Search results for "Growth factor"

Early OCTA Changes of Type 3 Macular Neovascularization Following Brolucizumab Intravitreal Injections

2022

Background and Objectives: Brolucizumab is a novel anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), whose efficacy has been shown in the Hawk and Harrier phase 3 clinical studies. The goal of the present case series is to report initial results of brolucizumab intravitreal injections (IVI) on type 3 neovascularization in neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD), evaluated by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). Materials and Methods: This is a bicentric retrospective case series. Patients with newly diagnosed type 3 MNV treated with brolucizumab IVI and at least 6 months follow-up were enrolled. OCTA en face images and B-scans were analyzed for lesions at baseline, 1 m…

VEGF-B as a target for cancer therapy : characterization of monoclonal antibodies towards VEGF-B and generation of VEGF-B expressing tumour cell lines

2007

VEGF and Notch Signaling in Angiogenesis

2015

The vascular system is responsible for providing every cell in vertebrate organisms with a sufficient supply of oxygen and nutrients, allowing waste disposal as well as transmitting immune responses among other functions. Thus, every tissue and organ requires an efficient network of blood vessels, which can be formed de novo (vasculogenesis) or from existing vessels (angiogenesis). The onset of the latter, namely endothelial cell (EC) sprouting, is the focus of this chapter. EC sprouting starts with the differentiation of ECs into guiding tip cells and proliferative stalk cells that form the growing sprout and it ends with the so-called anastomosis, when the sprout fuses with another sprout…

Vitamin A deficiency alters rat lung alveolar basement membrane: reversibility by retinoic acid.

2010

Vitamin A is essential for lung development and pulmonary cell differentiation and its deficiency results in alterations of lung structure and function. Basement membranes (BMs) are also involved in those processes, and retinoic acid, the main biologically active form of vitamin A, influences the expression of extracellular matrix macromolecules. Therefore, we have analyzed the ultrastructure and collagen content of lung alveolar BM in growing rats deficient in vitamin A and the recovering effect of all-trans retinoic acid. Male weanling pups were fed a retinol-adequate or -deficient diet until they were 60 days old. A group of vitamin A-deficient pups were recovered by daily intraperitonea…

Ambiguous Role of Interleukin-12 in Yersinia enterocolitica Infection in Susceptible and Resistant Mouse Strains

1998

ABSTRACT Endogenous interleukin-12 (IL-12) mediates protection against Yersinia enterocolitica in C57BL/6 mice by triggering gamma interferon (IFN-γ) production in NK and CD4 + T cells. Administration of exogenous IL-12 confers protection against yersiniae in Yersinia -susceptible BALB/c mice but exacerbates yersiniosis in resistant C57BL/6 mice. Therefore, we wanted to dissect the different mechanisms exerted by IL-12 during Yersinia infections by using different models of Yersinia -resistant and -susceptible mice, including resistant C57BL/6 mice, susceptible BALB/c mice, intermediate-susceptible wild-type 129/Sv mice, 129/Sv IFN-γ-receptor-deficient (IFN-γR −/− ) mice and C57BL/6 tumor n…

Role of the small heat shock protein alphaB-crystallin in pulmonary fibrosis and its implication in the signaling pathway of the Transforming Growth …

2013

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) has no effective current treatment. It is characterized by a sub-pleural onset and the presence of myofibroblasts, responsible for the excessive extracellular matrix synthesis. Transforming Growth Factor (TGF)-β1 is considered as the major profibrotic cytokine. Its signaling pathway occurs through the Smads proteins, including Smad4. TGF-β1 allows the differentiation of lung fibroblasts and epithelial and mesothelial cells into myofibroblasts. AB-crystallin is a small heat shock protein overexpressed in liver, renal and vascular fibrosis and can be induced by TGF-β1. In this study, we assessed the role of αB-crystallin in pleural and pulmonary fibrosis. W…

Semaphorin 4D cooperates with VEGF to promote angiogenesis and tumor progression

2012

The semaphorins and plexins comprise a family of cysteine-rich proteins implicated in control of nerve growth and development and regulation of the immune response. Our group and others have found that Semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) and its receptor, Plexin-B1, play an important role in tumor-induced angiogenesis, with some neoplasms producing SEMA4D in a manner analogous to vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in order to attract Plexin-B1-expressing endothelial cells into the tumor for the purpose of promoting growth and vascularity. While anti-VEGF strategies have been the focus of most angiogenesis inhibition research, such treatment can lead to upregulation of pro-angiogenic factors that …

Effect of dual blockade of renin-angiotensin system on TGF beta 1 and left ventricular structure and function in hypertensive patients

2007

The effects of 24 weeks losartan and ramipril treatment,both alone and in combination, on left ventricular mass (LVM), circulating transforming growth factor b1(TGFb1), procollagen type I (PIP) and III (PIIIP), havebeen evaluated in hypertensive (HT) patients. A total of 57 HT with stage 1 and 2 essential hypertension were included. After 4 weeks run in, a randomized double blind, three arms, double dummy, independent trial was used. All HT patients were randomly allocated to three treatment arms consisting of losartan (50 mg/daily),ramipril (5 mg/ daily) and combined (losartan 50 mg/daily plus ramipril 5 mg/daily) for 24 weeks. TGFb1, PIP and PIIIP, LVM, LVM/h 2.7 and other echocardiograph…

Activation of TRK Genes in Ewingʼs Sarcoma Trk A Receptor Expression Linked to Neural Differentiation

1997

Trk receptors have been identified by immunohistochemical methods in primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET)/Ewing's sarcoma (ES). However, the presence of different members of the Trk family of receptors in PNET/ES has not been specified. We have examined whether Trk A, B, and C receptors are specifically expressed in ES both with and without features of neural differentiation. Ten ES tumors (five primary tumors of bone and five extraosseous tumors transplanted into nude mice) were investigated for expression of Trk receptors by immunohistochemistry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. One primary ES and the five grafted ES tumors exhibited signs of neural differentiation; t…

Differential genomic imprinting regulates paracrine and autocrine roles of IGF2 in mouse adult neurogenesis

2015

Genomic imprinting is implicated in the control of gene dosage in neurogenic niches. Here we address the importance of Igf2 imprinting for murine adult neurogenesis in the subventricular zone (SVZ) and in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampus in vivo. In the SVZ, paracrine IGF2 is a cerebrospinal fluid and endothelial-derived neurogenic factor requiring biallelic expression, with mutants having reduced activation of the stem cell pool and impaired olfactory bulb neurogenesis. In contrast, Igf2 is imprinted in the hippocampus acting as an autocrine factor expressed in neural stem cells (NSCs) solely from the paternal allele. Conditional mutagenesis of Igf2 in blood vessels confirms t…