It is widely accepted that endothelial dysfunction is the basis of the development of cardiovascular diseases, including hypertension. With regard to hypertension, endothelial dysfunction is concerned mainly with impaired vascular expansion; however, it is also related to the intensity of the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis. Among the factors that cause damage to the endothelium, along with classic risk factors, is hyperhomocysteinemia. Hyperhomocysteinemia promotes the formation of oxygen radicals, lowering the oxidation-reduction potential, adversely affects the biosynthesis and function of vasodilator factors in the vascular wall, contributes to the inhibition of endothelial cell division with intense myocyte proliferation and migration, and impairs production of extracellular matrix components in the vascular wall. In addition, high levels of homocysteine and its derivatives contribute to the modification of LDL and HDL particles, inflammation and disorders in coagulation and fibrinolysis. Biochemical effects of the impact of hyperhomocysteinemia on endothelium can lead to damage of endothelial cells, dysfunction of diastolic function of vessels and reduction of their flexibility through its influence on vascular wall remodeling. These changes lead to an increase in blood pressure, strengthening the development of hypertension and target organ damage in patients with this disease.

Migraine has been reported as a risk factor for ischemic stroke or cardiovascular events, and dysfunction of endothelial cells has been evidenced in migraine patients. Proangiogenic factors are potential endothelial stimulators, and their disturbances can link abnormalities of endothelium with increased risk of vascular disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the levels of circulating proangiogenic factors in sera of migraineurs during interictal period. Fifty-two patients aged 37.9 ± 9.6 years, fulfilling International Headache Society criteria for migraine, were included in this observational case–control study. The control group included 39 healthy volunteers, matched according to age and gender. All subjects underwent full neurological examination and clinimetric evaluation with the use of: MIDAS, MIGSEV, QVM, VAS and VRS scales. Serum concentrations of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), angiogenin, angiopoietin-2, thrombopoietin and Tie-2 were estimated in migraineurs and in the control group with the use of ELISA. In migraineurs during interictal period, we have found decreased serum VEGF and angiogenin concentrations compared with controls. Age of migraine onset correlated with VEGF, angiopoietin-2 and thrombopoietin concentrations. Furthermore, angiopoietin-2 level correlated with QVM score and Tie-2 with pain intensity evaluated using MIGSEV scale. In migraine patients during interictal period, depletion of VEGF and angiogenin, two cooperating proangiogenic factors, can be responsible for endothelial dysfunction and increased risk for vascular disorders.

Aim of the studyAssessment of the concentrations of the soluble forms of the cell adhesion molecules sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 in serum of female breast cancer patients. These concentrations were assessed in relation to factors such as: age, clinical stage of disease, histological grade of malignancy, the status of the local axillary lymph nodes, and the size of the primary tumour.Material and methodsA total of 103 patients with primary breast cancer, aged 29 to 89 years, were investigated. The control group consisted of 40 healthy women. The concentration of sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 was assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsThe results of the study suggest that the level of sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 in the serum of women with breast cancer was significantly higher than that seen in the serum of healthy women. A relationship between the level of adhesion molecules and the stage of clinical disease advancement was discovered. There was a correlation between the increasing concentrations of sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 and with the aggressiveness of the disease. Significant differences were also found in the group of women with metastases to the axillary lymph nodes and women with no metastasis. Similar correlations were found between sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 levels and the size of primary tumour.ConclusionsThe results obtained suggest that the assessment of the soluble forms of sVCAM-1 and sICAM-1 may be useful indicators in the assessment of the clinical advancement of breast cancer.

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The purpose of the study was to ascertain the value of assessment of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) levels and microvessel density, and to search for correlations between them, in women with breast cancer. The assessment considered factors such as the stage of clinical disease advancement--according to International Union Against Cancer, the grade of histological malignancy, status of axillary lymph nodes and the size of the primary tumour. The concentration of VEGF was assessed in the plasma of 103 women with breast cancer, using an immunoenzymatic method (Quantikine test of R&D Systems). Assessment of microvessel density was performed using histopathological immunoperoxidase methods, using an anti-von Willebrand factor antibody (DAKO A/S). A statistically significant relationship was found between rising VEGF levels and microvessel density in women with breast cancer, when compared to values from a control group. A correlation was found between VEGF concentration and microvessel density (MVD) values. Statistically significant differences were found between VEGF levels of patients in stages I, II and III of clinical disease advancement. For MVD, differences were found only between stages I and III. A statistical relationship was also found between VEGF and MVD and tumour size. Similar results were found between VEGF concentrations in women with metastases to the axillary lymph nodes and cytokine levels in women with no metastases. The results of the study suggest that the degree of tumour vascularization and the concentration of VEGF may represent valuable indicators for the assessment of the angiogenic process in women with breast cancer.

SummaryThe aim of the study was the assessment of the impact of supplementation with folic acid on the concentration of homocysteine, total cholesterol (TC), HDL-and LDLcholesterol, triglycerides (TG), apoprotein AI (apoAI) and apoprotein B (apoB) in patients suffering from primary hypertension. The examined group comprised 42 patients suffering from primary hypertension. All examined patients underwent laboratory tests as follows: concentration of homocysteine, folic acid, TC, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, TG, apoAI and apoB. All patients were orally administered with 15 mg of folic acid per day for 45 d. After this period, all laboratory tests were repeated. Homocysteine concentration was measured by the FPIA method, concentrations of apoAI and apoB were measured by the nephelometric method, and other parameters with routine methods. After administration of 15 mg of folic acid to patients with primary hypertension, a considerable decrease in the concentration of homocysteine was observed in parallel with a substantive growth of HDLcholesterol, as well as apoprotein AI concentrations and a reduction of the apoprotein B concentration. Results of statistical analysis indicated a significant correlation between the decline in homocysteine concentration and the increase in HDL-cholesterol concentration, as well as between the increase of folic acid concentration and the increase in apoAI concentration in patients following the intake of folic acid. The drop in homocysteine concentration through the supplementation with folic acid can cause quantitative changes in the lipid and lipoprotein parameters which, in consequence, may lead to the mitigation of risk concerning the development of atherosclerosis. Key Words hypertension, hyperhomocysteinaemia, cholesterol, triglycerides, apoproteins Hypertension is one of the most common symptoms of cardiovascular diseases. Ninety percent of affected patients are diagnosed with primary hypertension. The etiology of this disease includes numerous genetic, environmental and neuro-hormonal factors, which often co-exist and are linked one to another. Due to that fact, hypertension is frequently accompanied by metabolic disorders such as obesity, diabetes, and hyperlipidaemia. These diseases are often also accompanied by mild chronic inflammation, disorders of the coagulation system and fibrinolysis, as well as hyperhomocysteinaemia. Some of the cardiovascular disease risk factors may be modified through a change in lifestyle and medication. The positive impact of modified standard risk factors, such as disturbances in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism disorders, as well as obesity, is relatively well documented.As far as hyperhomocysteinaemia is concerned, studies on its importance in the development of hypertension, as well as on the impact of its treatment in eliminating the risk of cardiovascular diseases, are still being carried out. High blood pressure is often accompanied by hyperhomocysteinaemia. High level of homocysteine could adversely affect the synthesis and bioacc...

Summary The aim of our work was quantitative evaluation of the protein and phospholipid fractions of mature erythrocyte membranes separated from women with ovarian cancer. Blood was sampled from 30 women with ovarian cancer, aged 24-79 years, in the third stage of clinical progression of the disease. Phospholipids were separated from membranes by MOller's acidic extraction method and analysed in thinlayer two-dimensional chromatography. On the silica gel plates nine fractions of phospholipids were separated: sphingomyelin (SPH), phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), phosphatidlyserine (PS), phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), phosphatidic acid (PA), phosphatidylinositol (Ptd Ins), phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (Ptd Ins-4-P), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-diphosphate (Ptd Ins-4,5-P2). The activity of phospholipase C in erythrocyte membranes was determined by Akhrem's spectrophotometric method. Membrane proteins were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, SDS-PAGE. It was shown that PS, SPH, LPC and PA fractions were significantly diminished. The concentration of Ptd Ins-4-P and Ptd Ins-4,5-P2 was significantly increased with simultaneous reduction in Ptd Ins level. The inhibition of phospholipase C reached 80%. The quantitative protein evaluation showed a statistically significant decrease in spectrin and a significant increase in 4.1 protein. The quantitative changes, observed in phospholipid and protein fractions, led to the restructuring of the erythrocyte membrane cytoskeleton, which may be connected to increased susceptibility to haemolysis of red blood cells.Keywords: ovarian cancer; red blood cell; phospholipid metabolism; phospholipase C; red blood cell membrane proteins Ovarian cancer is a common pathology among women over 50 years of age. Up to 2% of the female population will develop ovarian cancer during their lifetime. Cancer exerts a multidirectional influence on the human organism, leading to systemic disturbances. Mature red blood cells are a good experimental model and an easily obtainable material to study these changes. Although erythrocyte does not contain subcellular organelles it is a highly autonomic and specialized cell. That is why many biochemical transformations, difficult to evaluate in other experimental cell studies, are easily observed in erythrocytes. However, little attention has been directed to the effects of cancer on the structure of erythrocyte membrane. Lipids and proteins (Byers et al, 1985;Derick et al, 1992) are the fundamental elements of erythrocyte membrane skeleton. Phospholipids as a basic component of erythrocyte membrane determine its shape and structure and also the influence of external factors on intracellular metabolism (Ferrel et al, 1984;Schwartz et al, 1985;Smith, 1987). Erythrocyte membrane phospholipids are asymmetrically distributed in the two halves of the membrane bilayer. The choline-containing phospholipids phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin (PC and SPH) are present mainly in the outer monolayer, whereas the aminophospholipids...

Aim of the studyThe purpose of this study was to assess the concentration of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR) in the serum of 103 women with breast cancer. Commonly recognized prognostic factors were taken into account, including age, histological grade of malignancy, stage of clinical advancement of the disease, status of local axillary lymph nodes and the size of the primary tumour.Material and methodsThe concentration of uPAR was assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (R&D Systems).ResultsThe concentration of uPAR in women with breast cancer was found to be higher than in a control group and the difference was statistically significant. The concentration of uPAR was found to increase in line with increasing disease stage and this too was of statistical significance. Raised levels of uPAR were found in women with breast cancer both with and without metastases to the lymph nodes of the axilla. A positive relationship was also found between the concentration of the tested receptor and the size of the primary tumour. No significant relationship, however, was found between the concentration of uPAR and the histological grade of malignancy of the tumour. No statistically significant results were obtained regarding the menopausal status of the women, that is, whether they were pre- or post-menopausal.ConclusionsConcentration of uPAR in serum of women with breast cancer is positively correlated with the stage of advancement of the disease. Thus, the assessment of this parameter can be useful in the clinical evaluation of women with breast cancer.