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Vascular Biology (vascular + biology)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences64%
Life Sciences14%

Selected Abstracts

Vascular Biology and the Skeleton,

JOURNAL OF BONE AND MINERAL RESEARCH, Issue 2 2006
Maria Luisa Brandi MD
First page of article [source]

Plant Vascular Biology and Agriculture

JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE PLANT BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010
William J. Lucas
First page of article [source]

Vascular biology and vasculitis

APMIS, Issue 2009
CAROLINE O. S. SAVAGE
The inflammation of blood vessel walls that is associated with autoimmune disorders characterized by anti-neutrophil cytoplasm antibodies (ANCA) represents dysregulation of normal physiological processes, whereby neutrophils recruited to the vessel wall by cytokine-activated endothelium show destructive behaviours that initiate damage with endothelial apoptosis and denudation. Anti-endothelial cell antibodies may also help to focus and escalate injury. Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the interplay between ANCA, aberrant neutrophil behaviour and vascular damage will allow development of more focused therapies. [source]

A cardiologist view of vascular disease in diabetes

DIABETES OBESITY & METABOLISM, Issue 4 2008
Christopher J. Lockhart
Diabetes mellitus is a potent risk factor for the development of a wide spectrum of cardiovascular (CV) complications. The complex metabolic milieu accompanying diabetes alters blood rheology, the structure of arteries and disrupts the homeostatic functions of the endothelium. These changes act as the substrate for end-organ damage and the occurrence of CV events. In those who develop acute coronary syndromes, patients with diabetes are more likely to die, both in the acute phase and during follow-up. Patients with diabetes are also more likely to suffer from chronic cardiac failure, independently of the presence of large vessel disease, and also more likely to develop stroke, renal failure and peripheral vascular disease. Preventing vascular events is the primary goal of therapy. Optimal cardiac care for the patient with diabetes should focus on aggressive management of traditional CV risk factors to optimize blood glucose, lipid and blood pressure control. Targeting medical therapy to improve plaque stability and diminish platelet hyper-responsiveness reduces the frequency of events associated with atherosclerotic plaque burden. In patients with critical lesions, revascularization strategies, either percutaneous or surgical, will often be necessary to improve symptoms and prevent vascular events. Improved understanding of the vascular biology will be crucial for the development of new therapeutic agents to prevent CV events and improve outcomes in patients with diabetes. [source]

Angiogenesis, l'enfant terrible of vascular biology is coming to age

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 4 2005
Nicanor I. Moldovan
No abstract is available for this article. [source]

Progenitor cells in vascular disease

JOURNAL OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE, Issue 3 2005
Neil Roberts
Abstract Stem cell research has the potential to provide solutions to many chronic diseases via the field of regeneration therapy. In vascular biology, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) have been identified as contributing to angiogenesis and hence have therapeutic potential to revascularise ischaemic tissues. EPCs have also been shown to endothelialise vascular grafts and therefore may contribute to endothelial maintenance. EPC number has been shown to be reduced in patients with cardiovascular disease, leading to speculation that atherosclerosis may be caused by a consumptive loss of endothelial repair capacity. Animal experiments have shown that EPCs reendothelialise injured vessels and that this reduces neointimal formation, confirming that EPCs have an atheroprotective effect. Smooth muscle cell accumulation in the neointimal space is characteristic of many forms of atherosclerosis, however the source of these cells is now thought to be from smooth muscle progenitor cells (SMPCs) rather than the adjacent media. There is evidence for the presence of SMPCs in the adventitia of animals and that SMPCs circulate in human blood. There is also data to support SMPCs contributing to neointimal formation but their origin remains unknown. This article will review the roles of EPCs and SMPCs in the development of vascular disease by examining experimental data from in vitro studies, animal models of atherosclerosis and clinical studies. [source]

Combined application of dynamic light scattering imaging and fluorescence intravital microscopy in vascular biology

LASER PHYSICS LETTERS, Issue 8 2010
V. Kalchenko
Abstract The dynamic light scattering imaging (DLSI) system combined with the conventional fluorescence intravital microscope (FIM) has been applied for the examination of blood and lymph vessels in the mouse ear in vivo. While the CCD camera can be shared by both techniques the combined application of DLSI and FIM allows rapid switching between the modalities. In current study temporal speckles fluctuations are used for rendering blood vessels structure and monitoring blood perfusion with the higher spatial resolution, whereas FIM provides the images of lymphatic vessels. The results clearly demonstrate that combined application of DLSI and FIM approaches provides synchronic in vivo images of blood and lymph vessels with higher contrast and specificity. The use of this new dual-modal diagnostic system is particularly important and has a great potential to significantly expand the capabilities of vascular diagnostics providing synchronic in vivo images of blood and lymph vessels. (© 2010 by Astro Ltd., Published exclusively by WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA) [source]

Vascular fluid dynamics and vascular biology and disease

MATHEMATICAL METHODS IN THE APPLIED SCIENCES, Issue 17-18 2001
C. G. Caro
My tribute to James Lighthill, one of the world's great mathematical scientists, is offered with admiration and sadness,he was both colleague and friend. I met James in 1964, through an introduction by Sir Geoffrey (G.I.) Taylor. He was then Royal Society Research Professor at Imperial College and I was a lecturer in medicine at St. Thomas's Hospital, with a particular interest in cardiovascular and respiratory mechanics. Within a short while we began to collaborate and about a year later James proposed to Imperial College that it should take the then almost unique step of setting up an activity in physiological flow. The Physiological Flow Studies Unit was started at the College in 1966,on an experimental basis with a staff of one (the writer). Looking back over a period of more than 30 years, I have three outstanding, interrelated impressions. First, that the field of physiological fluid dynamics has grown hugely worldwide, attesting in no small measure to James Lighthill's prescience and contributions. Second, that close collaboration between life scientists and doctors and engineers and physical scientists, has led to great advances in the understanding of normal and disturbed biology and of the relevant fluid dynamics. Third, that recognition that mechanical stresses play a key role in cellular and molecular biology, has given a tremendous boost to physiological mechanics. My aim in this note is to describe some earlier and current work on vascular fluid dynamics and vascular biology and disease and, where appropriate, to trace its descent from early studies undertaken with James. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

What's New in the Cerebral Microcirculation?

MICROCIRCULATION, Issue 6 2001
DONALD D. HEISTAD
ABSTRACT The first part of this paper focuses on unusual aspects of the cerebral circulation. Cerebral vessels have less smooth muscle and adventitia than other vessels, and the endothelial blood-brain barrier is unique. Because the wall of the arteries is thin, one might expect that the vessels are especially vulnerable to rupture. Pressure in intracranial arteries, however, is lower than in other arteries, because resistance of larger cerebral arteries is remarkably high. The low pressure in cerebral arteries presumably protects against rupture of the vessels. The second part of the paper summarizes some new insights into regulation of cerebral circulation. One concept is that "breakthrough" of autoregulation, with dilatation of cerebral vessels at high levels of pressure, is an active process, rather than a passive phenomenon. This conclusion is based on the finding that inhibitors of calcium-dependent potassium channels greatly attenuate the cerebral vasodilator response during acute hypertension. The third part of the paper focuses on effects of gene transfer to cerebral blood vessels. Gene transfer to intracranial and extracranial vessels is feasible and vasomotor function can be altered. Gene transfer has proven to be useful to study vascular biology, and we are optimistic that the approach will ultimately lead to gene therapy. [source]

New Insights in Vascular Development: Vasculogenesis and Endothelial Progenitor Cells

ANATOMIA, HISTOLOGIA, EMBRYOLOGIA, Issue 1 2009
S. Käßmeyer
Summary In the course of new blood vessel formation, two different processes , vasculogenesis and angiogenesis , have to be distinguished. The term vasculogenesis describes the de novo emergence of a vascular network by endothelial progenitors, whereas angiogenesis corresponds to the generation of vessels by sprouting from pre-existing capillaries. Until recently, it was thought that vasculogenesis is restricted to the prenatal period. During the last decade, one of the most fascinating innovations in the field of vascular biology was the discovery of endothelial progenitor cells and vasculogenesis in the adult. This review aims at introducing the concept of adult vasculogenesis and discusses the efforts to identify and characterize adult endothelial progenitors. The different sources of adult endothelial progenitors like haematopoietic stem cells, myeloid cells, multipotent progenitors of the bone marrow, side population cells and tissue-residing pluripotent stem cells are considered. Moreover, a survey of cellular and molecular control mechanisms of vasculogenesis is presented. Recent advances in research on endothelial progenitors exert a strong impact on many different disciplines and provide the knowledge for functional concepts in basic fields like anatomy, histology as well as embryology. [source]

Dermatological aspects of angiogenesis

BRITISH JOURNAL OF DERMATOLOGY, Issue 5 2002
P. Velasco
Summary Neovascularization is vital for the growth of tumours, providing a lifeline for sustenance and waste disposal. Tumour vessels can grow by sprouting, intussusception or by incorporating bone marrow-derived endothelial precursor cells into growing vessels. Recent advances in vascular biology have identified some key factors that control vascular growth, and have led to the hypothesis that in normal tissues vascular quiescence is maintained by the dominant influence of endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors over angiogenic stimuli. In contrast, increased secretion of angiogenic factors and the down-regulation of endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors induce tumour angiogenesis. Vascular quiescence in the skin seems to be primarily maintained by a balance between the endogenous angiogenesis inhibitors thrombospondin 1 and thrombospondin 2 and the potent proangiogenic factor vascular endothelial growth factor A. Inhibiting tumour growth by controlling angiogenesis is an intriguing approach with great potential for the treatment of vascular tumours such as haemangioma, Kaposi's sarcoma and solid cutaneous tumours such as squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. In this review, the role of angiogenesis and more recent topics such as lymphangiogenesis in cutaneous tumour growth, invasion and metastasis will be discussed. [source]

Nitrite, NO and hypoxic vasodilation

BRITISH JOURNAL OF PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 7 2009
Jason D Allen
The ability to deliver oxygen and other nutrients to working tissues at a rate acutely matched to demand is the quintessential function of the cardiovascular system. Thus, an understanding of the biochemical mechanisms involved in hypoxic vasodilation remains a major goal in vascular biology. Nitric oxide, its metabolites, and oxidation status are recognized as playing important roles in this process. Previous work examining how nitrite can be converted to bioactive nitric oxide (NO) under hypoxic conditions has focused on the role of the red blood cell and haemoglobin. In a recent issue of the British Journal of Pharmacology, Pinder et al. demonstrate that plasma nitrite, in the absence of haemoglobin, is capable of increasing the maximal dilation of rabbit aortic rings under hypoxic conditions. Furthermore, they demonstrate that this relaxation can occur with or without the endothelium. This observation, even if it is only a small proportion of the relaxant activity of nitrite, highlights how NO metabolites may be involved in a variety of mechanisms of vessel control. [source]

Multiple Mechanisms of Thrombosis Complicating Atherosclerotic Plaques

CLINICAL CARDIOLOGY, Issue S6 2000
Peter Libby M.D.
Abstract Atherosclerosis is a highly prevalent disorder and remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States. Recent advances in vascular biology have led to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying atherogenesis. The central role played by plaque disruption, and by adhesion, activation, and aggregation of platelets that trigger activation of the coagulation cascade in the pathogenesis of acute thrombotic events is also better understood. Combination antithrombotic therapy targeting various platelet activation mechanisms and the coagulation cascade may help optimize the management of atherosclerosis. [source]