Publications (2)12.25 Total impact
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Article: Atherosclerotic plaques induced by marble-burying behavior are stabilized by exercise training in experimental atherosclerosis.
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ABSTRACT: We assessed the hypothesis whether behavioral stress may affect the development of atherosclerosis and whether regular exercise training may influence the composition of atherosclerotic plaques in apolipoprotein (apo) E-deficient mice. Atherosclerosis was induced in apo E-deficient mice fed a high fat diet. Exercise training (45 min swimming, 3 times/week) was conducted, and behavioral stress was provoked by glass marble-burying procedure. Mice were treated with marble-burying, marble-burying behavior plus swimming training, and swimming alone over 8 weeks. Exercise training decreased the atherosclerotic lesions, but marble-burying behavior increased the lesions. The plaques containing macrophage accumulation with intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression associated with reduced collagen contents were induced in the mice treated with marble-burying. However, ICAM-1 expression was suppressed and collagen contents were reversed in the mice that received marble-burying behavior plus exercise training. In addition, exercise alone and concomitant exercise training reduced the superoxide production in aortic walls, shown by dihydroethidium staining, compared with that in mice with marble-burying behavior alone. There were no significant differences in the serum lipids profiles among the groups. Behavioral stress increased the atherosclerotic lesions and induced the adhesion molecule expression with superoxide production on the lesions in apo E-deficient mice. Exercise training may stabilize plaque lesions induced by marble-burying behavior in this animal model.International journal of cardiology 09/2011; 151(3):284-9. · 7.08 Impact Factor -
Article: Therapy with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in the chronic stage, but not in the acute stage, improves experimental autoimmune myocarditis in rats via nitric oxide.
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ABSTRACT: We systematically investigated serial efficacy of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) therapy upon experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) in rats treated with and without the inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) with the analyses of tissue regeneration. G-CSF could mobilize multipotent progenitor cells of bone marrow into the peripheral blood and may improve ventricular function. A rat model of porcine myosin-induced EAM was used. After the immunization of myosin, G-CSF (10 microg/kg/day) or saline was injected intraperitoneally on days 0-21 in experiment 1 and on days 21-42 in experiment 2. Additional myosin-immunized rats were orally given 25 mg/kg/day of N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methylester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), in each experiment (each group; n=8-21). Serum cytokines and peripheral blood cell counts were measured in each group. In experiment 1, G-CSF treatment aggravated cardiac pathology associated with increased macrophage inflammatory protein-2 (MIP-2) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels and enhanced superoxide production. In experiment 2, G-CSF treatment reduced the severity of myocarditis with increased capillary density and improved left ventricular ejection fraction. In the rats with EAM treated with G-CSF associated with oral L-NAME treatment in experiment 2, the severity of myocarditis was not reduced. Myocardial c-kit(+) cells were demonstrated only in G-CSF-treated group in experiment 2 but not in other groups. G-CSF has differential effects on EAM in rats associated with the modulation of cytokine network. The overwhelming superoxide production by G-CSF administration in the acute stage may worsen the disease. G-CSF therapy improved cardiac function via NO system in a rat model of myocarditis in the chronic stage, but not in the acute stage, possibly through the myocardial regeneration and acceleration of healing process.Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology 02/2010; 49(3):469-81. · 5.17 Impact Factor
