Puerarin is a major effective ingredient extracted from the traditional Chinese medicine Ge-gen (Radix Puerariae, RP). Recently, puerarin has been used to treat patients with coronary artery diseases (CAD). However, the mechanisms of puerarin on coronary artery diseases are still not very clear. In this study, we investigated the role of puerarin on angiogenesis in the non-ischemic and ischemic myocardium. We found that puerarin (120, 60 mg/kg, i.p.) could reduce infarct area in the heart of rat with myocardial infarction (MI). Puerarin (120 mg/kg) induced angiogenesis in the non-ischemic and ischemic myocardium, which was one of the mechanisms of curing coronary artery diseases. The gene expression or activation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), hypoxia-inducible factor 1a a (HIF-1a a) and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) that correlated with angiogenesis were also induced by puerarin. From these results, we suggested that puerarin may induce therapeutic angiogenesis in myocardium of rat with MI. The mechanism may be that puerarin can induce VEGF and eNOS expression.Key words angiogenesis; puerarin; myocardial infarction; vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF); endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS); hypoxia-inducible factor 1a (HIF-1a)
Abstract. Preeclampsia is a major cause of maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity, characterized by gestational hypertension, proteinuria, systemic endothelial cell activation and an exaggerated inflammatory response. The precise cause of preeclampsia is not currently known; however, it is widely accepted that the pathogenesis of preeclampsia involves inadequate trophoblast invasion, leading to generalized endothelial dysfunction and an exaggerated inflammatory response. Chemokines are a superfamily of structurally similar proteins that mediate cell recruitment, angiogenesis, immunity and stem cell trafficking. CXC chemokines are a family of cytokines, unique in their ability to behave in a disparate manner in the regulation of angiogenesis. The CXC chemokine family further divides into two subfamilies; CXC ELR+, which promotes angiogenesis, and CXC ELR-, which inhibits angiogenesis. Furthermore, CXC chemokines are involved in the pathogenesis of various conditions, including malignant tumors, wound repair, chronic inflammation, atherosclerosis and potentially preeclampsia.
Introduction: For decades, conventional karyotyping analysis has been the gold standard for detecting chromosomal abnormalities during prenatal diagnosis. With the development of molecular cytogenetic methods, this situation has dramatically changed. Chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA), a method of genome-wide detection with high resolution, has been recommended as a first-tier test for prenatal diagnosis, especially for fetuses with structural abnormalities.Methods: Based on the primary literature, this review provides an updated summary of the application of CMA for prenatal diagnosis. In addition, this review addresses the challenges that CMA faces with the emergence of genome sequencing techniques, such as copy number variation sequencing, genome-wide cell-free DNA testing, and whole exome sequencing.Conclusion: The CMA platform is still suggested as priority testing methodology in the prenatal setting currently. However, pregnant women may benefit from genome sequencing, which enables the simultaneous detection of copy number variations, regions of homozygosity and single-nucleotide variations, in near future.
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