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Under in vivo conditions, the study of physiological and pharmacological functions of an organ is difficult due to whole-body interactions with the organ. Thus, an in vitro technique for the perfusion of isolated pancreata was developed for physiologic and response studies including the ...

Insulin resistance, the impaired ability of insulin to stimulate glucose utilization, is a major characteristic of type 2 diabetes. Insulin sensitivity can be measured using a variety of techniques that are commonly employed in diabetes research and care. Of these, hyperinsulinemic- ...

Lipoprotein(a) (Lp) was first discovered in 1963, by Kare Berg, as a variant of the beta-lipoproteins. Many years later, Lp(a) has been identified as an independent risk factor for the development of coronary heart disease (1). During the last two decades the structure and composition of Lp(a) has been i ...

The complex cascade of events leading to the formation of atheromatous plaques depends on the interaction between several cell types, growth factors, cytokines, and molecules of the extracellular matrix (ECM) (1). Among different molecules of the ECM involved in atherogenesis, the gly ...

The wall of a human artery consists of three distinct tunics. The tunica intima is lined by a layer of endothelial cells facing the lumen. Smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the predominant cell type in the tunica media of arteries. They are surrounded by a basal lamina containing collagen IV, proteoglyca ...

Endothelial cells line the luminal surface of all blood vessels in the body. The endothelial surface in adult humans is composed of approximately l-6�l013 cells and covers an area of 1-7 m2. Endothelium serves many functions, including fluid and solute exchange through cell contraction, pro ...

Chemotaxis is a critical event in the development of atherosclerotic lesions and in the restenosis that often occurs after surgical intervention and angioplasty (1). Chemokines involved in atherogenesis include colony-stimulating factors (2), oxidized low-density lipopro ...

After atherosclerotic development has proceeded for the allotted time, arteries can be harvested by several techniques to optimize both quantitative and qualitative histological analysis. A study design must include consideration of the parameters to be analyzed, to determine ...

A number of imaging modalities have been used for evaluating the severity of atherosclerotic lesions in vivo. X-ray angiography, using iodine contrast agent, has been the standard imaging technique so far, in spite of its limitations. The severity of lumen-narrowing lesions is generally u ...

Many different cell types have been identified in atherosclerotic plaques, including endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, monocytes, monocyte-derived macrophages, lymphocytes, and mast cells. Examining the role each cell type plays in the formation and pathophysiology of a ...

In situ hybridization (ISH) is a powerful and important technique that allows the detection and microscopic localization of nucleic acids within the specific cell, tissue, or chromosome of interest. In addition, it offers increased sensitivity over traditional filter hybridizat ...

Every year, thousands of individuals around the world suffer from severe lower extremity vascular disorders that are amenable to neither medical nor surgical treatment, and thus amputation is required. A substantial portion of these amputations might be avoided by stimulating blood ...

Animals models of atherosclerosis develop lesions either spontaneously or by interventions such as dietary, mechanical, chemical, or immunological induction. Animal models provide a means for studying the underlying mechanisms behind the atherosclerotic disease proces ...

Since the first demonstration of gene transfer to vascular tissue in 1990 (1), the field of gene therapy has grown at an astonishing pace. This is due to the lack of an effective and safe pharmacological treatment for certain vascular diseases and the availability of different gene transfer vehic ...

The development of an effective and safe gene therapy for prevention of vein graft failure, either acute or chronic, relies on the use of applicable and reproducible models of vein graft failure. Evaluation of potential new therapies usually involves assessment of beneficial phenotypic ...

Removal of arterial endothelium and damage to medial smooth muscle with a balloon embolectomy catheter lead to formation of a thin mural thrombus, platelet adhesion and degranulation, smooth muscle cell migration to the intima, and cell proliferation and matrix synthesis, ultimately ...

Plasma lipoproteins are a heterogeneous population of soluble, macromolecular aggregates of lipids and proteins. They are responsible for the transport of waterinsoluble nutrients through the vascular and extravascular fluids from their site of synthesis or absorption to per ...

Mice are largely resistant to atherosclerosis. However, with dietary intervention or genetic manipulation, mice can be induced to develop atherosclerosis The focus of this chapter is genetically manipulated models (see Chapter 1 for discussion regarding diet-induced atheros ...

The major classes of plasma lipoprotein, very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and high-density lipoproteins (HDL), are characterized on the basis of differences in density and charge ( Table 1 ). Centrifugation is the ‘gold-standard’ for the analysis of p ...

Chapter 5 described the use of self-generated gradients of iodixanol for the fractionation of human plasma lipoproteins into the major classes: high-density, low-density, and very low density (HDL, LDL, and VLDL). During the metabolism of plasma HDL and LDL, the lipid and apoprotein composi ...