Browsing by Author "Valverde, MA"

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    TRPV4 channel is involved in the coupling of fluid viscosity changes to epithelial ciliary activity
    (2005) Andrade, YN; Fernandes, J; Vázquez, E; Fernández-Fernández, JM; Arniges, M; Sánchez, TM; Villalón, M; Valverde, MA
    Autoregulation of the ciliary beat frequency (CBF) has been proposed as the mechanism used by,A epithelial ciliated cells to maintain the CBF and prevent the collapse of mucociliary transport under conditions of varying mucus viscosity. Despite the relevance of this regulatory response to the pathophysiology of airways and reproductive tract, the underlying cellular and molecular aspects remain unknown. Hamster oviductal ciliated cells express the transient receptor potential vanilloid 4 (TRPV4) channel, which is activated by increased viscous load involving a phospholipase A(2)-dependent pathway. TRPV4-transfected HeLa cells also increased their cationic currents in response to high viscous load. This mechanical activation is prevented in native ciliated cells loaded with a TRPV4 antibody. Application of the TRPV4 synthetic ligand 4 alpha-phorbol 12,13-didecanoate increased cationic currents, intracellular Ca2+, and the CBF in the absence of a viscous load. Therefore, TRPV4 emerges as a candidate to participate in the coupling of fluid viscosity changes to the generation of the Ca2+ signal required for the autoregulation of CBF.
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    Vitamin E but not 17β-estradiol protects against vascular toxicity induced by β-amyloid wild type and the Dutch amyloid variant
    (2002) Muñoz, FJ; Opazo, C; Gil-Gómez, G; Tapia, G; Fernández, V; Valverde, MA; Inestrosa, NC
    Amyloid beta-peptide (Abeta) fibril deposition on cerebral vessels produces cerebral amyloid angiopathy that appears in the majority of Alzheimer's disease patients. An early onset of a cerebral amyloid angiopathy variant called hereditary cerebral hemorrhage with amyloidosis of the Dutch type is caused by a point mutation in Abeta yielding Abeta(Glu22-->Gln). The present study addresses the effect of amyloid fibrils from both wild-type and mutated Abeta on vascular cells, as well as the putative protective role of antioxidants on amyloid angiopathy. For this purpose, we studied the cytotoxicity induced by Abeta(1-40 Glu22-->Gln) and Abeta(1-40 wild-type) fibrils on human venule endothelial cells and rat aorta smooth muscle cells. We observed that Abeta(Glu22-->Gln) fibrils are more toxic for vascular cells than the wild-type fibrils. We also evaluated the cytotoxicity of Abeta fibrils bound with acetylcholinesterase (AChE), a common component of amyloid deposits. Abeta(1-40 wild-type)-AChE fibrillar complexes, similar to neuronal cells, resulted in an increased toxicity on vascular cells. Previous reports showing that antioxidants are able to reduce the toxicity of Abeta fibrils on neuronal cells prompted us to test the effect of vitamin E, vitamin C, and 17beta-estradiol on vascular damage induced by Abeta(wild-type) and Abeta(Glu22-->Gln). Our data indicate that vitamin E attenuated significantly the Abeta-mediated cytotoxicity on vascular cells, although 17beta-estradiol and vitamin C failed to inhibit the cytotoxicity induced by Abeta fibrils.