Atherosclerotic vascular disease and its complications are among the top causes of mortality
worldwide. In the vascular lumen, atherosclerotic plaques are not randomly distributed …

At least 468 individual genes have been manipulated by molecular methods to study their
effects on the initiation, promotion, and progression of atherosclerosis. Most clinicians and …

Gap junctions are essential to the function of multicellular animals, which require a high
degree of coordination between cells. In vertebrates, gap junctions comprise connexins and …

Connexins are ubiquitous channel forming proteins that assemble as plasma membrane
hemichannels and as intercellular gap junction channels that directly connect cells. In the …

The endothelium, a monolayer of endothelial cells, constitutes the inner cellular lining of the
blood vessels (arteries, veins and capillaries) and the lymphatic system, and therefore is in …

While gap junctions support the exchange of a number of molecules between neighboring
cells, connexin hemichannels provide communication between the cytosol and the …

Intra-and extracellular adenosine levels rise in response to physiological stimuli and with
metabolic/energetic perturbations, inflammatory challenge and tissue injury. Extracellular …

The endothelium regulates vascular tone, platelet activity, leukocyte adhesion, and
angiogenesis by producing nitric oxide and other regulatory factors. Risk factors decrease …

Abstract Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a major cause of myocardial damage. Despite
continuous efforts, minimizing I/R injury still represents a great challenge in standard …

CD73 is overexpressed in many types of human and mouse cancers and is implicated in the
control of tumor progression. However, the specific contribution from tumor or host CD73 …