J. Neurochem. (2012) 121, 314–325. Abstract Stroke patients have a high risk of vascular recurrence. Biomarkers related to vascular recurrence, however, remain to be identified. The aim of the study was to identify, through proteomic analysis, plasma biomarkers associated with vascular recurrence within one year after the first ischemic stroke. This is a substudy (n = 134) of a large prospective multicenter study of post‐stroke patients with an ischemic stroke. Plasma samples were obtained at inclusion. Among the identified proteins, only plasma levels of desmoplakin I were associated with protection against a new vascular event (Odds ratio: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46–0.89; p = 0.009) after adjustment for hypercholesterolemia, statins and previous atherothrombotic stroke subtype. A greater number of patients without vascular recurrence had been treated with statins within three months of the recent ischemic stroke. Only patients who had been taking statins for 3 months after the ischemic stroke and did not suffer vascular recurrence over a follow‐up year, have higher levels of desmoplakin I at the time of inclusion (Odds ratio 0.49; 95% CI: 0.28–0.86; p = 0.013). Increased desmoplakin I levels, determined within 1–3 months of the first ischemic stroke, could be a biomarker for statin responsiveness against a new vascular event in post‐ischemic stroke patients taking statins early (1–3 months) after the ischemic stroke.

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Introduction Evidences have been suggested that phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5) inhibition promotes vasculoprotective benefits in patients with cardiovascular diseases. Aim The aim of this study is to analyze the systemic effect of PDE5 inhibition in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with erectile dysfunction (ED) determining changes in the expression levels of plasma proteins. Methods Seventeen patients with controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus and ED were included in the study. Patients received vardenafil hydrochloride 20mg on demand during 12weeks. At the beginning and 12weeks after vardenafil administration, plasma samples were collected and analyzed using proteomics. Main Outcome Measures International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function Domain (IIEF-EFD) and plasma protein expression before and after vardenafil administration. Nitrate/nitrite release, PDE5, and soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) expression and cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) content in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs). Results The IIEF-EFD score was markedly improved after 12weeks of vardenafil administration. Plasma levels of alpha 1-antitrypsin isotypes 4 and 6 and β-tropomyosin were decreased, whereas apolipoprotein AI isoype 5 was increased 12weeks after vardenafil administration. Only β-tropomyosin plasma levels were inversely correlated with IIEF-EFD score. Tropomyosin has been added to cultured BAECs and after 24hours reduced the protein expression level of sGC-β1 subunit and decreased the cGMP content. Tropomyosin did not modify PDE5 expression and nitric oxide release in BAECs as compared with control BAECs. Vardenafil (10μg/mL) did not modify sGC-β1 subunit expression in tropomyosin+vardenafil-incubated BAECs; however, vardenafil significantly reversed the reduction of cGMP content induced by tropomyosin. Conclusion Vardenafil administration improved erectile functionality in controlled type 2 diabetes mellitus patients with ED, which was associated with reduction of circulating plasma β-tropomyosin levels. Tropomyosin affected by itself the cGMP generating system suggesting a possible new mechanism involved in ED. Vardenafil reversed the reduction effect of cGMP content elicited by tropomyosin in BAECs.

ObjectiveTo analyse if platelet responsiveness to aspirin (ASA) may be associated with a different ability of platelets to generate nitric oxide (NO).Patients/MethodsPlatelets were obtained from 50 patients with stable coronary ischemia and were divided into ASA-sensitive (n = 26) and ASA-resistant (n = 24) using a platelet functionality test (PFA-100).ResultsASA-sensitive platelets tended to release more NO (determined as nitrite + nitrate) than ASA-resistant platelets but it did not reach statistical significance. Protein expression of nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) was higher in ASA-sensitive than in ASA-resistant platelets but there were no differences in the platelet expression of nitric oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) isoform. The highest NOS3 expression in ASA-sensitive platelets was independent of the presence of T-to-C mutation at nucleotide position −786 (T−786→C) in the NOS3-coding gene. However, platelet content of phosphorylated NOS3 at Serine (Ser)1177, an active form of NOS3, was higher in ASA-sensitive than in ASA-resistant platelets. The level of platelet NOS3 Ser1177 phosphorylation was positively associated with the closure time in the PFA-100 test. In vitro, collagen failed to stimulate the aggregation of ASA-sensitive platelets, determined by lumiaggregometry, and it was associated with a significant increase (p = 0.018) of NOS3 phosphorylation at Ser1177. On the contrary, collagen stimulated the aggregation of ASA-resistant platelets but did not significantly modify the platelet content of phosphorylated NOS3 Ser1177. During collagen stimulation the release of NO from ASA-sensitive platelets was significantly enhanced but it was not modified in ASA-resistant platelets.ConclusionsFunctional platelet responsiveness to ASA was associated with the platelet content of phosphorylated NOS3 at Ser1177.

Mononuclear cells from patients with platelets with lower responsiveness to ASA showed a reduced ability to produce NO.

Serum PF4 levels in uncontrolled non heart-beating donors may be a good predictor for kidneys that never will reach functional recovery. Some serum cGMP, IL-6 and IL-10 levels may simply help identify kidneys that will function after transplantation.

An inadequate platelet response to aspirin (ASA) has been identified in some patients under chronic ASA treatment. The aim of this study was to analyze if ASA-sensitive and ASA-resistant platelets have differences in their apoptotic capability. Clinically stable ischemic coronary patients who had been taking ASA (100 mg/d) for at least 9 months before inclusion were divided into ASA-resistant (n = 11) and ASA-sensitive (n = 13) groups as defined by the PFA-100 test. Platelets from ASA-sensitive patients showed higher expression of the proapoptotic proteins Bak and Bax than those from ASA-resistant patients, although only Bak protein remained different when the results were adjusted by age. In resting platelets, neither caspase-3 activity nor cytosolic cytochrome C levels were different between both experimental groups. Stimulation of platelets with calcium ionophore (10 nmol/L, A23187) increased caspase-3 activity (1.91-fold higher; P < 0.05) and cytosolic cytochrome C levels (1.84-fold higher; P < 0.05) to a higher degree in ASA-sensitive than in ASA-resistant platelets. In conclusion, ASA-sensitive platelets seem to be better prepared to undergo apoptosis during robust platelet activation.