Metformin Attenuated the Autoimmune Disease of the Central Nervous System in Animal Models of Multiple Sclerosis

Metformin Attenuated the Autoimmune Disease of the Central Nervous System in Animal Models of Multiple Sclerosis

Narender Nath, Musfiquidin Khan, Manjeet K. Paintlia, Md Nasrul Hoda and Shailendra Giri

The Journal of Immunology, 2009, 182: 8005-8014. doi:10.4049/jimmunol.0803563

The Angio-Fibrotic Switch of VEGF and CTGF in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy

Kuiper EJ, Van Nieuwenhoven FA, de Smet MD, van Meurs JC, Tanck MW, et al. (2008 ) The Angio-Fibrotic Switch of VEGF and CTGF in Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy. PLoS ONE 3(7): e2675. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0002675

Background
In proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) cause blindness by neovascularization and subsequent fibrosis, but their relative contribution to both processes is unknown. We hypothesize that the balance between levels of pro-angiogenic VEGF and pro-fibrotic CTGF regulates angiogenesis, the angio-fibrotic switch, and the resulting fibrosis and scarring.

Methods/Principal Findings
VEGF and CTGF were measured by ELISA in 68 vitreous samples of patients with proliferative DR (PDR, N = 32), macular hole (N = 13) or macular pucker (N = 23) and were related to clinical data, including degree of intra-ocular neovascularization and fibrosis. In addition, clinical cases of PDR (n = 4) were studied before and after pan-retinal photocoagulation and intra-vitreal injections with bevacizumab, an antibody against VEGF. Neovascularization and fibrosis in various degrees occurred almost exclusively in PDR patients. In PDR patients, vitreous CTGF levels were significantly associated with degree of fibrosis and with VEGF levels, but not with neovascularization, whereas VEGF levels were associated only with neovascularization. The ratio of CTGF and VEGF was the strongest predictor of degree of fibrosis. As predicted by these findings, patients with PDR demonstrated a temporary increase in intra-ocular fibrosis after anti-VEGF treatment or laser treatment.

Conclusions/Significance
CTGF is primarily a pro-fibrotic factor in the eye, and a shift in the balance between CTGF and VEGF is associated with the switch from angiogenesis to fibrosis in proliferative retinopathy.

Transforming Mouse Cells Into ‘Embryonic’ Stem Cells Easily

ScienceDaily: Transforming Mouse Cells Into ‘Embryonic’ Stem Cells Easily: UCSF scientists are reporting what they say is a significant improvement in the technique for genetically reprogramming mouse cells to their embryonic state, a process that transforms the cells, in essence, into embryonic stem cells. »

A lire avec votre tasse de café, le papier en Cell Stem Cell : Generation of Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in the Absence of Drug Selection, Robert Blelloch, Monica Venere, Jonathan Yen, and Miguel Ramalho-Santos, Cell Stem Cell, Vol 1, 245-247, 13 September 2007

Glowing Mice

Glowing Mice Light The Way To Understanding Type 2 Diabetes:
Science Daily – With the help of genetically engineered mice whose livers turned into glowing light bulbs, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have illuminated the underpinnings of an insidious and growing health concern– type II diabete »

Et que personne ne rigole avec ce qu’il arrive à ces pauvres bêtes. Pour ma part j’ai un faible pour les souris vert-fluo clignotantes 😉