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- Andersson, Irene, 1978
(author)
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Cardiovascular effects of growth hormone. Studies in genetically engineered mice
- 2004
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The general aim of this thesis was to enhance the understanding on the relationships between growth hormone (GH) and cardiovascular disease using genetically engineered mice. More specifically the effects of GH on blood pressure (BP), vascular and cardiac function, atherosclerosis and autonomic control of heart rate were studied. Two genetically engineered mice models were used, bovine GH transgenic (bGH) and GH receptor/binding protein knock-out mice (GHR KO). In addition a third mouse model was generated through crossbreeding of bGH and an atherosclerosis prone mouse strain, apoE-/-, yielding apoE-/-/bGH mice. bGH mice had increased mean arterial BP compared to control mice as measured by telemetry. The hypertension was not salt sensitive but associated with increased resistance of the hindquarter vasculature. Mesenteric arteries from bGH mice displayed intact endothelial function and decreased sensitivity to noradrenaline, as assessed by myograph technique, while carotid artery and aorta displayed impaired endothelial function. Treatment of the vessels with a super oxide dismutase (SOD) mimetic appeared to abolish differences in endothelium dependent vasodilation between bGH and control mice. However, aorta from young bGH mice had intact endothelial function accompanied by increased mRNA levels of SOD and endothelial nitric oxide synthase, semi quantified by real-time PCR. Heart rate responses measured by telemetry, to pharmacological challenging of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system, showed that bGH mice had reduced ability for sympathetic activation but intact reflex activation of parasympathetic nervous system. bGH mice also had decreased heart rate variability and reduced noradrenaline concentrations in plasma and tissue, measured by high performance liquid chromatography. Systolic BP, measured by tail-cuff technique, was increased in female apoE-/-/bGH mice compared to apoE-/- control mice. Atherosclerotic plaque area in the thoracic aorta, quantified en face after lipid staining, was significantly increased in male apoE-/-/bGH compared to control, and tended to be increased in female apoE-/-/bGH. Interestingly, female apoE-/-/bGH had a more atherogenic serum lipid profile than male. Finally, GHR KO mice had decreased systolic BP measured by tail-cuff technique and reduced cardiac and vascular structure but intact endothelial function. Furthermore, GHR KO mice had impaired cardiac function as assessed by echocardiography. In summary, this thesis has generated new knowledge on the effects of GH on cardiovascular function and development of atherosclerosis. It has presented a novel mouse model that facilitates direct studies on the mechanism involved in GH induced atherogenesis. A further important finding is that GH appears to have profound effects on sympathetic nervous system function and tissue noradrenaline levels. This may be an interesting future target for treatment of diseases associated with autonomic dysfunction.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Iréne, et al.
(author)
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Complement split products and pro-inflammatory cytokines in salvaged blood after hip and knee arthroplasty.
- 2001
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In: Canadian journal of anaesthesia = Journal canadien d'anesthésie. - 0832-610X. ; 48:3, s. 251-5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: To determine whether salvaged autologous blood collected postoperatively contains complement split products (SC5b-9), and pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and IL-8) and whether there are any differences between blood collected during hip or knee surgery. METHODS: Fifty-eight consecutive patients undergoing hip or knee replacement surgery were studied. Thirty-eight had postoperative bleeding large enough to require infusion of salvaged blood. The salvaged blood was filtered during collection through a 200 microm filter and before infusion a 40 microm filter was used. Samples for complement and cytokine determinations were drawn from the circulation and from the collected blood. RESULTS: High concentrations of SC5b-9, IL-6, and IL-8 were found in salvaged blood. The concentrations were higher than in the circulation (P < 0.05). The circulating concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 were increased 60 min and 12-18 hr after transfusion. There were no differences regarding SC5b-9, IL-6, and IL-8 in the blood collected after hip or knee surgery. CONCLUSION: Blood collected from a surgical wound contains large concentrations of inflammatory mediators. There were no differences between blood collected during hip or knee surgery.
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
- Andersson, Irene, 1978, et al.
(author)
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Reduced sympathetic responsiveness as well as plasma and tissue noradrenaline concentration in growth hormone transgenic mice
- 2004
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In: Acta Physiol Scand. - 0001-6772. ; 182:4, s. 369-78
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- AIMS: Acromegaly [overproduction of growth hormone (GH)] and GH deficiency have both been associated with alterations in autonomic nervous system function. The aim of this study was to investigate autonomic nervous system influence on heart rate (HR) in transgenic mice overexpressing bovine GH (bGH). METHODS: HR and HR variability (HRV) were measured in conscious young (8-13 weeks) and old (5-6 months) female bGH and control mice using telemetry. HR control was studied using antagonists and an agonist of adrenergic and muscarinic receptors. Noradrenaline was measured in plasma, heart and kidney using high performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS: Average 24 h resting HR did not differ between bGH and control mice. After saline injection and after muscarinic blockade with methylscopolamine HR increase was blunted (in old) or absent (in young) bGH mice compared with control mice (P < 0.05). Phenylephrine caused a baroreflex mediated decrease in HR from around 550 to 300-350 beats min(-1), not different between bGH and control mice. Time- and frequency-domain measures of HRV were reduced in old bGH compared with control mice (P < 0.05). Noradrenaline concentrations were reduced by 25-49% in plasma and tissue of bGH compared with control mice (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The current study suggests reduced autonomic modulation of HR in bGH transgenic mice. Thus, GH appears to have marked effects on autonomic tone, reducing sympathetic nervous system function possibly via reduced noradrenaline stores.
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| 5. |
- Andersson, Irene
(author)
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'Women's Unarmed Uprising Against War': A Swedish peace protest in 1935
- 2003
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In: Journal of Peace Research. - : SAGE Publications. - 1460-3578 .- 0022-3433. ; 40:4, s. 395-412
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- During the summer of 1935, approximately 20,000 Swedish women mobilized in a peaceful action the Women's Unarmed Uprising Against War. The manifestation was a protest against rearmament and, in particular, against a militarization of everyday life that might result from a civil defense buildup. Thus, in a spirit of solidarity women were encouraged to refuse to use gas masks or evacuate into cellars and air-raid shelters in the event of an air raid. Only then would men realize their responsibility, lay down their weapons, and solve the conflict at the negotiating table. The action was connected to a radical pacifistic tradition in which male conscientious objectors, among others, and the example of Gandhi were prominent. Liberal and Social Democrat women and members of the Swedish section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) carried out the action. The action was formulated in such a manner that women across the country were asked to vote for those who could serve in a women's parliament. The goal was to create an international uprising among women by influencing the League of Nations' delegates and the women's organizations in Geneva. In the same year, the central body of WILPF had decided to support an international peace plan, the People's Mandate to End War. The mandate's aim was to present demands for disarmament to governments in different countries. This article examines why the Swedish women assumed a more radical position than that stated in the people's mandate; what kinds of peace efforts in Sweden made such a radical, pacifistic women's action possible; and what went on when the initiators attempted to influence WILPF, on an international level, into incorporating the radical protest into the people's mandate campaign.
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| 6. |
- Andersson, Roger, et al.
(author)
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Large Housing Estates in Sweden. Overview of developments and problems in Jönköping and Stockholm
- 2003
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Reports (other academic/artistic)abstract
- All over Europe massive numbers of people live in large-scale housing estates built after the Second World War. The estates were carefully planned, but now often manifest a mulitude af problems. They house large numbers of low-income households, the unemployment rates are above average and in some countries they have become concentration areas for ethnic minorities. Many estates are becoming increasingly associated with crime and social exclusion. The circumstances on the estates and policy initiatives associated with these are focus of the RESTATE-project. RESTATE is the acronym for Restructuring Large-scale Housing Estates in European Cities: Good Practices and New Visions for Sustainable Neighbourhoods and Cities. The study draws on estates in ten European countries: France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The present report deals specifically with large housing estates in two cities in Sweden: Jönköping och Stockholm. The basic questions are about physical structure, demographic-, economic- and socio-cultural developments. The same kind of information for estates in other countries in the RESTATE-project can be found in the parallel reports
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Hägg Samuelsson, Ulrika, 1973, et al.
(author)
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Voluntary physical exercise-induced vascular effects in spontaneously hypertensive rats
- 2004
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In: Clin Sci (Lond). - 0143-5221. ; 107:6, s. 571-81
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forced training has been shown to have beneficial vascular effects in various animal exercise models. In the present study, we explored possible physiological and molecular effects of voluntary physical exercise on various vascular beds. SHR (spontaneously hypertensive rats) performed voluntary exercise for 5 weeks in a computerized wheel cage facility. Ex vivo myograph studies revealed an increased sensitivity of the ACh (acetylcholine)-mediated vasodilation in resistance arteries of the exercised animals (ED50=15.0+/-3.5 nmol/l) compared with the controls (ED50=37.0+/-8.8 nmol/l; P=0.05). The exercise/control difference was abolished after scavenging reactive oxygen radicals. In conduit arteries, ACh induced a similar vasodilatory response in both groups. The in vivo aortic wall stiffness, assessed by means of Doppler tissue echography, was significantly lower in the exercising animals than in controls. This was demonstrated by significantly increased peak systolic aortic wall velocity (P=0.03) and the velocity time integral (P=0.01) in exercising animals compared with controls. The relative gene expression of eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase) was similar in both groups of animals, whereas Cu/ZnSOD (copper/zinc superoxide dismutase) gene expression was significantly increased (+111%; P=0.0007) in the exercising animal compared with controls. In conclusion, voluntary physical exercise differentially improves vascular function in various vascular beds. Increased vascular compliance and antioxidative capacity may contribute to the atheroprotective effects associated with physical exercise in conduit vessels.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Tivesten, Åsa, 1969, et al.
(author)
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Liver-derived insulin-like growth factor-I is involved in the regulation of blood pressure in mice.
- 2002
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In: Endocrinology. - 0013-7227. ; 143:11, s. 4235-42
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IGF-I has been suggested to be of importance for cardiovascular structure and function, but the relative role of locally produced and liver-derived endocrine IGF-I remains unclear. Using the Cre-LoxP recombination system, we have previously created transgenic mice with a liver-specific, inducible IGF-I knockout (LI-IGF-I-/-). To examine the role of liver-derived IGF-I in cardiovascular physiology, liver-derived IGF-I was inactivated at 4 wk of age, resulting in a 79% reduction of serum IGF-I levels. At 4 months of age, systolic blood pressure (BP) was increased in LI-IGF-I-/- mice. Echocardiography showed increased posterior wall thickness in combination with decreased stroke volume and cardiac output, whereas other systolic variables were unchanged, suggesting that these cardiac effects were secondary to increased peripheral resistance. Acute nitric oxide-synthase inhibition increased systolic BP more in LI-IGF-I-/- mice than in control mice. LI-IGF-I-/- mice showed impaired acetylcholine-induced vasorelaxation in mesenteric resistance vessels and increased levels of endothelin-1 mRNA in aorta. Thus, the increased peripheral resistance in LI-IGF-I-/- mice might be attributable to endothelial dysfunction associated with increased expression of endothelin-1 and impaired vasorelaxation of resistance vessels. In conclusion, our findings suggest that liver-derived IGF-I is involved in the regulation of BP in mice.
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