Up-regulation of the endothelial cell adhesion molecule intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) by autoantibodies in autoimmune vasculitis

Autoimmune vasculitis is characterized by the presence of autoantibodies, particularly anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) and anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA), in patient sera. These autoantibodies have an incompletely understood role in development of vascular injury. The expression or up-regulation of cell adhesion molecules is an early phase in the development of an inflammatory vascular lesion. Autoantibody-positive sera from patients with vasculitis were assessed for their ability to modulate adhesion molecule expression by human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Autoantibody-positive serum samples from 11 out of 21 patients with primary vasculitis produced substantial up-regulation of ICAM-1 on HUVEC. Autoantibody-negative samples did not produce adhesion molecule up-regulation. Up-regulation of adhesion molecules on HUVEC was observed with samples positive for ANA, a phenomenon not previously reported. Preincubation of the sera with purified antigens recognized by ANCA failed to block this activation. In addition, MoAbs to ANCA antigens were ineffective at inducing ICAM-1 up-regulation, suggesting that activation is independent of the molecular specificity of the antibody. This capacity of ANCA- and ANA-positive sera to up-regulate adhesion molecules on endothelial cells may be a factor in the vessel wall inflammation seen in ANCA-associated vasculitis.     

Laser induced thermal injury of rabbit cornea and treatment with anti-inflammatory agents

A moderately severe thermal injury of the central cornea of 48 Dutch-belted rabbit eyes was produced with a carbon (CO₂) laser. The lesions were photographed with a slit lamp (SL) camera immediately following the injury and at 1, 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, 30 and 60 days after the exposure. Lesion size, opaqueness, and depth were graded clinically by SL biomicroscopy at the same intervals. No significant differences were found (p 0.05) between groups of eyes treated with flurbiprofen (0.03%), prednisolone acetate (1%), and vehicle control four-times-a-day for three weeks following injury. Additionally, eyes were studied histopathologically at 3 and 60 days following injury by light and transmission electron microscopy, and clinically at 30 and 60 days by endothelial specular microscopy. Important clinical and histopathological findings included coagulative necrosis of the corneal epithelium, epithelial sloughing, fusion of stromal collagen, stromal edema and inflammatory cell infiltration, stromal scar formation, corneal thinning, endothelial hyperplasia and metaplasia, fibrinous anterior chamber reaction with hypopyon, and retrocorneal fibrous membrane formation.     

Specular microscopy of hard contact lens wearers

Wide-field specular microscopy, slit-lamp examination, and pachometry were performed on 22 successful hard contact lens wearers and 22 controls matched for age, race, sex, and refractive error. A minimum of 600 cells per control and 1200 per contact lens wearer were manually digitized from the specular photomicrographs. Frequency distributions of cell areas were compared between the two groups using the parameters of mean, median, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, skewness and kurtosis. Slit-lamp examination was normal and there was no significant difference in corneal thickness between the patient group and the control group. Comparison of mean, median, and standard deviation also revealed no significant difference, but skewness (P less than .001), kurtosis (P less than .001) and coefficient of variation (P less than .004) were greater in the hard contact lens wear group. Hard contact lens wearing time correlated with increasing pleomorphism (P less than .05). Specular microscopy also revealed morphologic changes including deep stromal striae, intra- and extracellular "blackout" areas, and clustering of extremely small and large cells. The possible relationship between endothelial hypoxia and structural stromal changes are discussed.     

蜕皮甾酮对冠状动脉闭塞致大鼠心肌梗死的有益作用及机制

目的 探讨植物有效成分蜕皮甾酮（ecdysteron,EDS)对心肌梗死有益作用,并探讨其机制。方法 采用冠状动脉左前降支结扎致大鼠心肌梗死模型,ip EDS,连续7d。测定血清肌酸磷酸激酶（CPK）、谷草转氨酶（GOT）、乳酸脱氢酶（LDH）活性、心肌梗死面积、冠状动脉血清、毛细血管密度及血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）的表达量。结果 0．5,5,50mg/kgEDS能剂量能依赖地影响大鼠血清CPK、GOT、LDH活性,以5mg/kg剂量的EDS降低心肌酶谱为最佳。5mg/kgEDS能明显减少心肌梗死面积、增加冠状动脉血流量、毛细血管密度和VEGF表达量。结论 EDS能减轻冠状动脉结扎致心肌梗死,机制在于促进VEGF的表达和毛细血管再生及增加冠状动脉血流量。     

Probucol improves erectile function by regulating endoplasmic reticulum stress in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

This study was to explore the effect and mechanism of Probucol on STZ-induced erectile dysfunction in diabetic rats. Thirty SD male rats aged 12 weeks were given intraperitoneal injection of STZ after fasting for 12 hr. Diabetic rats were haphazardly partitioned under two assemblies and administered 0 or 500 mg/kg probucol by oral gavage to 12 weeks. Control group was intraperitoneally injected with physiological saline, and saline was administered by oral gavage daily. Intracorporeal pressure was used to evaluate erectile function. Levels of proteins were detected using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. α-SMA and vWF were detected using immunofluorescence staining. After treatment, erectile function in probucol group was significantly improved. Endoplasmic reticulum stress-related proteins were expressed higher in DM group than in sham group, while expression of these proteins decreased significantly in probucol group. However, α-SMA and vWF were expressed at lower levels in DM group than in sham group, and probucol treatment reversed this phenomenon. Finally, Bax and Caspase3 were expressed at higher levels and Bcl-2 was expressed at lower levels in DM group, while the opposite result was obtained in probucol group. In conclusions, probucol improves erectile function by reducing endothelial dysfunction and inhibiting PERK/ATF4/CHOP pathway in STZ-induced diabetic rats.     

凝血酶对人重组内皮细胞衍生IL—8融合蛋白转换作用

本文报道利用基因工程技术在大肠杆菌中表达出入内皮细胞衍生IL-8(EDhIL-8)与细菌蛋白lacZ 的融合蛋白lac-hIL-8和lac-T-hIL-8,后者含有一个人工合成凝血酶切点。EDhIL-8上含有一个凝血酶切点,凝血酶可以将lac-hIL-8及以前表达的MS2-hIL-8水解为有生物活性的天然IL-8,而对含有两个凝血酶切点的lac-T-hIL-8无水解作用。这些结果提示凝血酶的功能不仅依赖于所识别的氨基酸,而且依赖于这些氨基酸形成的构象。     

Organ-preference of metastasis

Summary The initial, site-specific colonization of secondary organs by blood-borne cancer cells appears to be mediated by endothelial cell adhesion molecules. These molecules are part of the organ-specific microvascular phenotype and are regulated through complex interactions of the endothelium with the extracellular matrix (e.g., distinct matrix macromolecules and growth factors). They are inducedin vitro by growing unspecific (large vessel) endothelial cells on extracts of organ-specific biomatrices. In many respects, these molecules are similar to the various classes of chemically different adhesion molecules that regulate lymphocyte traffic, but are believed to be distinct from the inducible adhesion molecules that govern leukocyte adhesion during acute episodes of inflammation. Biochemical and biophysical data indicate that preference of tumor cell adhesion to organ-specific microvascular endothelium may not require qualitative differences of such homing receptors between endothelia, but may be explained on the basis of quantitative receptor differences as well as differences of receptor avidity. Following adhesion, the metastatic cascade proceeds by the establishment of metabolic conduits between the endothelium and adherent tumor cells. This heterotypic coupling represents an early step in the extravasation of cancer cells from the microvasculature, initiating endothelial cell retraction from its basement membrane and recanalization around the arrested tumor cell. These events, together with local growth promoting effects exerted by the metastasized organ, are believed to provide the basis for Paget's seed and soil hypothesis of metastasis.     

基因芯片对PMA激活的血管内皮细胞早期反应基因的研究

目的 :用基因芯片研究 PMA激活的血管内皮细胞的早期反应基因 (imm ediate early response gene,ERG)。方法 :以包含 40 96条人类基因的 DNA芯片检测血管内皮细胞受代谢增强剂 PMA(phorbol myristate acetate)激活后早期的基因表达谱 ,并从中筛查出 ERG。结果 :血管内皮细胞受 PMA作用 6 h后 ,17条基因上调 ,11条下调。数据处理聚类分析表明 17条上调基因中多数 (13/ 17)属蛋白质磷酸酶和转录调控因子基因 ,而下调基因中多数 (9/ 11)为细胞分裂相关基因。结论 :证明PMA激活的人血管内皮细胞早期反应基因主要是转录调控因子和蛋白质磷酸酶基因。     

Endotheliopathy of liver sinusoidal endothelial cells in liver disease

Liver is the largest solid organ in the abdominal cavity, with sinusoid occupying about half of its volume. Under liver disease, hemodynamics in the liver tissue dynamically change, resulting in injury to liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs). We discuss the injury of LSECs in liver diseases in this article. Generally, in noninflamed tissues, vascular endothelial cells maintain quiescence of circulating leukocytes, and unnecessary blood clotting is inhibited by multiple antithrombotic factors produced by the endothelial cells. In the setting of inflammation, injured endothelial cells lose these functions, defined as inflammatory endotheliopathy. In chronic hepatitis C, inflammatory endotheliopathy in LSECs contributes to platelet accumulation in the liver tissue, and the improvement of thrombocytopenia by splenectomy is attenuated in cases with severe hepatic inflammation. In COVID-19, LSEC endotheliopathy induced by interleukin (IL)-6 trans-signaling promotes neutrophil accumulation and platelet microthrombosis in the liver sinusoids, resulting in liver injury. IL-6 trans-signaling promotes the expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1, chemokine (C-X-C motif) ligand (CXCL1), and CXCL2, which are the neutrophil chemotactic mediators, and P-selectin, E-selectin, and von Willebrand factor, which are involved in platelet adhesion to endothelial cells, in LSECs. Restoring LSECs function is important for ameliorating liver injury. Prevention of endotheliopathy is a potential therapeutic strategy in liver disease.