Current Neurovascular Research - Volume 2, Issue 3, 2005

Hemin is released from hemoglobin after CNS hemorrhage, and may contribute to cell loss in surrounding tissue. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is induced by these injuries, and may have an effect on cell viability. In a prior study, we reported that increasing HO-1 expression by adenoviral gene transfer prior to hemin exposure attenuated oxidative stress and cell death in astrocytes. However, rapid gene transfer to the CNS may Read More

Metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are expressed throughout the mammalian central nervous system and integrate a host of signal transduction pathways that determine cellular function, plasticity and injury. Yet, one of the more unique regulatory functions of this family of GTP-binding proteins involves cytoprotection in the nervous system. Here, we demonstrate that activation of group I metabotropic glutamate Read More

The polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine are present in most living cells, with the essentiality for normal cell function, cellular growth and differentiation. In the mammalian brain, polyamines are also present at relatively high concentrations with different regional distribution profiles. Cerebral ischemia is a leading cause of disability and mortality in humans, and believed to yield a cascade of cytotoxic molecule Read More

The hormone relaxin, known for its action on the female reproductive tract, is also able to act on organs and systems different from the reproductive ones, including the blood vessels, the heart and the brain. Relaxin causes vasodilation in several organs stimulating the biosynthetic pathway of nitric oxide (NO), a potent vasodilator. Relaxin also has a cardioprotective action: it reduces the inflammatory activation of n Read More

Gene therapy provides a potential strategy for the treatment of cardiovascular disease such as peripheral arterial disease, myocardial infarction, restenosis after angioplasty, and vascular bypass graft occlusion. Currently, more than 20 clinical studies of gene therapy for cardiovascular disease are in progress. Although cerebrovascular gene therapy has not proceeded to clinical trials, in contrast to cardiovascular gene t Read More

Kynurenine (KYN) is an intermediate in the pathway of the metabolism of tryptophan to nicotinic acid. KYN is formed in the mammalian brain (40%) and is taken up from the periphery (60%), indicating that it can be transported across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). In the brain, KYN can be converted to two other components of the pathway: the neurotoxic quinolinic acid (QUIN) and the neuroprotective kynurenic acid (KYNA Read More

Elevated plasma homocysteine is an independent risk factor for the development of Alzheimer disease, however, the precise mechanisms underlying this are unclear. In this article, we expound on a novel hypothesis depicting the involvement of homocysteine in a vicious circle involving iron dysregulation and oxidative stress designated as the ferric cycle (Dwyer et al., 2004). Moreover, we suspect that the development o Read More