included 21 patients undergoing surgery for thoracic aortic dissection, 10 forensic autopsy specimens for tissue controls and 23 healthy blood donors for serum controls. Levels of magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), vanadium (V), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), selenium (Se), cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) were measured in the aortic tissue and serum by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). In the serum, Ca, V, Cu and Zn decreased, whereas Fe increased. In the tissue, Cu and Zn decreased and Fe tended to increase. The Cu/Zn ratio in the serum, a marker of infection/inflammation, did not change in the patients. Concerning trace element changes in the serum and tissue, our data do not support the hypothesis that inflammation is involved in the pathogenesis of thoracic aortic dissection.
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PMID:Trace Element Changes in Thoracic Aortic Dissection. 2615 52