Doni et al. use four tissue damage models in mice and find that the fluid phase pattern recognition molecule pentraxin 3 (PTX3) plays a role in tissue remodeling and repair. PTX3 binds fibrinogen/fibrin and plasminogen at an acidic pH within tissues. Mice deficient in PTX3 present defects in fibrin deposition, clot formation, collagen deposition, and macrophage-mediated fibrinolysis.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are well-established mediators of cell-to-cell communication. EVs can be released by every cell type and they can be classified into three major groups according to their biogenesis, dimension, density, and predominant protein markers: exosomes, microvesicles, and apoptotic bodies. During their formation, EVs associate with specific cargo from their parental cell that can include RNAs, free fatty acids, surface receptors, and proteins. The biological function of EVs is to maintain cellular and tissue homeostasis by transferring critical biological cargos to distal or neighboring recipient cells. On the other hand, their role in intercellular communication may also contribute to the pathogenesis of several diseases, including thrombosis. More recently, their physiological and biochemical properties have suggested their use as a therapeutic tool in tissue regeneration as well as a novel option for drug delivery. In this review, we will summarize the impact of EVs released from blood and vascular cells in arterial and venous thrombosis, describing the mechanisms by which EVs affect thrombosis and their potential clinical applications.

Insight into the underlying pathophysiology of vocal fold fibrosis is likely to yield improved therapeutic strategies to mitigate vocal fold scarring. Our data suggest that TGF-beta signaling may be both paracrine and autocrine in this vocal fold fibroblast cell line, and we therefore propose that TGF-beta may be a reasonable target for therapies to prevent and/or treat vocal fold fibrosis, given its putative role in both acute and chronic vocal fold injury, as well as its effects on vocal fold fibroblasts.

Monocyte differentiation into macrophages, possibly triggered by unquenched ROS, may contribute to the increased inflammatory response within atheromata.

Cigarette smoking affects all phases of atherosclerosis from endothelial dysfunction to acute occlusive clinical events. We explored activation by exposure to tobacco smoke of two genes, beta-catenin and COX-2, that play key roles in inflammation and vascular remodeling events. Using both in vivo and in vitro smoke exposure, we determined that tobacco smoke (TS) induced nuclear beta-catenin accumulation and COX-2 expression and activity and moreover interacted with IL-1beta to enhance these effects. Exposure of cardiac endothelial cells to tobacco smoke plus IL-1beta (TS/IL-1beta) enhanced permeability of endothelial monolayers and disrupted membrane VE-cadherin/beta-catenin complexes, decreased beta-catenin phosphorylation, and increased phosphorylation of GSK-3beta, Akt, and EGFR. Transfection of endothelial cells with beta-catenin-directed small interfering RNA (siRNA) suppressed TS/IL-1beta-mediated effects on COX-2 modulation. Inhibitors of EGFR and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase also abolished both the TS/IL-1beta-mediated modulation of the Akt/GSK-3beta/beta-catenin pathway and enhancement of COX-2 expression. Moreover, increased levels of Akt and GSK-3beta phosphorylation, nuclear beta-catenin accumulation, COX-2 expression, and IL-1beta were observed in cardiovascular tissue of ApoE-/- mice exposed to cigarette smoke daily for 2 wk. Our results suggest a novel mechanism by which cigarette smoking can induce proinflammatory and proatherosclerotic effects in vascular tissue.

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Serum from nine healthy active smokers (AS) compared with serum from nine non-smokers (NS) showed higher levels of interleukin-1beta (IL-1β) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and a greater ability to induce ROS production, p47phox translocation to the plasma membrane, and COX-2 mRNA and protein expression in endothelial cells (ECs). Similar results were obtained in vivo and in vitro after treatment with aqueous extracts of cigarette smoke plus IL-1β and TNF-α(TS/IL-1β/TNF-α). In ECs increased ROS production and COX-2 mRNA induced by serum from AS correlated positively with their serum levels of IL-1β and TNF-α. Moreover, a positive correlation was observed between ROS generation and COX-2 mRNA. Simultaneous immuno-neutralization of IL-1β and TNF-α prevented endothelial dysfunction induced by serum from AS. Inhibitors of NADPH oxidase and/or p47phox siRNA diminished ROS production and COX-2 expression as well as phosphorylation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38MAPK) and Akt mediated either by AS serum or by TS/IL-1β/TNF-α. Finally, direct inhibition of p38MAPK and Akt activity also abolished COX-2 expression mediated by both types of stimuli. Our results suggest a crucial role played by interactions between inflammatory cytokines and tobacco smoke in the induction of endothelial dysfunction.