The adipocyte-derived hormone adiponectin has been proposed to play important roles in
the regulation of energy homeostasis and insulin sensitivity, and it has been reported to …

The tight junction (TJ) and its adhesion molecules, claudins, are responsible for the barrier
function of simple epithelia, but TJs have not been thought to play an important role in the …

Macrophage type-I and type-II class-A scavenger receptors (MSR-A) are implicated in the
pathological deposition of cholesterol during atherogenesis as a result of receptor-mediated …

Occludin is an integral membrane protein with four transmembrane domains that is exclusively
localized at tight junction (TJ) strands. Here, we describe the generation and analysis of …

Receptor tyrosine kinases Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR, and their ligand, the vascular endothelial
growth factor (VEGF), were shown to be essential for angiogenesis in the mouse embryo by …

Apoptosis signal‐regulating kinase (ASK) 1 is activated in response to various cytotoxic
stresses including TNF, Fas and reactive oxygen species (ROS) such as H 2 O 2, and activates c…

HEPATOCYTE growth factor/scatter factor (HGF/SF) functions as a mitogen, motogen and
morphogen for a variety of cultured cells 1–7 . The genes for HGF/SF and its receptor (the c-…

Adiponectin has been shown to stimulate fatty acid oxidation and enhance insulin sensitivity
through the activation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) in the peripheral tissues. The …

Background— Inflammation plays a key role in the pathophysiology of myocardial ischemia/reperfusion
(I/R) injury; however, the mechanism by which myocardial I/R induces …

PRION protein (PrP) is a glycoprotein constitutively expressed on the neuronal cell surface.
A protease-resistant isoform of prion protein is implicated in the pathogenesis of a series of …