| 1. |
- Li, Yang, et al.
(författare)
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VEGF-B inhibits apoptosis via VEGFR-1-mediated suppression of the expression of BH3-only protein genes in mice and rats.
- 2008
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Ingår i: Journal of Clinical Investigation. - 0021-9738 .- 1558-8238. ; 118:3, s. 913-923
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Despite its early discovery and high sequence homology to the other VEGF family members, the biological functions of VEGF-B remain poorly understood. We revealed here a novel function for VEGF-B as a potent inhibitor of apoptosis. Using gene expression profiling of mouse primary aortic smooth muscle cells, and confirming the results by real-time PCR using mouse and rat cell lines, we showed that VEGF-B inhibited the expression of genes encoding the proapoptotic BH3-only proteins and other apoptosis- and cell death-related proteins, including p53 and members of the caspase family, via activation of VEGFR-1. Consistent with this, VEGF-B treatment rescued neurons from apoptosis in the retina and brain in mouse models of ocular neurodegenerative disorders and stroke, respectively. Interestingly, VEGF-B treatment at the dose effective for neuronal survival did not cause retinal neovascularization, suggesting that VEGF-B is the first member of the VEGF family that has a potent antiapoptotic effect while lacking a general angiogenic activity. These findings indicate that VEGF-B may potentially offer a new therapeutic option for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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| 2. |
- Guo, Xiao-Hua, et al.
(författare)
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Advanced glycation end products induce actin rearrangement and subsequent hyperpermeability of endothelial cells
- 2006
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Ingår i: APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica, et immunologica Scandinavica. - : Wiley. - 1600-0463 .- 0903-4641. ; 114:12, s. 874-883
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study aimed to determine the effects of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) on endothelial cytoskeleton morphology and permeability, and to detect the underlying signaling mechanisms involved in these responses. Cultured endothelial cells (ECs) were exposed to AGE-modified human serum albumin (AGE-HSA), and EC cytoskeletal changes were evaluated by observing fluorescence of F-actin following ligation with labeled antibodies. Endothelial permeability was detected by measuring the flux of TRITC-albumin across the EC monolayers. To explore the signaling pathways behind AGE-induced EC alteration, ECs were treated with either soluble anti-AGE receptor (RAGE) IgG, or the MAPK inhibitors PD98059 and SB203580 before AGE-HSA administration. To further elucidate possible involvement of the ERK and p38 pathways in AGE-induced EC changes, adenovirus-carried recombinant constitutive dominant-negative forms of upstream ERK and p38 kinases, namely MEK1(A) and MKK6b(A), were pre-infected into ECs 24 h prior to AGE-HSA exposure. AGE-HSA induced actin cytoskeleton rearrangement, as well as EC hyperpermeability, in a dose and time-dependent manner. The effects were attenuated in cells pretreated with anti-RAGE IgG, PD98059 or SB203580, respectively. EC pre-infection with MEK1(A) and MKK6b(A) also alleviated the effect of AGEs. Furthermore, adenovirus-mediated administration of activated forms of either MEK1 or MKK6b alone induced rearrangement of F-actin and hyperpermeability. The results indicate that ERK and p38 MAPK play important roles in the mediation of AGE-induced EC barrier dysfunction associated with morphological changes of the F-actin.
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| 3. |
- Kashtanov, Stepan, et al.
(författare)
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Chemical and electronic structures of liquid methanol from x-ray emission spectroscopy and density functional theory.
- 2005
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Ingår i: Physical Review B. Condensed Matter and Materials Physics. - 1098-0121 .- 1550-235X. ; 71:10
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We have applied x-ray emission spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) to study the chemical and electronic structures of liquid methanol. The x-ray emission spectra at carbon and oxygen K edges of methanol in different hydrogen-bonded clusters are simulated. It is shown that hydrogen bonding strongly influences the spectral profile of O K emission, but not the C K emission. The methanol chain and ring conformations show a distinct difference in their electronic structures. The molecular orbitals of chains are strongly localized, whereas for the ring structures they show strong delocalization characteristics and behaviorlike covalent pi orbitals in a conjugated system. A comparison of experimental spectra and DFT calculations suggests that liquid methanol comprises combinations of rings and chains of methanol molecules linked with hydrogen bonds and is dominated by structures with the size of six and eight molecules.
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| 4. |
- Ma, Xuemei, et al.
(författare)
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Novel fluoranthene dyes for efficient dye-sensitized solar cells
- 2009
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Ingår i: Dyes and pigments. - : Elsevier BV. - 0143-7208 .- 1873-3743. ; 82:3, s. 353-359
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Three, novel, fluoranthene-based dyes, 2-cyano-3-(5-(7,12-diphenylbenzo[k]fluoranthen-3-yl)thiophen-2-yl)acryli c acid, 2-(5-((5-(7,12-diphenylben-zo[k]fluoranthen-3-yl)thiophen-2-yl)methylene )-4-oxo-2-thioxothiazolidin-3-yl)acetic acid and 2-cyano-3-(4-(2-(7,12-diphenylbenzo[k]fluoranthen-3-yl)ethynyl)phenyl) acrylic acid, were synthesized for application as sensitizers in dye-sensitized solar cells. In each dye, the 7,12-diphenyl-benzo[k]fluoranthene moiety acted as electron donor with phenyl and thiophene units as electron spacers and carboxylic acid as electron acceptor. Tuning of the HOMO and LUMO energy levels was conveniently accomplished by changing the spacer and acceptor moiety, as confirmed using electrochemical measurements. Maximum solar energy:electricity conversion efficiency was 4.4% under AM 1.5 solar simulator (100 mW cm(-2)) for 2-cyano-3-(5-(7,12-diphenylbenzo[k]fluoranthen-3-yl)thiophen-2-yl)acryli c acid. The results suggest that dyes based on fluoranthene donor are promising candidates for high performance, dye-sensitized solar cells.
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| 5. |
- Su, Min, et al.
(författare)
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Temporal trends of esophageal cancer during 1995-2004 in Nanao Island, an extremely high-risk area in China
- 2007
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Ingår i: European Journal of Epidemiology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1573-7284 .- 0393-2990. ; 22:1, s. 43-48
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The purpose of our study was to investigate the temporal malignant tumor incidence rates among the 70,000 residents at the relatively isolated Nanao Island in South China Sea. The data on all malignant tumor cases from Nanao Cancer Registry during 1995-2004 were coded, computerized, and analyzed using the software SPSS10.0. The tumor incident cases, crude incident rate, age-standardized incidence rate, their sex distribution and temporal trend were assessed. A total of 1450 new cancer cases (990 males and 460 females) were identified. The annual average age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of malignant tumors was 208.18/100,000. The age-standardized incidence rate of the ten leading cancers in both sexes combined per 100,000 population were 74.47 for esophageal cancer (EC), 34.81 for cardiac cancer (CC), 25.66 for liver cancer, 26.01 for lung cancer, 18.52 for stomach cancer, 4.45 for nasopharyngeal cancer, 3.91 for breast cancer, 2.53 for colon/rectum cancer, 2.45 for bladder cancer and 1.92 for pancreatic cancer. These ten types of cancers make up to 93% of all cancer cases, with EC and CC being the most prevalent and making up 52% of the total cases. The incidence rates of esophagus, liver, lung, breast, nasopharyngeal, and colon/rectum cancers showed increasing trends during the period from 1995 to 2004 in Nanao Island. Astounding the EC ASR were 72-150/100,000 among male and 26-64/100,000 among female in Nanao Island during 1995-2004. The EC incidence rate in Nanao population is among the highest across the world, which suggests that there are potential genetic and/or environmental factors affecting this particular population.
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| 6. |
- Tian, Yu-Peng, et al.
(författare)
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Investigations and facile synthesis of a series of novel multi-functional two-photon absorption materials
- 2007
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Ingår i: Journal of Materials Chemistry. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 0959-9428 .- 1364-5501. ; 17:34, s. 3646-3654
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Six centrosymmetric D-(pi-A)(3) structural triphenylamine derivatives that can be used as two- photon photopolymerization and optical data storage chromophores, tris[ 4-( 4- pyridylethenyl) phenyl] amine ( 1), tris[ 4-( 2- pyridylethenyl) phenyl] amine ( 2), tris( 4- cyanoethenylphenyl) amine ( 3), tris[ 4- butylacrylatephenyl] amine ( 4), tris[ 4- methylacrylatephenyl] amine ( 5) and tris[ 4- acrylicethenylphenyl] amine ( 6), have been successfully synthesized via a triple palladium-catalyzed Heck coupling reaction, and the novel chromophores were fully characterized by elemental analysis, IR, (1)H-NMR and ESIMS. The structure for 3 was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction study. One- and two-photon absorption and fluorescence in various solvents were experimentally investigated. Two-photon initiated polymerization microfabrication and optical data recording experiments were carried out under 780 nm laser radiation, and the possible polymerization mechanism is discussed based on theoretical calculations. All the six chromophores have relatively large two-photon absorption crosssections, and exhibit optical memory and highly efficient two-photon initiated polymerization abilities.
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| 7. |
- Zhang, Fan, et al.
(författare)
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VEGF-B is dispensable for blood vessel growth but critical for their survival, and VEGF-B targeting inhibits pathological angiogenesis
- 2009
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Ingår i: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. - : Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. - 0027-8424 .- 1091-6490. ; 106:15, s. 6152-6157
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- VEGF-B, a homolog of VEGF discovered a long time ago, has not been considered an important target in antiangiogenic therapy. Instead, it has received little attention from the field. In this study, using different animal models and multiple types of vascular cells, we revealed that although VEGF-B is dispensable for blood vessel growth, it is critical for their survival. Importantly, the survival effect of VEGF-B is not only on vascular endothelial cells, but also on pericytes, smooth muscle cells, and vascular stem/progenitor cells. In vivo, VEGF-B targeting inhibited both choroidal and retinal neovascularization. Mechanistically, we found that the vascular survival effect of VEGF-B is achieved by regulating the expression of many vascular prosurvival genes via both NP-1 and VEGFR-1. Our work thus indicates that the function of VEGF-B in the vascular system is to act as a "survival," rather than an "angiogenic" factor and that VEGF-B inhibition may offer new therapeutic opportunities to treat neovascular diseases.
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