(Press-News.org) Angiogenesis, the development of new blood vessels, is required during embryonic development and wound healing, as well as during disease processes such as tumor growth. The signals that direct angiogensis are incompletely understood, but could represent novel targets for the development of therapies that promote or inhibit this process.
In this paper, Young-Guen Kwon and colleagues, of Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea, investigated the role of two related proteins- DKK1 and DKK2- in angiogenesis. These proteins are known to have similar functions in inhibiting a particular cell signaling pathway, but Kwon and colleagues found that they played opposite roles in directing angiogenesis. Remarkably, they discovered that injection of DKK2 improved vascular regeneration in a mouse model of myocardial infarction (heart attack). The researchers are hopeful that pharmacological manipulation of DKK1 and DKK2 could be used to treat various vascular diseases.
###
TITLE:
The WNT antagonist Dickkopf2 promotes angiogenesis in rodent and human endothelial cells
AUTHOR CONTACT:
Young-Guen Kwon
Yonsei University, Seoul, KOR
Phone: 82-2-2123-5697; Fax: ; E-mail: ygkwon@yonsei.ac.kr
View this article at: http://www.jci.org/articles/view/42556?key=b7440cf00827bc4f983f
Protein could improve recovery from heart attacks
2011-04-12
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Physicists discover new way to visualize warped space and time
2011-04-12
PASADENA, Calif.—When black holes slam into each other, the surrounding space and time surge and undulate like a heaving sea during a storm. This warping of space and time is so complicated that physicists haven't been able to understand the details of what goes on—until now.
"We've found ways to visualize warped space-time like never before," says Kip Thorne, Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).
By combining theory with computer simulations, Thorne and his colleagues at Caltech, Cornell University, ...
Potato consumption in children's meals leads to higher overall diet quality
2011-04-12
Denver, CO., April 11, 2011 – Research to be presented this week at The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Conference in Washington, D.C., demonstrates that consumption of white potatoes (non-fried) by children does not displace other vegetables from children's meals. In fact, meals that contain white potatoes contain more servings of other vegetables, and are significantly higher in potassium, fiber and vitamin C. Both potassium and fiber were identified as nutrients of concern in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines, released February 2011.
"Potatoes ...
Pistachios deliver weight management support, heart health benefits
2011-04-12
Washington, D.C., April 11, 2011 – In a first-of-its-kind study with nuts, randomized controlled-feeding research conducted by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) found that fat in pistachios may not be completely absorbed by the body. The findings indicate that pistachios may actually contain fewer calories per serving than originally thought – further validating pistachios as one of the lowest calorie nuts with 160 calories per 30 gram serving (approximately 1 ounce). The study was presented today at the Experimental ...
Glaucoma patients report a wide range of emotional and psychological changes
2011-04-12
Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest issues facing patients with glaucoma - the second leading cause of blindness worldwide after cataracts - according to research in the April issue of the Journal of Advanced Nursing. People also worry about how the eye disease, which can be hereditary, will affect other members of their family.
Researchers spoke to 24 people with glaucoma, which can lead to severe restriction of the visual field and irreversible blindness if it is not detected early enough and successfully treated.
It's estimated that 4.5 million people worldwide ...
Light, chemistry, action -- a new technique to target skin cancers?
2011-04-12
Targeted photodynamic therapy can completely eradicate some models of cancer, according to the latest research by UK and Swiss scientists, published in the current issue of the British Journal of Cancer.
The team – including researchers from the University of Hull and ETH Zurich – linked light-sensitive molecules with antibodies that target tumour blood vessels. When irradiated with light, the molecules create particles known as reactive oxygen species, which in high numbers cause irreparable damage to cells.
By ensuring the light-sensitive molecules were targeted at ...
DirectRooms.com - Performances From International Cultures are Held in Aberdeen
2011-04-12
People that want to learn about the customs of different nations can head to the Aberdeen International Fun Day to see all sorts of activities. Performers will be giving an insight into the music and dance of each of their representative countries and this will include dances from Russia, India, Sweden and China. Attendees can see firsthand the steps of Bhangra dances, take part in a Tai Chi class or even listen to the melodic voices or a Gaelic choir.
The performances are designed to bridge the gap between communities and for people to learn about each other's cultures ...
How do we fight the war against cyber terrorism?
2011-04-12
The Internet has no borders, no universal legislation, and although highly social and distributed is not represented by cooperation across the globe. Given those characteristics how might nations make their plans for counter terrorism in cyberspace as active online as they are in the everyday world? A collaboration between researchers in the US and Iran hoped to address that issue and its findings are published this month in the International Journal of Internet Technology and Secured Transactions.
Incidence of online crime has grown considerably in recent years, with ...
New technique tracks viral infections, aids development of antiviral drugs
2011-04-12
WASHINGTON -- Scientists at the Naval Research Laboratory Center for Bio-Molecular Science and Engineering have developed a method to detect the presence of viruses in cells and to study their growth. Targeting a virus that has ribonucleic acid (RNA) as its genetic makeup, the new technique referred to as locked nucleic acid (LNA) flow cytometry-fluorescence in situ hybridization (flow-FISH), involves the binding of an LNA probe to viral RNA.
While individual parts of the technique have been developed previously, Drs. Kelly Robertson and Eddie Chang, in collaboration ...
Silver Lining for Pan American Metals of Miami in Miami Beach: Helping You to Find Your Silver Lining
2011-04-12
Pan American Metals of Miami sees the silver lining as the dollar is crashing. Precious metals of gold, silver, paladium and platinum.
You hear stories of people making money and wonder, why can't I get a break like that? Well, this is the break. You now know something that most people won't find out until its headline news... and by that time it's too late. Let's pick up so many oz. positions.
You see finding a bag of money on the train is only part of winning... you still have to pick it up and carry it home... don't you? So what I'm saying is it is not that easy ...
Tufts biologists find another clue to the origins of degenerative diseases
2011-04-12
MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. -- For years, researchers in genome stability have observed that several neurodegenerative diseases—including Huntington's disease—are associated with cell-killing proteins that are created during expansion of a CAG/CTG trinucleotide repeat.
In research published in the March 17 online edition of the journal PLoS Genetics, Tufts University biologist Catherine Freudenreich, and then-graduate student Rangapriya Sundararajan show that cell death in yeast can also result from the process by which the cell repairs damage that occurs within a repeated ...