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Familial thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections occur as part of known syndromes such as Marfan syndrome, but can also be inherited in families in an autosomal dominant manner as an isolated condition. However, involvement of coronary artery aneurysm/dissections is rare in these patient subsets. A 37-year-old male, normal in skeletal appearance, with a distinct family history of aortic dissection, underwent four major cardiovascular surgeries since age 30 due to giant coronary aneurysm and coronary stenosis, abdominal aortic dissection, and Stanford type A aortic dissection. Pathological examinations demonstrated the left main coronary aneurysm was composed of degenerated, lacerated media, with findings of decreased elastic fibers, deposition of mucopolysaccharide, and cystic medial necrosis. These pathological features found in the coronary aneurysm were identical to those of the aortic wall and radial artery segments in this patient. This case suggests that initial coronary evaluation may be warranted in some families to optimize the clinical management of patients affected with this disease.

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BACKGROUND & AIMS: The gastrointestinal tract is known to be rich in neural systems, among which afferent neurons are reported to exhibit protective actions. We tested whether an endogenous neuropeptide, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), can prevent gastric mucosal injury elicited by ethanol and enhance healing of acetic acid-induced ulcer using CGRP knockout mice (CGRP(-/-)). METHODS: The stomach was perfused with 1.6 mmol/L capsaicin or 1 mol/L NaCl, and gastric mucosal injury elicited by 50% ethanol was estimated. Levels of CGRP in the perfusate were determined by enzyme immunoassay. Gastric ulcers were induced by serosal application of absolute acetic acid. RESULTS: Capsaicin inhibited injured area dose-dependently. Fifty percent ethanol containing capsaicin immediately increased intragastric levels of CGRP in wild-type (WT) mice, although 50% ethanol alone did not. The protective action of capsaicin against ethanol was completely abolished in CGRP(-/-). Preperfusion with 1 mol/L NaCl increased CGRP release and reduced mucosal damage during ethanol perfusion. However, 1 mol/L NaCl was not effective in CGRP(-/-). Healing of ulcer elicited by acetic acid in CGRP(-/-) mice was markedly delayed, compared with that in WT. In WT, granulation tissues were formed at the base of ulcers, and substantial neovascularization was induced, whereas those were poor in CGRP(-/-). Expression of vascular endothelial growth factor was more markedly reduced in CGRP(-/-) than in WT. CONCLUSIONS: CGRP has a preventive action on gastric mucosal injury and a proangiogenic activity to enhance ulcer healing. These results indicate that the CGRP-dependent pathway is a good target for regulating gastric mucosal protection and maintaining gastric mucosal integrity.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Acid-induced lung injury from aspiration is one of the most important causes of ARDS. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide that has various biological actions. The current study investigated whether CGRP might have pathophysiological roles in acid-induced lung injury. METHODS: The investigations employed CGRP gene-disrupted mice--mutant mice (CGRP(-/-)) and their littermate controls (CGRP(+/+)). Anaesthetized and mechanically ventilated mice received 2 mL/kg HCl (pH = 1.5) intratracheally. Lung wet-to-dry weight ratios were calculated to assess pulmonary oedema, total and differential cell counts of the BALF were determined, and measurements of myeloperoxidase activity were performed. RESULTS: Acid-induced lung injury was characterized by an increase in lung permeability and respiratory failure. Disruption of the CGRP gene significantly attenuated acid-induced injury, oedema and respiratory failure. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that CGRP is involved in the pathogenesis of acute lung injury caused by acid aspiration and CGRP mutant mice may provide an appropriate model to study molecular mechanisms in this context.

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Adrenomedullin (AM) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) share common structural characteristics and receptors and belong to the same peptide family. Both peptides show a diverse set of biological effects including vasodilation. Recent establishment of gene-knockout mice has revealed the physiological importance of these two peptides. AM -/- mice demonstrated defective vascular formation during embryogenesis and did not survive beyond midgestation. AM +/- heterozygous mice showed high blood pressure and susceptibility to tissue injury. On the other hand, alphaCGRP -/- mice demonstrated elevated peripheral vascular resistance and high blood pressure caused by increased peripheral sympathetic activity. Thus, AM and CGRP have distinct physiological roles. AM is indispensable for normal embryonic development, regulation of blood pressure and tissue protection against injury, whereas alphaCGRP contributes to the regulation of cardiovascular function through inhibitory modulation of sympathetic nervous activity.

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Bronchial hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilia are major characteristics of asthma. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a neuropeptide that has various biological actions. In the present study, we questioned whether CGRP might have pathophysiological roles in airway hyperresponsiveness and eosinophilia in asthma. To determine the exact roles of endogenous CGRP in vivo, we chose to study antigen-induced airway responses using CGRP gene-disrupted mice. After ovalbumin sensitization and antigen challenge, we assessed airway responsiveness and measured proinflammatory mediators. In the sensitized CGRP gene-disrupted mice, antigen-induced bronchial hyperresponsiveness was significantly attenuated compared with the sensitized wild-type mice. Antigen challenge induced eosinophil infiltration in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, whereas no differences were observed between the wild-type and CGRP-mutant mice. Antigen-induced increases in cysteinyl leukotriene production in the lung were significantly reduced in the CGRP-disrupted mice. These findings suggest that CGRP could be involved in the antigen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness, but not eosinophil infiltration, in mice. The CGRP-mutant mice may provide appropriate models to study molecular mechanisms underlying CGRP-related diseases.

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OBJECTIVE: Several in vitro studies have implicated that adrenomedullin (AM) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular injury and fatty streak formation. To test this possibility in vivo, we evaluated 2 experimental models using transgenic mice overexpressing AM in a vessel-selective manner (AMTg mice). METHODS AND RESULTS: Placement of a periarterial cuff on femoral arteries resulted in neointimal formation at 2 to 4 weeks to a lesser extent in AMTg mice than in their wild-type littermates (at 28 days, intima/media area ratio 0.45+/-0.14 versus 1.31+/-0.41, respectively; P<0.001). This vasculoprotective effect observed in AMTg mice was inhibited by N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester. We further examined the effect of AM on hypercholesterolemia-induced fatty streak formation by crossing AMTg mice with apolipoprotein E knockout mice (ApoEKO mice). The extent of the formation of fatty streak lesions was significantly less in ApoEKO/AMTg mice than in ApoEKO mice (percent lesion area 12.0+/-3.9% versus 15.8+/-2.8%, respectively; P<0.05). Moreover, endothelium-dependent vasodilatation as indicative of NO production was superior in AMTg/ApoEKO mice compared with ApoEKO mice. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our data demonstrated that AM possesses a vasculoprotective effect in vivo, which is at least partially mediated by NO.

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