Is cadmium accumulation in follicular fluid of women in in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer higher in smokers?
Despite lack of vascularization of the follicle, cadmium accumulation was detectable in FF. Cadmium also could accumulate in oocytes of smokers; it does so, in a dose-dependent manner, in oocytes of cadmium-treated rats. Access to cadmium and other contaminants of cigarette smoke in FF may compromise the quality of oocytes, becoming a risk factor.
In human coronary VSMC, uPA induces uPAR-independent, domain-dependent smooth muscle cell proliferation through transactivation of EGFR by a plasmin-mediated, ADAM-induced, and HB-EGF-dependent process, which is mediated by the intracellular pathways involving Gαi, Gβγ, src, and NAD(P)H oxidase.