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Full-Text Articles in Medicine and Health Sciences

Cardiac Fibroblast-Dependent Extracellular Matrix Accumulation Is Associated With Diastolic Stiffness In Type 2 Diabetes., Kirk R. Hutchinson, C. Kevin Lord, T. Aaron West, James A. Stewart Aug 2013

Cardiac Fibroblast-Dependent Extracellular Matrix Accumulation Is Associated With Diastolic Stiffness In Type 2 Diabetes., Kirk R. Hutchinson, C. Kevin Lord, T. Aaron West, James A. Stewart

College of Arts and Sciences Publications and Scholarship

Cardiovascular complications are a leading cause of death in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Diastolic dysfunction is one of the earliest manifestations of diabetes-induced changes in left ventricular (LV) function, and results from a reduced rate of relaxation and increased stiffness. The mechanisms responsible for increased stiffness are not completely understood. Chronic hyperglycemia, advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs), and increased levels of proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines are molecular pathways known to be involved in regulating extracellular matrix (ECM) synthesis and accumulation resulting in increased LV diastolic stiffness. Experiments were conducted using a genetically-induced mouse model of T2DM generated by …


Role Of An Iron-Dependent Transcriptional Regulator In The Pathogenesis And Host Response To Infection With Streptococcus Pneumoniae., Radha Gupta, Minny Bhatty, Edwin Swiatlo, Bindu Nanduri Feb 2013

Role Of An Iron-Dependent Transcriptional Regulator In The Pathogenesis And Host Response To Infection With Streptococcus Pneumoniae., Radha Gupta, Minny Bhatty, Edwin Swiatlo, Bindu Nanduri

College of Veterinary Medicine Publications and Scholarship

Iron is a critical cofactor for many enzymes and is known to regulate gene expression in many bacterial pathogens. Streptococcus pneumoniae normally inhabits the upper respiratory mucosa but can also invade and replicate in lungs and blood. These anatomic sites vary considerably in both the quantity and form of available iron. The genome of serotype 4 pneumococcal strain TIGR4 encodes a putative iron-dependent transcriptional regulator (IDTR). A mutant deleted at idtr (?idtr) exhibited growth kinetics similar to parent strain TIGR4 in vitro and in mouse blood for up to 48 hours following infection. However, ?idtr was significantly attenuated in a …


Investigation Of The Role Of Tnf-A Converting Enzyme (Tace) In The Inhibition Of Cell Surface And Soluble Tnf-A Production By Acute Ethanol Exposure., Maltzan Kristine Von, Wei Tan, Stephen B. Pruett Sep 2012

Investigation Of The Role Of Tnf-A Converting Enzyme (Tace) In The Inhibition Of Cell Surface And Soluble Tnf-A Production By Acute Ethanol Exposure., Maltzan Kristine Von, Wei Tan, Stephen B. Pruett

College of Veterinary Medicine Publications and Scholarship

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) play a fundamental role in the immune system by detecting pathogen associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) to sense host infection. Ethanol at doses relevant for humans inhibits the pathogen induced cytokine response mediated through TLRs. The current study was designed to investigate the mechanisms of this effect by determining whether ethanol inhibits TLR3 and TLR4 mediated TNF-? secretion through inhibition of transcription factor activation or post-transcriptional effects. In NF-?B reporter mice, activation of NF-?B in vivo by LPS was inhibited by ethanol (LPS alone yielded 170,000?35,300 arbitrary units of light emission; LPS plus ethanol yielded 56,120?16880, p = …