Inorganic nitrate and nitrite from endogenous or dietary sources are metabolized in vivo to nitric oxide (NO) and other bioactive nitrogen oxides. The nitrate-nitrite-NO pathway is emerging as an important mediator of blood flow regulation, cell signaling, energetics and tissue responses to hypoxia. The latest advances in our understanding of the biochemistry, physiology and therapeutics of nitrate, nitrite and NO were discussed during a recent two-day meeting at the Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm.
The susceptibility of xenografts to hyperacute rejection is postulated to reflect in part failure of complement regulatory proteins (CRPs) to control activation of heterologous complement on graft endothelium. To test this concept, transgenic swine expressing the human CRP decay accelerating factor and CD59 were developed using a novel expression system involving transfer of the proteins from erythrocytes to endothelial cells. Hearts from transgenic swine transplanted into baboons had markedly less vascular injury and functioned for prolonged periods compared to hearts from nontransgenic swine. These results indicate that expression of human CRPs in xenogeneic organs may contribute to successful xenografting and suggest that intercellular protein transfer might be a useful approach for expression of heterologous proteins in endothelial cells.
Community-acquired RVIs are frequently detected in BAL samples from lung transplant patients. In a significant percentage of patients, symptomatic or asymptomatic viral infection is a trigger for acute rejection and obliterative bronchiolitis/BOS.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.