Aims: Aging is influenced by genetic determinants and comorbidities, among which diabetes increases the risk for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. There is no therapy to prevent heart dysfunction in aging and diabetic individuals. In previous studies, a single administration of the longevity-associated variant (LAV) of the human BPIFB4 gene halted heart decline in older and type 2 diabetic mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDoping nanoparticles represents a strategy for modulating the energy levels and surface states of nanocrystals (NCs), thereby enhancing their efficiency and mitigating toxicity. Thus, we herein focus on the successful synthesis of pure and gold (Au)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanocrystals (NCs), investigating their physical-chemical properties and evaluating their applicability and toxicity through and assessments. The optical, structural, and photocatalytic characteristics of these NCs were scrutinized by using optical absorption (OA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and methylene blue degradation, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhynchophorus palmarum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is a significant agricultural pest in palm plantations across tropical America, playing a critical role as a vector of the fungus Thielaviopsis paradoxa, which is the causative agent of stem bleeding disease in coconut palms. This disease has raised concerns due to its rapid spread and subsequent reduction in coconut production in northeastern Brazil. Additionally, this insect can establish mutualistic interactions with various fungi, including saprophytic, phytopathogenic, and entomopathogenic fungi, underscoring the importance of identifying its external mycobiota.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cardiac steatosis is an early yet overlooked feature of diabetic cardiomyopathy. There is no available therapy to treat this condition. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are used as first or second-line therapy in different types of cancer.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPericytes surround capillaries in every organ of the human body. They are also present around the , the small blood vessels that supply the walls of larger arteries and veins. The clinical interest in pericytes is rapidly growing, with the recognition of their crucial roles in controlling vascular function and possible therapeutic applications in regenerative medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: The ageing heart naturally incurs a progressive decline in function and perfusion that available treatments cannot halt. However, some exceptional individuals maintain good health until the very late stage of their life due to favourable gene-environment interaction. We have previously shown that carriers of a longevity-associated variant (LAV) of the BPIFB4 gene enjoy prolonged health spans and lesser cardiovascular complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Cardiovasc Med
December 2022
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fcvm.2022.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn increasing number of patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) survive into adulthood but develop long-term complications including heart failure (HF). Cellular senescence, classically defined as stable cell cycle arrest, is implicated in biological processes such as embryogenesis, wound healing, and aging. Senescent cells have a complex senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), involving a range of pro-inflammatory factors with important paracrine and autocrine effects on cell and tissue biology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The aim of the study was to phenotypically investigate the expression of the enzyme carbapenemase (KPC) in a sample resistant to carbapenems, isolated from the wound of a patient with a venous leg ulcer (VLU) treated at an outpatient referral service.
Method: This was a case study conducted with a patient who had a VLU on the lower left limb. Samples were taken for the examination of microbiological material from the patient's wound, using an aseptic technique.
Surgical treatment of congenital heart defects affecting the right ventricular outflow tract often requires complex reconstruction and multiple reoperations. With a randomized controlled trial, we compared a novel tissue-engineered small intestine submucosa-based graft for pulmonary artery reconstruction (seeded with mesenchymal stem cells derived from Wharton's Jelly) with conventional small intestine submucosa in growing piglets. Six months after implantation, seeded grafts showed integration with host tissues at cellular level and exhibited growth potential on transthoracic echocardiography and cardiovascular magnetic resonance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRhynchophorus palmarum Linnaeus is an agricultural pest that affects various palm crops, including coconut (Cocos nucifera) plantations which are prominent in the economy of Northeastern Brazil. Characterization of the intestinal microbiota of R. palmarum, as well as elucidation of aspects related to the biochemistry and physiology of the insect's digestion, is essential for intervention in specific metabolic processes as a form of pest control.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe neonatal heart represents an attractive source of regenerative cells. Here, we report the results of a randomized, controlled, investigator-blinded preclinical study, which assessed the safety and effectiveness of a matrix graft cellularized with cardiac pericytes (CPs) in a piglet model of pulmonary artery (PA) reconstruction. Within each of five trios formed by 4-week-old female littermate piglets, one element (the donor) was sacrificed to provide a source of CPs, while the other two elements (the graft recipients) were allowed to reach the age of 10 weeks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChronic low-grade inflammation and alterations in innate and adaptive immunity were reported in Type 2 diabetes (T2D). Here, we investigated the abundance and activation of T cells in the bone marrow (BM) of patients with T2D. We then verified the human data in a murine model and tested if the activation of T cells can be rescued by treating mice with abatacept, an immunomodulatory drug employed for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose Of Review: To provide a highlight of the current state of cell therapy for the treatment of critical limb ischemia in patients with diabetes.
Recent Findings: The global incidence of diabetes is constantly growing with consequent challenges for healthcare systems worldwide. In the UK only, NHS costs attributed to diabetic complications, such as peripheral vascular disease, amputation, blindness, renal failure, and stroke, average £10 billion each year, with cost pressure being estimated to get worse.
To ascertain if human pericytes produce SPARC (acronym for Secreted Protein Acidic and Cysteine Rich), a matricellular protein implicated in the regulation of cell proliferation, migration, and cell-matrix interactions; clarify if SPARC expression in cardiac pericytes is modulated by hypoxia; and determine the functional consequences of SPARC silencing. Starting from the recognition that the conditioned media (CM) of human pericytes promote proliferation and migration of cardiac stromal cells, we screened candidate mediators by mass-spectrometry analysis. Of the 14 high-confidence proteins (<1% FDR) identified in the bioactive fractions of the pericyte CM, SPARC emerged as the top-scored matricellular protein.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe materials available for the right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) reconstruction in patients with tetralogy of fallot (TOF)/pulmonary atresia come with the severe limitation of long-term degeneration and lack of growth potential, causing right ventricular dysfunction, aneurysm formation, and arrhythmias, thus necessitating several high-risk reoperations throughout patients' lives. In this study, we evaluated the capacity of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from the Wharton's Jelly (WJ-MSCs), the gelatinous inner portion of the umbilical cord, to grow and recellularize an extracellular matrix (ECM) graft in our optimized xeno-free, good manufacturing practice-compliant culture system. WJ-MSCs were phenotypically and functionally characterized by flow cytometry and multilineage differentiation capacity, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground We have previously reported the possibility of using pericytes from leftovers of palliative surgery of congenital heart disease to engineer clinically certified prosthetic grafts. Methods and Results Here, we assessed the feasibility of using prosthetic conduits engineered with neonatal swine pericytes to reconstruct the pulmonary artery of 9-week-old piglets. Human and swine cardiac pericytes were similar regarding anatomical localization in the heart and antigenic profile following isolation and culture expansion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCardiovascular regenerative medicine is an exciting new approach that promises to change the current care of million people world-wide. Major emphasis was given to the quality and quantities of regenerative products, but recent evidence points to the importance of a better specification of the target population that may take advantage of these advanced medical treatments. Patient stratification is an important step in drug development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiological methods have been used to synthesize silver nanoparticles through materials such as bacteria, fungi, plants, and propolis due to their reducing properties, stabilizer role and environmentally friendly characteristic. Considering the antimicrobial activity of propolis as well as the broad-spectrum antibacterial effects of silver nanoparticles, this study aim to describe the use of Brazilian propolis to synthesize silver nanoparticles (AgNP-P) and investigate its antimicrobial activity. The synthesis was optimized by factorial design, choosing the best conditions for smaller size particles.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
June 2019
Objective- To determine the role of the oncofetal protein TPBG (trophoblast glycoprotein) in normal vascular function and reparative vascularization. Approach and Results- Immunohistochemistry of human veins was used to show TPBG expression in vascular smooth muscle cells and adventitial pericyte-like cells (APCs). ELISA, Western blot, immunocytochemistry, and proximity ligation assays evidenced a hypoxia-dependent upregulation of TPBG in APCs not found in vascular smooth muscle cells or endothelial cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicroRNAs regulate endothelial function and angiogenesis, but their implication in pericyte biology remains undetermined. A PCR array, covering a panel of 379 human microRNAs, showed microRNA-532-5p to be one of the most differentially modulated by hypoxia, which was confirmed by qPCR in both skeletal muscle and adventitial pericytes. Furthermore, microRNA-532-5p was upregulated in murine muscular pericytes early after experimentally induced ischemia, decreasing below baseline after reperfusion.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Am Heart Assoc
January 2018
Background: Transplantation of adventitial pericytes (APCs) promotes cardiac repair in murine models of myocardial infarction. The aim of present study was to confirm the benefit of APC therapy in a large animal model.
Methods And Results: We performed a blind, randomized, placebo-controlled APC therapy trial in a swine model of reperfused myocardial infarction.