Methods: In congenic Cxcr4(-/+) and wild-type (WT) recipient

mice, we performed interposition grafting of the common carotid artery with the inferior vena cava (IVC) of either Cxcr4(-/+) or WT mice to create four surgically chimeric groups of mice (n >= 5 each), characterized by vein graft donor/recipient: WT/WT; Cxcr4(-/+)/WT; WT/Cxcr4(-/+); and Cxcr4(-/+)/Cxcr4(-/+); vein grafts were harvested Saracatinib solubility dmso 6 weeks postoperatively.

Results: The agonist for CXCR4 is expressed by cells in the arterializing vein graft. Vein graft neointimal hyperplasia was reduced by reducing CXCR4 activity in vein graft-extrinsic cells, but not in vein graft-intrinsic cells: the rank order of neointimal hyperplasia was WT/WT approximate to Cxcr4(-/+)/WT > WT/Cxcr4(-/+) approximate to Cxcr4(-/+)/Cxcr4(-/+); CXCR4 deficiency in graft-extrinsic cells reduced neointimal hyperplasia by 39% to 47% (P < .05). Vein graft medial area was equivalent in all grafts except Cxcr4(-/+)/Cxcr4(-/+), in which the medial area was 60% +/- 20% greater (P < .05). Vein graft re-endothelialization was indistinguishable among all three vein graft

groups. However, the prevalence of medial leukocytes was 40% +/- 10% lower in Cxcr4(-/+)/Cxcr4(-/+) than in WT/WT vein grafts (P < .05), and the prevalence of smooth muscle actin-positive EPZ004777 cells was 45% +/- 20% higher (P < .05).

Conclusions: We conclude that CXCR4 contributes to vein graft neointimal hyperplasia through mechanisms that alter homing to the vein graft of graft-extrinsic cells, particularly leukocytes. (J Vasc Surg 2012;56:1390-7.)”
“Racism and in-group favoritism

Electron transport chain is prevalent in our society and has been studied in Social Psychology for a long time. Recently it has become possible to investigate the neural mechanisms that underlie these in-group biases, and hence this review will give an overview of recent developments on the topic. Rather than relying on a single brain region or network, it seems that subtle changes in neural activation across the brain, depending on the modalities involved, underlie how we divide the world into ‘us’ versus ‘them’. These insights have important implications for our understanding of how in-group biases develop and could potentially lead to new insights on how to reduce them. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Despite surgical adjuncts, paralysis remains a devastating complication after thoracoabdominal aortic interventions.