01). Fewer red blood cells (148 vs 19 units) were given in minimized circuit group (P<.0001).

Conclusions: A minimized cardiopulmonary bypass circuit provides less hemodilution, platelet consumption, chest tube output and lower post-operative blood loss than standard cardiopulmonary

bypass. Red blood cell usage was also less. All differences are advantageous.”
“\Parkinson’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disease in the elderly. Its causes and mechanisms are not clearly understood. To explore the specific role of autophagy and the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in apoptosis, a specific proteasome inhibitor and macroautophagy inhibitor and stimulator were selected to investigate pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell BMS-754807 lines transfected with human mutant (A30P) and wildtype (WT) alpha-synuclein. The apoptosis

ratio was assessed by flow cytometry. LC3, heat shock protein 70 (hsp70) and caspase-3 expression in cell culture were determined by Western blot. The hallmarks of apoptosis and autophagy were assessed with transmission electron Captisol molecular weight microscopy. Compared to the control group or the rapamycin (autophagy stimulator) group, the apoptosis ratio in A30P and WT cells was significantly higher after treatment with inhibitors of the proteasome and macroautophagy. The results of Western blots for caspase-3 expression were similar to those of flow cytometry; hsp70 protein was significantly higher in the proteasome inhibitor group than in control, but in the autophagy inhibitor and stimulator groups, hsp70 was similar to

control. These findings show that inhibition of the proteasome and autophagy promotes apoptosis, and the macroautophagy stimulator rapamycin reduces the apoptosis ratio. And inhibiting or stimulating autophagy has less impact on hsp70 than the proteasome pathway. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All C188-9 price rights reserved.”
“Objectives: Progress in studying acute and chronic pulmonary allograft rejection has been hampered by the lack of feasible experimental animal transplantation models. Contemporary approaches are limited by anatomic applicability (heterotopic tracheal implantation) and lack of genetic variability (rat model). To utilize the breadth of available genetic modifications in a physiologic setup, we optimized and validated a procedure of orthotopically transplanted, perfused, and ventilated single pulmonary transplantation in mice.

Methods: C57BL/6 mice served as recipient, with Balb/c as donor. At time of harvest, explanted lungs were perfused with Perfadex, and the heart-lung block excised. Under 30 to 403 magnification, vessels and bronchus were cuffed. Following left thoracotomy in the recipient, hilar structures were incised and cuff-anastomosed with the corresponding donor parts. Allogeneic and syngeneic transplantations (n = 12/group) were performed with a follow-up period of 5 days and up to 90 days, respectively.

Results: The success rate of lung transplantation in mice was 87.5% (21/24). Mean cold ischemia time was 32.