BACKGROUND: Lung ultrasound (LUS) can diagnose extravacular lung water (EVLW) through the visualization of B lines in both humans and large animals. However, there are no published data on the use of ultrasound to detect EVLW in rats, the gold standard to …

Approximately 20% of pregnant women smoke despite intentions to quit. Smoking cessation drugs, such as nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) and bupropion, are recommended treatments. Adverse cardiovascular outcomes in offspring have raised concerns about …

Aconiti Lateralis Radix Praeparata (Fuzi) and Fritillariae Thunbergii bulbus (Beimu) have been widely used clinically to treat cardiopulmonary related diseases in China. However, according to the classic rules of traditional Chinese medicine, Fuzi and …

Increased levels of a cleaved form of prolactin (molecular weight 16 kDa) have been associated with preeclampsia. To study the effects of prolactin on blood pressure (BP),we generated male mice with a single-copy transgene (Tg; inserted into the …

ABSTRACT Aims: Prior work suggests that ischemic preconditioning increases the level of CD39 in the heart and contributes to cardiac protection. Therefore, we examined if targeted cardiac expression of CD39 protects against myocardial injury. Main …

Sympathetic activity is enhanced in patients with essential or secondary hypertension, as well as in various hypertensive animal models. Therapeutic targeting of sympathetic activation is considered an effective antihypertensive strategy. We hypothesized …

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is characterized by the loss of the protein dystrophin, leading to muscle fragility, progressive weakening, and susceptibility to mechanical stress. Although dystrophin‐negative mdx mouse models have classically been used …

Rationale: Junctional membrane complexes (JMC) in myocytes are critical microdomains, in which excitation-contraction coupling occurs. Structural and functional disruption of JMCs underlies contractile dysfunction in failing hearts. However, the role of …

Background: Patients with diabetes are prone to develop cardiac hypertrophy and more susceptible to myocardial ischemia–reperfusion (I/R) injury, which are concomitant with hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress and impaired endothelial nitric oxide (NO) …

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the death of cardiomyocytes caused by a lack of energy due to ischemia. Nutrients supplied by the blood are the main source of cellular energy for cardiomyocytes. Sodium butyrate (NaB), a gastrointestinal nutrient, is …