Journal: PLoS ONE

Article Title: Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) Exerts Anti-Atherogenic Effects by Inhibiting RAGE Signaling in Diabetic Atherosclerosis

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147839

Figure Lengend Snippet: ( A ) Cytoplasmic and nuclear fractions were prepared after 1 h of HG. The extents of IκB phosphorylation and nuclear translocation of NF-κB were determined by Western blotting. Representative images from at least three experiments are shown. CE, cytoplasmic extracts; NE, nuclear extracts. #,* Significant difference at the P < 0.025 based on post-hoc Mann-Whitney U test following a Kruskal-Wallis test (#, Control vs. HG; *, HG vs. HG + UDCA). Error bars: SEMs. ( B ) RNAs were extracted from cells after 8 h of HG, M (osmotic control) or TG exposure. The levels of mRNAs encoding VCAM-1, ICAM-1, and MCP-1 were determined by RT-PCR. Representative images from at least three experiments are shown. #,* Significant difference at the P < 0.025 based on post-hoc Mann-Whitney U test following a Kruskal-Wallis test (#, Control vs. HG/TG; *, HG/TG vs. HG/TG + UDCA). Error bars: SEMs. ( C ) Monocyte (U937) adhesion assay. Cells were exposed to HG for 24 h after pretreatment with UDCA. U937 cells were added to ECs and adherent monocytes counted in five random optical fields in each dish (magnification, X 100; scale bars, 100 μm). #,* Significant difference at the P < 0.025 based on post-hoc Mann-Whitney U test following a Kruskal-Wallis test (#, Control vs. HG; *, HG vs. HG + UDCA). Error bars: SEMs.

Article Snippet: Anti-ICAM-1 antibody was from SouthernBiotech (Birmingham, AL).

Techniques: Translocation Assay, Western Blot, MANN-WHITNEY, Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction, Cell Adhesion Assay

Journal: PLoS ONE

Article Title: Ursodeoxycholic Acid (UDCA) Exerts Anti-Atherogenic Effects by Inhibiting RAGE Signaling in Diabetic Atherosclerosis

doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0147839

Figure Lengend Snippet: Diabetes was induced in mice via injection of STZ and the animals were fed a chow diet with or without 0.5% (w/v) UDCA. ( A ) Quantification of atherosclerotic lesions. Mouse aortas were isolated and stained with Oil red-O (CA, Carotid artery; DTA, Descending thoracic aorta). Plaque area proportions (% values) in aortas were quantified using the Image J software. * Significant difference at the P < 0.05 based on Mann-Whitney U test (STZ vs. STZ + UDCA). Error bars: SEMs. ( B and C ) Immunofluorescence staining of the aorta. ER stress markers (p-PERK, XBP-1, and ATF6) ( B ); adhesion molecules (VCAM-1 and ICAM-1); RAGE; and a macrophage marker (CD68) ( C ), are indicated by red signals. The green color is autofluorescence from elastic tissue in vessel walls. DAPI staining of nuclei is shown in blue; merged images are also presented. Representative images from at least three experiments are shown (magnification, ×100; scale bars, 1 mm).

Article Snippet: Anti-ICAM-1 antibody was from SouthernBiotech (Birmingham, AL).

Techniques: Injection, Isolation, Staining, Software, MANN-WHITNEY, Immunofluorescence, Marker

Journal: International Journal of Cardiology. Heart & Vasculature

Article Title: Soluble CD54 induces human endothelial cells ex vivo expansion useful for cardiovascular regeneration and tissue engineering application

doi: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2015.01.004

Figure Lengend Snippet: Cell density of endothelial cells cultivated in the presence of soluble CD54. Endothelial cells cultivated in the presence of soluble CD54 (sCD54) were expanded for five splits. After the first (p1), second (p2) and fifth (p5) passages (as shown in the x-axis) the cellular densities were measured (y-axis) and compared between different growing conditions: in the presence of sCD54 alone, resulting in higher propagation rate, than cell culture treated with HUVEC-conditioned medium collected at p4 (CMP4) alone.

Article Snippet: Recombinant human ICAM-1/CD54 (murine myeloma cell line, NSO-derived; Accession #CAA30051), CD146, KDR and CD31 were purchased from R&D Systems, Inc.; CD45 was purchased from AbD Serotec, CD34 and CD14 were purchased from Becton Dickinson Pharmingen, and fibronectin was purchased from Southern Biotech.

Techniques: Cell Culture

Journal: International Journal of Cardiology. Heart & Vasculature

Article Title: Soluble CD54 induces human endothelial cells ex vivo expansion useful for cardiovascular regeneration and tissue engineering application

doi: 10.1016/j.ijcha.2015.01.004

Figure Lengend Snippet: Capillary density. Tube formation occurred through an ordered sequence of events and was investigated with an inverted optical light microscope; (A) cells beginning to migrate and align themselves to close polygons beginning (B) to form complete tubules (C) of endothelial cells cultivated with the addition of sCD54. The histogram shows the data mean ± SD of the quantitative analysis of tube formation area; in the x-axis was reported capillary density in the presence of HUVEC-conditioned medium collected at p4 (CMP4), sCD54 and antibody direct against CD54 at the concentration of 15 ng/ml (y-axis). Scale bars: 200 μm.

Article Snippet: Recombinant human ICAM-1/CD54 (murine myeloma cell line, NSO-derived; Accession #CAA30051), CD146, KDR and CD31 were purchased from R&D Systems, Inc.; CD45 was purchased from AbD Serotec, CD34 and CD14 were purchased from Becton Dickinson Pharmingen, and fibronectin was purchased from Southern Biotech.

Techniques: Sequencing, Light Microscopy, Concentration Assay