We developed a protocol to investigate and optimize the application of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to non-invasive diagnosis of progressing fatty liver disease in mouse models. Eighteen 4-wk-old male C57 L/J mice were randomly assigned to one of …

Exosomes (Exo) secreted from hypoxia-conditioned bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) were found to be protective for ischemic disease. However, the role of exosomal miRNA in the protective effect of hypoxia-conditioned BM-MSCs-derived Exo …

Objective—Abdominal aortic aneurysm is caused by the accumulation of inflammatory cells in the aortic wall. Our recent studies demonstrated that inhibition of Notch signaling attenuates abdominal aortic aneurysm formation by shifting the macrophage …

Background Particulate matter (particles < 2.5 μm [PM2.5]) exposure during the in utero and postnatal developmental periods causes cardiac dysfunction during adulthood. Here, we investigated the potential priming effects of preconception exposure of PM2.5 …

The transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells (MSCs) holds great promise for the treatment of a plethora of human diseases, but new non-invasive procedures are needed to monitor the cell fate in vivo. Already largely used in medical diagnostics, the …

The lymphatic system is crucial for maintaining fluid balance in tissues and for immune cell trafficking; however, there are only a few methods for imaging lymphatic function in vivo. Lymph node biopsies are a common approach to diagnose illness; however, …

A key feature of heart failure is adverse extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling, which is associated with increases in the collagen cross-linking enzyme, lysyl oxidase (LOX). In this study, we assess the progression of cardiovascular remodeling from the …

This study was designed to investigate the effect of single-dose radiation therapy (RT) in combination with evofosfamide (TH-302), a hypoxia-activated prodrug, in a pre-clinical model of pancreatic cancer. AsPC1 tumors were implanted orthotopically in the …

Background The pathophysiology of increased severity of erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes and their poor response to oral pharmacotherapy are unclear. Defective vascular endothelium and consequent impairment in the formation and action of nitric …

Recently, linkage analysis of two large unrelated multigenerational families identified a novel dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM)-linked mutation in the gene coding for alpha-tropomyosin (TPM1) resulting in the substitution of an aspartic acid for an …