Adhesion of ovarian cancer cells to the peritoneal mesothelium is a key step in the malignant progression of the disease. In an in vitro study, we showed that the adherence of ovarian cancer cells (of the OVCAR-3, SKOV-3, and A2780 cell lines) to senescent human omentum-derived peritoneal mesothelial cells (HOMCs) was greater than to early passage cells. The process was mediated primarily by the increased interaction of the ␣5␤1 integrin on cancer cells with HOMC-associated fibronectin (FN). In comparison with early passage HOMCs, senescent cells exhibited increased FN mRNA expression levels and produced significantly more FN. To assess the effect of senescence-associated oxidative stress on FN release, HOMCs were rendered senescent by exposure to an oxidant, tert-butyl hydroperoxide. Treatment with tert-butyl hydroperoxide resulted in a significant increase in HOMC FN mRNA and protein expression levels. The effect of oxidative stress on FN synthesis was found to be mediated by transforming growth factor-␤1, whose signaling pathway was controlled at upstream and downstream levels by p38 MAPK. The activity of p38 MAPK increased markedly in senescent HOMCs. Treatment of HOMCs with antioxidants significantly attenuated senescence-associated increases in p38 MAPK activity, production of both transforming growth factor-␤1 and FN, and ovarian cancer cell adhesion. These data indicate that oxidative stress that accompanies senescence may increase Ovarian cancer is still associated with high mortality. The poor outcome is related to a large extent to metastatic spreading of cancer cells within the peritoneal cavity. Attachment of malignant cells to the peritoneal mesothelium is thought to be a critical step in peritoneal dissemination of the disease. Available data indicate that the process is mediated by interactions between extracellular matrix components produced by mesothelial cells and the corresponding adhesion molecules on ovarian cancer cells. A key role is thought to be played by CD44 and ␤1 integrin receptors and their ligands-hyaluronan, fibronectin (FN), and vitronectin. [2][3][4][5][6] FN is a ubiquitous constituent of extracellular matrix. Secreted by cells as a soluble dimer, it is then processed and assembled into insoluble fibrils at the cell surface. 7 FN is involved in many cellular functions including the maintenance of cell shape, tissue repair, cell differentiation, adhesion, and migration. These processes are primarily mediated by binding of the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence of the FN molecule to integrin receptors (especially to ␣5␤1 and ␣ V ␤3).8 It has been demonstrated that FN released by peritoneal mesothelial cells stimulates ovarian cancer cell motility in vitro.9 Moreover, competitive inhibition of FN by RGD-containing peptides has been reported to decrease peritoneal spreading of ovarian cancer cells in mice. 10 More recently it has been demonstrated that the attachment of ovarian cancer cells to the peritoneum results in up-regulation of their matrix metalloproteinase-2, which cleaves mesot...

Obesity in the postmenopausal period is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases in women. One of the key drivers of cardiovascular risk is endothelial dysfunction; thus, this is also a crucial point for studies on new therapeutic methods of cardioprotective properties. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of two doses of multispecies probiotic Ecologic® Barrier supplement on functional (primary endpoint) and biochemical parameters (secondary endpoint) of endothelial dysfunction in obese postmenopausal women in a 12-week randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial. A total of 81 obese Caucasian women participated in the trial. The subjects were randomly assigned to three groups that received a placebo, a low dose (LD) (2.5 × 109 colony forming units (CFU) per day), or a high dose (HD) (1 × 1010 CFU per day) of lyophilisate powder containing live multispecies probiotic bacteria. The probiotic supplement was administered each day for 12 weeks in two equal portions. A high dose probiotic supplementation for 12 weeks decreased systolic blood pressure, vascular endothelial growth factor, pulse wave analysis systolic pressure, pulse wave analysis pulse pressure, pulse wave analysis augmentation index, pulse wave velocity, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and thrombomodulin. Low doses of probiotic supplementation decreased the systolic blood pressure and interleukin-6 levels. The mean changes in the estimated parameters, compared among the three groups, revealed significant differences in the vascular endothelial growth factor, the pulse wave analysis systolic pressure, the pulse wave analysis augmentation index, the pulse wave velocity, the tumor necrosis factor alpha, and thrombomodulin. The post hoc tests showed significant differences for all parameters between HD and the placebo group, and HD and LD (besides pulse wave analysis augmentation index). We show for the first time that supplementation with multispecies probiotic Ecologic® Barrier favorably modifies both functional and biochemical markers of vascular dysfunction in obese postmenopausal women.

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Cellular senescence can be activated in response to noxious environmental stimuli. A senescent-like phenotype has been detected in the peritoneal mesothelium of mice exposed to high intraperitoneal glucose. We have sought to examine whether high glucose (HG) can induce the senescence program in human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HPMC) in vitro. Senescence of omentum-derived HPMC was induced by serial passages. Cells were cultured in media containing either 5 mM glucose, 30 mM glucose, or 5 mM glucose and 25 mM mannitol (M) for osmotic control. Compared with HPMC cultured in low glucose, the growth rate of cells exposed to HG was significantly decreased so that the cells reached fewer population doublings before entering senescence. Exposure to HG led to increased expression of senescence-associated b-galactosidase (SA-b-Gal) and of the cell cycle inhibitors p21 Waf1 and p27 Kip1 . Late-passage HPMC exposed to HG displayed marked hypertrophy and released increased amounts of fibronectin and TGF-b1. These effects were absent from HPMC treated with equimolar M. Exposure of early-passage HPMC to exogenous recombinant TGF-b1 induced a senescence marker SA-b-Gal in a dose-dependent manner and mimicked other senescence-associated alterations induced by HG. The addition of anti-TGF-b1 neutralizing antibody partially reduced the activation of HG-induced SA-b-Gal. These results indicate that chronic exposure to elevated glucose may result in TGF-b1-mediated accelerated senescence of HPMC in vitro, which may hypothetically contribute to the peritoneal membrane dysfunction during peritoneal dialysis in vivo.

Exposure to GDP may impair protein synthesis and secretion by HPMC. Therefore, increased dialysate PICP levels in response to GDP-free PDF may be viewed as evidence of improved mesothelial cell function.

These results suggest that therapy with new pH-neutral low-GDP solutions contribute to an intraperitoneal milieu that improves mesothelial cell proliferation and viability. It may positively impact on the preservation of the peritoneal membrane integrity during long-term dialysis.

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Thrombin, the ligand of the protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1), is a well-known stimulator of proangiogenic responses in vascular endothelial cells (ECs), which are mediated through the induction of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). However, the transcriptional events underlying this thrombin-induced VEGF induction and angiogenic response are less well understood at present. As reported here, we conducted detailed promotor activation and signal transduction pathway studies in human microvascular ECs, to decipher the transcription factors and the intracellular signaling events underlying the thrombin and PAR-1-induced endothelial VEGF induction. We found that c-FOS is a key transcription factor controlling thrombin-induced EC VEGF synthesis and angiogenesis. Upon the binding and internalization of its G-protein-coupled PAR-1 receptor, thrombin triggers ERK1/2 signaling and activation of the nuclear AP-1/c-FOS transcription factor complex, which then leads to VEGF transcription, extracellular secretion, and concomitant proangiogenic responses of ECs. In conclusion, exposure of human microvascular ECs to thrombin triggers signaling through the PAR-1–ERK1/2–AP-1/c-FOS axis to control VEGF gene transcription and VEGF-induced angiogenesis. These observations offer a greater understanding of endothelial responses to thromboinflammation, which may help to interpret the results of clinical trials tackling the conditions associated with endothelial injury and thrombosis.