Reduced PI3K(p110α) induces atrial myopathy, and PI3K-related lipids are dysregulated in athletes with atrial fibrillation.

Background: Elucidating mechanisms underlying atrial myopathy, which predisposes individuals to atrial fibrillation (AF), will be critical for preventing/treating AF. In a serendipitous discovery, we identified atrial enlargement, fibrosis, and thrombi in mice with reduced phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) in cardiomyocytes. PI3K(p110α) is elevated in the heart with exercise and is critical for exercise-induced ventricular enlargement and protection, but the role in the atria was unknown.

Adeno-Associated Viruses as Gene Delivery Tools for Diabetic Heart Disease and Failure: Key Considerations for Clinicians and Preclinical Researchers.

Diabetes is becoming more common worldwide, and people with diabetes are twice as likely to experience heart problems compared to those without diabetes. These cardiovascular complications are the foremost cause of mortality among people with diabetes. A specific form of heart failure known as "diabetic cardiomyopathy" can develop in individuals with diabetes.

An unbiased ranking of murine dietary models based on their proximity to human metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, encompasses steatosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), leading to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Preclinical MASLD research is mainly performed in rodents; however, the model that best recapitulates human disease is yet to be defined. We conducted a wide-ranging retrospective review (metabolic phenotype, liver histopathology, transcriptome benchmarked against humans) of murine models (mostly male) and ranked them using an unbiased MASLD 'human proximity score' to define their metabolic relevance and ability to induce MASH-fibrosis.

Association between sociodemographics and change in alcohol or tobacco use behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To examine the association between various sociodemographic factors with alcohol and tobacco use behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: Participants from Ohio and Indiana were asked to participate in the 'Impact of COVID-19 on the Cancer Continuum Consortium' study (N = 32,989) from June-November 2020. Those who completed the survey and responded to key study questions were included (n = 5,374).

Hepatic Activin E mediates liver-adipose inter-organ communication, suppressing adipose lipolysis in response to elevated serum fatty acids.

Objective: The liver is a central regulator of energy metabolism exerting its influence both through intrinsic processing of substrates such as glucose and fatty acid as well as by secreting endocrine factors, known as hepatokines, which influence metabolism in peripheral tissues. Human genome wide association studies indicate that a predicted loss-of-function variant in the Inhibin βE gene (INHBE), encoding the putative hepatokine Activin E, is associated with reduced abdominal fat mass and cardiometabolic disease risk. However, the regulation of hepatic Activin E and the influence of Activin E on adiposity and metabolic disease are not well understood.