PIP2 binds vinculin and directs its oligomerization, which promotes proper focal adhesion structure and function.

Background. Data are limited about the effectiveness of pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) in low-income countries.Methods. We report the outcomes of consecutively treating 236 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected treatment-naive children with triple ART in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, between 1 May 2003 and 30 April 2006.Results. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis at follow-up demonstrated that 191 children (81%) remained in care, 21 (9%) were dead, and 24 (10%) were lost to follow-up. Independent baseline predictors of mortality were age !18 months, CD4 + T cell percentage р5%, and weight-for-age Z score (WAZ) less than Ϫ3. Twelve months into ART, 56% of tested subjects had undetectable HIV-1 RNA loads. Median CD4 + T cell percentages at 12 months increased by 15%, 11%, and 5% in children with baseline percentages of р5%, 6%-24%, and у25%, respectively ( ). The median WAZ at 12 months increased by 1.0, 0.6, and 0.2 in children with baseline WAZ less than P ! .01 Ϫ2, Ϫ2 to Ϫ1.1, and Ϫ1 or more, respectively ( ). P ! .01 Conclusion. With continuous donor support, trained providers, and the availability of pediatric antiretroviral drug formulations, it proved feasible to deliver pediatric ART in Haiti. The effectiveness of this program should encourage efforts to make ART available for HIV-infected children in poor countries.

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The endothelial glycocalyx is a specialized extracellular matrix that covers the apical side of vascular endothelial cells, projecting into the lumen of blood vessels. The composition of the glycocalyx has been studied in great detail and it is known to be composed of a mixture of proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans, and glycoproteins. Although this structure was once believed to be a passive physical barrier, it is now recognized as a multifunctional and dynamic structure that participates in many vascular processes; including but not limited to vascular permeability, inflammation, thrombosis, mechanotransduction, and cytokine signaling. Because of its participation in many physiological and pathophysiological states, comprehensive knowledge of the glycocalyx will aid future vascular biologists in their research. With that in mind, this review will discuss the biochemical structure of the glycocalyx and its function in many vascular physiological processes. We will also briefly review a more recent discover in glycocalyx biology, the placental glycocalyx.