• Associations between circulating endostatin levels and vascular organ damage in systemic sclerosis and mixed connective tissue disease: an observational study 

      Reiseter, Silje; Molberg, Øyvind; Gunnarsson, Ragnar; Lund, May Brit; Aaløkken, Trond Mogens; Aukrust, Pål; Ueland, Thor; Garen, Torhild; Brunborg, Cathrine; Michelsen, Annika; Abraityte, Aurelija; Hoffmann-Vold, Anna-Maria (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2015-08-28)
      Introduction: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) are chronic immune-mediated disorders complicated by vascular organ damage. The aim of this study was to examine the serum levels of the markers of neoangiogenesis: endostatin and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), in our unselected cohorts of SSc and MCTD. Methods: Sera of SSc patients (N = 298) and MCTD ...
    • Circulating regulators of the wingless pathway in precapillary pulmonary hypertension 

      Ueland, Thor; Abraityte, Aurelija; Norum, Hilde; Varathalingam, Sharanga; Gullestad, Lars; Aukrust, Pål; Andreassen, Arne K. (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2021-04-08)
      Background and objective - Dysregulated Wnt signalling has been implicated in pulmonary hypertension (PH). We hypothesized that plasma levels of secreted Wnt proteins would be increased in patients with precapillary PH, correlate with indices of vascular resistance and cardiac function and give information on long-term prognosis.<p> <p>Methods - We measured the Wnt ligand Wnt5a and secreted Wnt ...
    • T cell and monocyte/macrophage activation markers associate with adverse outcome, but give limited prognostic value in anemic patients with heart failure: results from RED-HF 

      Abraityte, Aurelija; Aukrust, Pål; Kou, Lei; Anand, Inder S.; Young, James; Mcmurray, John J.V.; van Veldhuisen, Dirk J.; Gullestad, Lars; Ueland, Thor (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel, 2018-07-26)
      <i>Background</i>: Activated leukocytes may contribute to the development and progression of heart failure (HF). We investigated the predictive value of circulating levels of stable and readily detectable markers reflecting both monocyte/macrophage and T-cell activity, on clinical outcomes in HF patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF).<p> <p><i>Methods</i>: The association between ...
    • Wnt5a is associated with right ventricular dysfunction and adverse outcome in dilated cardiomyopathy 

      Abraityte, Aurelija; Lunde, Ida Gjervold; Askevold, Erik Tandberg; Michelsen, Annika E.; Christensen, Geir Arve; Aukrust, Pål; Yndestad, Arne; Fiane, Arnt; Andreassen, Arne; Aakhus, Svend; Dahl, Christen Peder; Gullestad, Lars; Broch, Kaspar; Ueland, Thor (Journal article; Tidsskriftartikkel; Peer reviewed, 2017-06-14)
      The Wingless (Wnt) pathway has been implicated in the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). To explore the role of Wnt modulators Wnt5a and sFRP3 in DCM patients we analyzed the expression of Wnt5a and sFRP3 in plasma and myocardium of DCM patients and evaluated their effects on NFAT luciferase activity in neonatal mouse cardiomyocytes. Elevated circulating Wnt5a (n = 102) was associated ...