Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 Sep 22. Epub 2017 Sep 22.

Department of Paediatrics and Endocrinology, Medical University of Warsaw, 63A Żwirki and Wigury Street, 02-091, Warsaw, Poland.

Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) play a crucial role in the regulation of bone turnover. Adequate vitamin D status supports proper bone remodeling, leading to normal longitudinal bone growth and normal peak bone mass. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] and carboxy-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) in children and adolescents with growth hormone deficiency at baseline and during recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) replacement therapy. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:285-307

Division of Cardiovascular Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS, USA.

Cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause of death globally with an estimated 7.4 million people dying from coronary heart disease. Studies have been conducted to identify the therapeutic utility of exosomes in many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:271-281

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.

Despite years of researches, cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the most common cause of death around the world. Lots of studies showed that by pretreating with short nonfatal ischemia in in situ organ or distant organ, one could develop tolerance to the following fatal ischemia. The process is called ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:255-269

Cardiac Regeneration and Ageing Lab, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nan Chen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.

Circulating exosomes could arrive in distant tissues via blood circulation, thus directly communicating with target cells and rapidly regulating intracellular signalings. Circulating exosomes and exosomal cargos are critically involved in cardiovascular pathophysiology, such as cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis, and angiogenesis. Circulating exosomes enriched with various types of biological molecules can be changed not only in the number but also in the composite cargos upon cardiac injury, such as myocardial infarction, myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and sepsis cardiomyopathy, which may further influence cardiomyocyte function and contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:237-254

Section of Anatomy and Histology, Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Largo Brambilla 3, Florence, 50134, Italy.

Among cardiac interstitial cells, the recently described telocytes (TCs) display the unique ability to build a supportive three-dimensional network formed by their very long and thin prolongations named telopodes. Cardiac TCs are increasingly regarded as pivotal regulators in intercellular signaling with multiple cell types, such as cardiomyocytes, stem/progenitor cells, microvessels, nerve endings, fibroblasts and immune cells, thus converting the cardiac stromal compartment into an integrated system that may drive either heart development or maintenance of cardiac homeostasis in post-natal life. Besides direct intercellular communications between TCs and neighboring cells, different types of TC-released extracellular vesicles (EVs), namely exosomes, ectosomes and multivesicular cargos, may act as shuttles for paracrine molecular signal exchange between cardiac TCs and cardiomyocytes or putative cardiomyocyte progenitors. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:221-235

Institute for Heart Research, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 840 05, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.

As other stem cells, hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are able to produce extracellular vesicles (EVs) including exosomes and microvesicles. This chapter summarizes the knowledge about the production of EVs by the HSCs, their role in the intercellular communication, and will discuss the cargo of these EVs as well as protective effects of HSCs-derived exosomes and microvesicles in cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Available data showed that cardioprotective action of injected HSCs could not be explained by direct transdifferentiationof injected cells into the cardiomyocytes, this effect is suggested to be mediated via paracrine communication (by EVs) between donor and recipient cells. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:207-219

Department of Cardiology, Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, 3584CX, The Netherlands.

Cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have emerged as potential therapy to improve cardiac repair and prevent damage in cardiac diseases. CPCs are a promising cell source for cardiac therapy as they can generate all cardiovascular lineages in vitro and in vivo. Originating from the heart itself, CPCs may be destined to activate endogenous repair mechanisms. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:187-206

Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Institute for Cardiovascular Science, Soochow University, Suzhou, China.

Cardiovascular diseases resulting from ischemic heart diseases remain to be the main causes of heart failure and death despite significant advances in medical treatment. The development of new therapies for heart failure is thus required to improve the outcome in these patients, and this has led to the development of cell-based therapies. Animal studies showed interesting results using various cell types. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:179-185

Faculty of Medicine, The Department of Urology, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent stem cells that reside in various organs. They have the capacity to differentiate into various cell types, including cardiomyocytes, vascular endothelial cells, and vascular smooth muscle cells. Among the various MSCs, bone marrow-derived MSCs (BMMSCs) have been widely used for treating acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and ischemic heart failure (IHF) in preclinical and clinical studies. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:163-177

Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, 226001, China.

Exosomes are membrane-contained vesicles released by various types of cells both in animals and human. They contain microRNAs and proteins and can travel to target cells, affecting their functions. There are specific factors on the surface of every exosomes, making sure that they will be taken up by certain type of cells. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:151-160

Experimental Research Department, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, Av. Albert Einstein, 627, Bloco A, 2oSS Morumbi, São Paulo, 05652 000, Brazil.

Vascular calcification is a tightly regulated process that increases during ageing and occurs mainly in patients with diabetes and chronic renal failure. Exosomes are small membrane vesicles that are synthesized in a particular population of endosomes, also called multivesicular bodies, by inside budding into the lumen of the compartment. After fusion of exosome with the plasma membrane, these internal vesicles are secreted. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:139-149

Department of Cardiology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.

Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) refers to irreversible cardiomyocyte damage that occurs during the last month of pregnancy, or within 5 months after giving birth. It is characterized by systolic heart failure. This life-threatening condition is relatively uncommon, but the incidence has been climbing up. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:113-138

Department of Pharmacology and Cell Biophysics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 5872 Care Mail Loc-0575, Cincinnati, OH, 45267, USA.

Diabetic subjects are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease, which accounts for 60-80% of diabetes-related mortality. Atherosclerosis is still considered as a leading cause of heart failure in diabetic patients, but it could also be an intrinsic and long-term effect of contractile cardiac cells malfunction, known as diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM). Pathologically, this cardiac dysfunction is manifested by inflammation, apoptosis, fibrosis, hypertrophy and altered cardiomyocytes metabolism. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:101-112

Pharmaceutical Science Post-Graduation Program, Health Science Institute, Federal University of Pará/UFPA, Belém, PA, 66075900, Brazil.

Sepsis is one of the main causes of ICU hospitalization worldwide, with a high mortality rate, and is associated with a large number of comorbidities. One of the main comorbidities associated with sepsis is septic cardiomyopathy. This process occurs mainly due to mechanisms of damage in the cardiovascular system that will lead to changes in cardiovascular physiology, such as decreased Ca(2+) response, mitochondrial dysfunction and decreased β-adrenergic receptor response. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:91-100

Department of Pharmacy, The Affiliated Second Hospital of Harbin Medical University, 157# Baojian Road, Nangang District, Harbin, 150081, Heilongjiang Province, China.

Myocardial hypertrophy is a common cardiac condition in response to hemodynamic and neurohormonal alterations. Pathological hypertrophic growth in hearts caused the decline of cardiac functions, and finally developed into congestive heart failure. The exosomes are small membrane vesicles which are secreted by various cells and play important roles in cellular communication, migration, proliferation and differentiation. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:71-88

Cardiac Regeneration and Ageing Lab, School of Life Science, Shanghai University, 333 Nan Chen Road, Shanghai, 200444, China.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) have a high prevalence and annually increasing incidence with high mortality and morbidity. Identification of biomarkers with high sensitivity and specificity for assessing the prognosis of CVDs is necessary for optimizing personalized treatment and reducing mortality. Exosomes have been proved to be accessible in nearly all body fluids and they can reflect disease stage or progression. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:61-70

Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik II, Universitätsklinikum Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Str. 25, 53105, Bonn, Germany.

Exosomes play important roles in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases by modulating intercellular communication. Contents and quantities of exosomes are variable under different pathological cardiovascular conditions. Based on these concepts, exosomes have been proposed as novel diagnostic biomarkers in cardiovascular diseases. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:45-58

Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, KU Leuven, Herestraat 49, O&N1, POB 704, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium.

Extracellular vesicles are now widely recognized as key players in the prevention, repair or progression of cardiovascular disease. Here we first focus on the functional roles of extracellular vesicles in the cross-talk between cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells, important for maintaining normal development and function of the heart. Second, we discuss the role of extracellular vesicles secreted by embryonic and non-embryonic stem cells in repairing cardiomyocyte function and in restoring angiogenic potential after myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:23-43

Dipartimento di Biopatologia e Biotecnologie Mediche, University of Palermo, Palermo, 90133, Italy.

Cell-cell communication is crucial to maintain homeostasis in multicellular organism. Cells communicate each other by direct contact or by releasing factors that, soluble or packaged in membrane vesicles, can reach different regions of the organism. To date numerous studies highlighted the existence of several types of extracellular vesicles that, differing for dimension, origin and contents, play a role in physiological and/or pathological processes. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;998:3-19

National Center for Global Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.

Exosomes are extracellular vesicles of 50-150 nm in diameter secreted by basically all cell types. They mediate micro-communication among cells, tissues, and organs under both healthy and disease conditions by virtue of their ability to deliver macromolecules to target cells. Research on exosomes is a rapidly growing field, however many aspects of their biogenesis and functions still await a complete clarification. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 Sep 13. Epub 2017 Sep 13.

Department of Medicine, University College of Medical Sciences & Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, Dilshad Garden, Delhi, 110095, India.

Diarrhea is a debilitating condition in HIV infected individuals and with the finding that almost 1/4 cases of diarrhea in HIV are due to microsporidia, there is a dire need to institute measures for its detection on a regular basis. Keeping this in mind the study aims to determine the burden of intestinal microsporidiosis in HIV seropositive patients presenting with and without diarrhea and to compare the ability of microscopy and PCR in its detection.The study group consisted of 120 patients divided into four groups HIV seropositive with/without diarrhea, and HIV seronegative with/without diarrhea. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:225-244

Guangzhou Institute of Paediatrics, Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Centre, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510623, China.

Next to T and B cells, natural killer (NK) cells are the third largest lymphocyte population. They are recently re-categorized as innate lymphocytes (ILCs), which also include ILC1, ILC2, ILC3, and the lymphoid tissue inducer (LTi) cells. Both NK cells and ILC1 cells are designated as group 1 ILCs because they secrete interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:213-224

Institute of Ageing Research, Hangzhou Normal University School of Medicine, 1378 Wenyi Road West, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, 311121, China.

Telomeres at the ends of chromosomes safeguard genome integrity and stability in human nucleated cells. However, telomere repeats shed off during cell proliferation and other stress responses. Our recent studies show that telomere attrition induces not only epithelial stem cell senescence but also low-grade inflammation in the lungs. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:195-212

Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, 27-31 Wright Street, Clayton, 3168, VIC, Australia.

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are one of the best characterised families of pattern recognition receptors (PRRs) and play a critical role in the host defence to infection. Accumulating evidence indicates that TLRs also participate in maintaining tissue homeostasis by controlling inflammation and tissue repair, as well as promoting antitumour effects via activation and modulation of adaptive immune responses. TLR agonists have successfully been exploited to ameliorate the efficacy of various cancer therapies. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:175-194

Centre for Innate Immunity and Infectious Diseases, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia.

Stimulator of interferon (IFN) genes (STING) is a key mediator in the immune response to cytoplasmic DNA sensed by cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) synthase (cGAS). After synthesis by cGAS, cGAMP acts as a second messenger activating STING in the cell harboring cytoplasmic DNA but also in adjacent cells through gap junction transfer. While the role of the cGAS-STING pathway in pathogen detection is now well established, its importance in cancer immunity has only recently started to emerge. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:153-174

Department of Medicine, St George & Sutherland Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia, Level 2 Clinical Sciences (WR Pitney) Building, St George Hospital, Short St, Kogarah, NSW, 2217, Australia.

The intestinal microbes form a symbiotic relationship with their human host to harvest energy for themselves and their host and to shape the immune system of their host. However, alteration of this relationship, which is named as a dysbiosis, has been associated with the development of different inflammatory diseases and cancers. It is found that metabolites, cellular components, and virulence factors derived from the gut microbiota interact with the host locally or systemically to modulate the dysbiosis and the development of these diseases. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:133-151

CAS Key Laboratory of Molecular Virology & Immunology, Institut Pasteur of Shanghai, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 320 Yueyang Road, Life Science Research Building B-205, Shanghai, 200031, China.

Inflammasomes are critical checkpoints in inflammation. The activation of inflammasome can cause a series of inflammatory responses including maturation of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-18 and a specialized form of cell death called pyroptosis. Since its identification in the early 2000s, inflammasomes have been implicated to play multifaceted roles in varied pathological and physiological conditions, especially in the mucosal compartments including the gut. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:111-131

Hudson Institute of Medical Research, Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, 3168, Australia.

microRNAs play a fundamental role in the immune system. One particular microRNA, miR-155 plays a critical role in hematopoietic cell development and tightly regulates innate and adaptive immune responses in response to infection. However, its dysregulation, more specifically its overexpression, is closely associated with various inflammatory disorders. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:91-110

College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are an emerging class of molecules involved in the epigenetic regulation of innate immune responses through Toll-like receptor (TLR) and interferon (IFN) signaling pathways. HDACs are also key drivers of inflammatory diseases via epigenetic regulation through chromatin DNA and histone modification by methylation and acetylation, among other mechanisms, which control innate immune cell gene expression. Importantly, these epigenetic changes are reversible, and HDACs may also be targeted by small-molecule HDAC inhibitors, which have been used in clinical settings for cancer therapy. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:63-90

Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.

Macrophages and dendritic cells initiate the innate immune response to infection and injury and contribute to inflammatory signaling to maintain the homeostasis of various tissues, which includes resident macrophages for the elimination of invading microorganisms and tissue damage. Inappropriate inflammatory signaling can lead to persistent inflammation and further develop into autoimmune and inflammation-associated diseases. Inflammatory signaling pathways have been well characterized, but how these signaling pathways are converted into sustained and diverse patterns of expression of cytokines, chemokines, and other genes in response to environmental challenges is unclear. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:37-61

Department of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200032, People's Republic of China.

Inflammation is usually the defensive reaction of the immune system to the invasion of pathogen and the exogenous objects. The activation of inflammation helps our body to eliminate pathogenic microbe, virus, and parasite harming our health, while under many circumstances inflammation is the direct cause of the pathological damage in tissues and dysfunction of organs. The posttranslational modification (PTM) of the inflammatory pathways, such as TLR pathways, RLR pathways, NLR pathway, intracellular DNA sensors, intracellular RNA sensors, and inflammasomes, is crucial in the regulation of these signaling trails. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1024:1-35

Inflammation Division, The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, 1G Royal Parade, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia.

The families of innate immune receptors are the frontline responders to danger. These superheroes of the host immune systems populate innate immune cells, surveying the extracellular environment and the intracellular endolysosomal compartments and cytosol for exogenous and endogenous danger signals. As a collective the innate immune receptors recognise a wide array of stimuli, and in response they initiate specific signalling pathways leading to activation of transcriptional or proteolytic pathways and the production of inflammatory molecules to destroy foreign pathogens and/or resolve tissue injury. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 Sep 12. Epub 2017 Sep 12.

Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Pharma Center, University of Bonn, D-53127, Bonn, Germany.

P2Y receptors are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) for extracellular nucleotides. The platelet ADP-receptor which has been denominated P2Y12 receptor is an important target in pharmacotherapy. The receptor couples to Gαi2 mediating an inhibition of cyclic AMP accumulation and additional downstream events including the activation of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase and Rap1b proteins. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:193-220

School of Chemistry, Biology and Materials Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No.1 Kerui road, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215011, China.

Cohort studies are observational studies in which the investigator determines the exposure status of subjects and then follows them for subsequent outcomes. The incidence of outcomes is observed in the exposed group and compared with that in a nonexposed group. Recently, new epidemiologic strategies have encouraged cohort research information exchange and cooperation to improve the cognition of disease etiology, such as case-cohort design and nested case-control study, which is available for "omics" data. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:167-191

Center for Systems Biology, Soochow University, No.1 Shizi Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.

The occurrence and progression of diseases are strongly associated with a combination of genetic, lifestyle, and environmental factors. Understanding the interplay between genetic and nongenetic components provides deep insights into disease pathogenesis and promotes personalized strategies for people healthcare. Recently, the paradigm of systems medicine, which integrates biomedical data and knowledge at multidimensional levels, is considered to be an optimal way for disease management and clinical decision-making in the era of precision medicine. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:143-166

School of Chemistry, Biology and Materials Engineering, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, No.1 Kerui road, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215011, China.

While traditional nutrition science is focusing on nourishing population, modern nutrition is aiming at benefiting individual people. The goal of modern nutritional research is to promote health, prevent diseases, and improve performance. With the development of modern technologies like bioinformatics, metabolomics, and molecular genetics, this goal is becoming more attainable. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:123-141

Sports Medicine Center, Clinical and Experimental Department, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

Metabolic syndrome as a consequence of the association to overweight, hypertension, and diabetes is at high risk of coronary events. Regular physical training has been recently promoted to reduce cardiovascular risks factors, by the improved lifestyle and also by the "anti-inflammatory effectiveness." A positive impact has been shown in case of cancer survived patients either with or without comorbidities and especially in those subjects where the inflammatory process is globally represented. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:99-121

Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science and MU Informatics Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.

Computer-aided diagnosis provides a medical procedure that assists physicians in interpretation of medical images. This work focuses on computer-aided tongue image analysis specifically, based on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Tongue diagnosis is an important component of TCM. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:63-98

College of Life Sciences and Oceanography, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, Guangdong Province, People's Republic of China.

Biological trace elements are essential for human health. Imbalance in trace element metabolism and homeostasis may play an important role in a variety of diseases and disorders. While the majority of previous researches focused on experimental verification of genes involved in trace element metabolism and those encoding trace element-dependent proteins, bioinformatics study on trace elements is relatively rare and still at the starting stage. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:47-61

Center for Systems Biology, Soochow University, No.1 Shizi Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.

As newborn screening success stories gained general confirmation during the past 50 years, scientists quickly discovered diagnostic tests for a host of genetic disorders that could be treated at birth. Outstanding progress in sequencing technologies over the last two decades has made it possible to comprehensively profile newborn screening (NBS) and identify clinically relevant genomic alterations. With the rapid developments in whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) recently, we can detect newborns at the genomic level and be able to direct the appropriate diagnosis to the different individuals at the appropriate time, which is also encompassed in the concept of precision medicine. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:21-46

Division of Biostatistics, The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sha Tin, Hong Kong SAR, China.

Advancement in technology has nurtured the new era of genetic tests for personalized medicine. In this chapter, we will introduce the current development, challenges, and the outlook of genetic test, disease risk prediction, and genetic counseling. In the first section, we will present the success cases in the areas of molecular classification of tumors, pharmacogenomics, and Mendelian disorders, and the challenges of genetic tests implementations. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;1005:1-20

Center for Systems Biology, Soochow University, No.1 Shizi Street, Suzhou, Jiangsu, 215006, China.

The past decade has witnessed great advances in biomedical informatics. Biomedical informatics is an emerging field of healthcare that aims to translate the laboratory observation into clinical practice. Smart healthcare has also developed rapidly with ubiquitous sensor and communication technologies. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 Sep 14. Epub 2017 Sep 14.

Department of Dietetics, College of Rehabilitation, 49 Kasprzaka Street, 01-234, Warsaw, Poland.

The study investigated a panel of lysosomal enzymes in the liver and kidney tissues in alloxan-induced diabetes in the mouse. The mice were divided into six experimental groups receiving 10% alloxan at a dose of 50 and 75 mg/kg over a period of four, eight, and twelve days; each group was compared with controls receiving 0.9% NaCl. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:623-637

Inserm U1003, Equipe Labellisée par la Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, Université de Sciences et Technologies de Lille (USTL), 59655, Villeneuve d'Ascq, France.

Store-operated calcium entry (SOCE) plays important roles in a multitude of cellular processes, from muscle contraction to cellular proliferation and migration. Dysregulation of SOCE is responsible for the advancement of multiple diseases, ranging from immune diseases, myopathies, to terminal ones like cancer. Naturally, SOCE has been a focus of many studies and review papers which, however, primarily concentrated on the principal players localized to the plasma membrane and responsible for Ca(2+) entry into the cell. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:595-621

Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Flinders University, GPO Box 2100, Adelaide, SA, 5001, Australia.

In steatotic hepatocytes, intracellular Ca(2+) homeostasis is substantially altered compared to normal. Decreased Ca(2+) in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can lead to ER stress, an important mediator of the progression of liver steatosis to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, type 2 diabetes, and hepatocellular carcinoma. Store-operated Ca(2+) channels (SOCs) in hepatocytes are composed principally of Orai1 and STIM1 proteins. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:577-593

Department of Animal Sciences, Lilly Hall of Life Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.

At the time of fertilization, the sperm activates the egg and induces embryonic development by triggering an elevation in the egg's intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration. In mammals the initial Ca(2+) rise is followed by a series of repetitive Ca(2+) transients (known as oscillations) that last for several hours. Although the source of Ca(2+) during the signaling process is primarily the egg's smooth endoplasmic reticulum, the oscillations stop in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+) indicating that a Ca(2+) influx across the plasma membrane is essential to sustain them. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:557-575

Department of Cell Physiology and Metabolism, University of Geneva, 1 rue Michel Servet, 1211, Geneva, Switzerland.

Transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC) channels belong to the large family of TRPs that are mostly nonselective cation channels with a great variety of gating mechanisms. TRPC are composed of seven members that can all be activated downstream of agonist-induced phospholipase C stimulation, but some members are also stretch-activated and/or are part of the store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) pathway. Skeletal muscles generate contraction via an explosive increase of cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration resulting almost exclusively from sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) channel opening. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:535-556

Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND, 58202, USA.

Calcium (Ca(2+)) is a ubiquitous second messenger that performs significant physiological task such as neurosecretion, exocytosis, neuronal growth/differentiation, and the development and/or maintenance of neural circuits. An important regulatory aspect of neuronal Ca(2+) homeostasis is store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) which, in recent years, has gained much attention for influencing a variety of nerve cell responses. Essentially, activation of SOCE ensues following the activation of the plasma membrane (PM) store-operated Ca(2+) channels (SOCC) triggered by the depletion of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) Ca(2+) stores. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:523-534

Inserm UMR S1180, University Paris-Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, 92296, Châtenay-Malabry, France.

For a long time, Ca(2+) entry into cardiomyocytes was considered the sole domain of the L-type Ca(2+) channel. Recently, STIM1/Orai1-mediated store-operated Ca(2+) entry has been also reported to participate to Ca(2+) influx in cardiac cells and has emerged as a key player to alter Ca(2+) in the cardiomyocyte. In this review, we will highlight accumulated knowledge about the presence and the potential contribution of STIM1/Orai1-dependent SOCE to cardiac function and its role in the cardiac pathogenesis. Read More

Adv Exp Med Biol 2017 ;993:505-521

Department of Internal Medicine I, Comprehensive Heart Failure Center Würzburg, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany.

TRPC channels have been suggested as potential candidates mediating store-operated Ca(2+) entry (SOCE) in cardiomyocytes. There is increasing evidence that the TRPC isoforms TRPC1 and TRPC4 might fulfill the function as SOCs, in concert with or in parallel to the key players of SOCE, Orai1, and STIM1. Several other isoforms, e. Read More