Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi, is endemic in Latin America and is widely distributed worldwide because of migration. In 30% of cases, after years of infection and in the absence of treatment, ...

Autophagy is a physiological degradative process key to cell survival during nutrient deprivation, cell differentiation and development. It plays a major role in the turnover of damaged macromolecules and organelles, and ...

Kinins mediate their cellular effects through B1 (B1R) and B2 (B2R) receptors, and the activation of B2R reduces collagen synthesis in cardiac fibroblasts (CF). However, the question of whether B1R and/or B2R have a role ...

Background: Our previous studies suggest that the increase in heart rate from rest to peak exercise is reduced in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and this is associated with increased oxidative stress, as determined ...

© 2015 Elsevier B.V. Cardiac fibroblast differentiation to myofibroblast is a crucial process in the development of cardiac fibrosis and is tightly dependent on transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-β1). The transcription ...

In the heart, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) is a pro-hypertrophic and anti-apoptotic peptide. In cultured rat cardiomyocytes, IGF-1 induced a fast and transient increase in Ca-i(2+) levels apparent both in the nucleus ...

Background: ß adrenergic receptors (AR) are highly polymorphic and important regulators of cardiovascular homeostasis. Among these, ß1 and ß2 AR regulate cardiac contractility and frequency and are important pharmacological ...

Despite advances in treatment, chronic heart failure still is associated with a poor prognosis and remains a leading cause of cardiovascular death. Cumulating evidence suggests that imbalances in redox state lead to a ...

Several clinical trials have shown the beneficial effects of statins in the prevention of coronary heart disease. Additionally, statins promote apoptosis in vascular smooth muscle cells, in renal tubular epithelial cells ...