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Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most frequent muscle disease in children. The incidence of DMD is 1/4000 live-born males; one-third of the patients are the result of new mutation. DMD, a progressive, lethal, X-linked neuromuscular disorder, and its milder, less-frequently occurri ...

The acute myeloid leukemias (AMLs) are a relatively heterogeneous group of diseases. However, there is growing awareness that the clinical features and subclassification of morphologic leukemia types is often highly correlated with tumor genetics. Furthermore, distinct gene ...

B cells undergo gene rearrangement of one of their immunoglobulin heavychain genes at an early stage in B-cell development. During rearrangement of the immunoglobulin heavy-chain gene (IgH), a variable gene segment (V) is joined to a diversity gene segment (D), and then subsequently this com ...

Optical mapping of electrical activity in the heart employs digital imaging and voltage-sensitive dyes. These methods have become an increasingly common research tools in basic cardiac electrophysiology. Significant advantages of this approach include simultaneous nonc ...

Renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) activation plays an essential role in the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Multiple pathophysiologic processes are able to activate RAAS, among which hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus 2, and chronic kidney dise ...

The integral role of apoptosis in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases has been extensively studied and characterized in recent years. The study of cell death in the vasculature has significantly contributed to our knowledge of vascular disease pathology and has played a role in i ...

Endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have emerged as potentially useful substrates for neovascularization and tissue repair and bioengineering. EPCs are a heterogeneous group of endothelial cell precursors originating in the hematopoiet ...

Endothelial injury represents a major initiating step in the pathogenesis of vascular disease and atherosclerosis. The identification and quantification of circulating endothelial cells (CECs) has evolved as a novel marker of endothelial function. As a technique, it correlates ...

This chapter describes a method that permits simultaneous measurement of leukocyte–endothelium interactions and endothelial nitric oxide (NO) levels in the microcirculation in vivo. The method is also useful to study the effect of NO replenishing therapy on adhesion of leukocytes ...

Endothelial cell (EC) migration plays an important role in embryonic vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and wound healing. EC migration can be regulated by extracellular matrix (ECM) and hemodynamic forces through haptotaxis (induced by an ECM gradient) and mechanotaxis (induced by m ...

The pathogenesis of heart disease and the development of myocardial failure are highly dependent upon the cardiomyocyte—the basic contractile cell within the heart. Understanding and elucidating the complex networks that regulate cardiomyocyte function are central to the dev ...

Isolation of ventricular myocytes from all species of animals has revolutionized the field of cardiovascular research, allowing the assessment of true cardiac effects of drugs, treatments, and so on. With recent advances in physiology at the cellular level, direct assessment of isola ...

In vitro experimental models designed to study the effects of hypoxia and ischemia typically employ oxygen-depleted media and/or hypoxic chambers. These approaches, however, allow for metabolites to diffuse away into a large volume and may not replicate the local buildup of metabolic b ...

Migration, proliferation, and collagen synthesis by vascular smooth muscle cells are thought to be key events involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Following endothelial injury, smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the intima of the blood vessels assume a synthetic, pro-m ...

Numerous and diverse experimental animal models have been used over the years to examine reactions to various forms of blood vessel disease and/or injury across species and in multiple vascular beds in a cumulative effort to relate these findings to the human condition. In this context, the rat c ...

Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are thought to contribute to pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases including hypertension, atherosclerosis, restenosis, heart failure, and diabetic vascular complications. Some of these reactive oxygen species also play an imp ...

Advanced glycation end products are permanently modified protein derivatives formed in the presence of reducing sugars, such as glucose, fructose, hexose-phosphates, trioses, and triose-phosphates by non-enzymatic glycation and oxidation (“glycoxidation”) reactions a ...

Proteomics technology allows a comprehensive and efficient analysis of the proteome and has become an indispensable tool in biomedical research. Since the late 80s, advances on mass spectrometry (MS) instrumentation and techniques have revolutionized the way proteins can be anal ...

Diabetes mellitus is the most common disease in Westernized countries in large part because of the rising prevalence of obesity and physical inactivity. In addition, diabetes mellitus is an important risk factor for both heart failure and ischemic heart disease. As insulin resistance is k ...

Experiments aimed at analyzing the response of blood vessels to mechanical injury and ensuing remodeling responses often employ the highly characterized carotid artery balloon injury model in laboratory rats. This approach utilizes luminal insertion of a balloon embolectomy c ...