Electrospun bioresorbable polymer membranes for coronary artery stents.

Percutaneous coronary intervention, a common treatment for atherosclerotic coronary artery lesions, occasionally results in perforations associated with increased mortality rates. Stents coated with a bioresorbable polymer membrane may offer an effective solution for sealing coronary artery perforations. Additionally, such coatings could be effective in mitigating neointimal hyperplasia within the vascular lumen and correcting symptomatic aneurysms.

Proteolytic Degradation Is a Major Contributor to Bioprosthetic Heart Valve Failure.

Background Whereas the risk factors for structural valve degeneration (SVD) of glutaraldehyde-treated bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) are well studied, those responsible for the failure of BHVs fixed with alternative next-generation chemicals remain largely unknown. This study aimed to investigate the reasons behind the development of SVD in ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether-treated BHVs. Methods and Results Ten ethylene glycol diglycidyl ether-treated BHVs excised because of SVD, and 5 calcified aortic valves (AVs) replaced with BHVs because of calcific AV disease were collected and their proteomic profile was deciphered.

Calciprotein Particles Link Disturbed Mineral Homeostasis with Cardiovascular Disease by Causing Endothelial Dysfunction and Vascular Inflammation.

An association between high serum calcium/phosphate and cardiovascular events or death is well-established. However, a mechanistic explanation of this correlation is lacking. Here, we examined the role of calciprotein particles (CPPs), nanoscale bodies forming in the human blood upon its supersaturation with calcium and phosphate, in cardiovascular disease.

EMbedding and Backscattered Scanning Electron Microscopy: A Detailed Protocol for the Whole-Specimen, High-Resolution Analysis of Cardiovascular Tissues.

Currently, an ultrastructural analysis of cardiovascular tissues is significantly complicated. Routine histopathological examinations and immunohistochemical staining suffer from a relatively low resolution of light microscopy, whereas the fluorescence imaging of plaques and bioprosthetic heart valves yields considerable background noise from the convoluted extracellular matrix that often results in a low signal-to-noise ratio. Besides, the sectioning of calcified or stent-expanded blood vessels or mineralised heart valves leads to a critical loss of their integrity, demanding other methods to be developed.

Calciprotein Particles: Balancing Mineral Homeostasis and Vascular Pathology.

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Degeneration of Bioprosthetic Heart Valves: Update 2020.

The implantation of bioprosthetic heart valves (BHVs) is increasingly becoming the treatment of choice in patients requiring heart valve replacement surgery. Unlike mechanical heart valves, BHVs are less thrombogenic and exhibit superior hemodynamic properties. However, BHVs are prone to structural valve degeneration (SVD), an unavoidable condition limiting graft durability.

Development of calcific aortic valve disease: Do we know enough for new clinical trials?

Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD), previously thought to represent a passive degeneration of the valvular extracellular matrix (VECM), is now regarded as an intricate multistage disorder with sequential yet intertangled and interacting underlying processes. Endothelial dysfunction and injury, initiated by disturbed blood flow and metabolic disorders, lead to the deposition of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the VECM further provoking macrophage infiltration, oxidative stress, and release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Such changes in the valvular homeostasis induce differentiation of normally quiescent valvular interstitial cells (VICs) into synthetically active myofibroblasts producing excessive quantities of the VECM and proteins responsible for its remodeling.