In vitro differentiation of W8B2 human cardiac stem cells: gene expression of ionic channels and spontaneous calcium activity.

Background: Human cardiac stem cells expressing the W8B2 marker (W8B2 CSCs) were recently identified and proposed as a new model of multipotent CSCs capable of differentiating into smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells and immature myocytes. Nevertheless, no characterization of ion channel or calcium activity during the differentiation of these stem cells has been reported.

Methods: The objectives of this study were thus to analyze (using the TaqMan Low-Density Array technique) the gene profile of W8B2 CSCs pertaining to the regulation of ion channels, transporters and other players involved in the calcium homeostasis of these cells.

Dissecting Thoracic Aneurysm in Takayasu Arteritis With Concomitant Tuberculosis.

We present a case of dissecting aneurysm of ascending aorta in a 15-year-old patient secondary to Takayasu arteritis with concomitant tuberculosis, with an emphasis on multimodality imaging findings and to illustrate preoperative and postoperative medical management. Antituberculosis therapy, high-dose corticosteroids, antiplatelet therapy, and β-blockers were administrated during the initial active phase. The patient presented with acute chest pain 3 months after medical therapy initiation.

A high-resolution ICP-MS method for the determination of 38 inorganic elements in human whole blood, urine, hair and tissues after microwave digestion.

Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is currently the reference method for the determination of inorganic elements, and has many applications in healthcare and the environmental field. The objective of the present study was to develop and validate a high-resolution ICP-MS method for the simultaneous quantification of 38 elements in samples of human whole blood, urine, hair and tissues after microwave mineralization. The samples were incubated with nitric acid, hydrogen peroxide and internal standards prior to microwave mineralization for 25 min.

Defining the optimal duration for normothermic regional perfusion in the kidney donor: A porcine preclinical study.

Kidneys from donation after circulatory death (DCD) are highly sensitive to ischemia-reperfusion injury and thus require careful reconditioning, such as normothermic regional perfusion (NRP). However, the optimal NRP protocol remains to be characterized. NRP was modeled in a DCD porcine model (30 minutes of cardiac arrest) for 2, 4, or 6 hours compared to a control group (No-NRP); kidneys were machine-preserved and allotransplanted.

Modulation of cellular membrane properties as a potential therapeutic strategy to counter lipointoxication in obstructive pulmonary diseases.

Maintaining the equilibrium between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids within membrane phospholipids (PLs) is crucial to sustain the optimal membrane biophysical properties, compatible with selective organelle-based processes. Lipointoxication is a pathological condition under which saturated PLs tend to accumulate within the cell at the expense of unsaturated species, with major impacts on organelle function. Here, we show that human bronchial epithelial cells extracted from lungs of patients with Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases (OPDs), i.

Medicoeconomic analysis of lobectomy using thoracoscopy versus thoracotomy for lung cancer: a study protocol for a multicentre randomised controlled trial (Lungsco01).

Introduction: In the last decade, video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) has had a major effect on thoracic surgery. Retrospective series have reported benefits of VATS when compared with open thoracotomy in terms of postoperative pain, postoperative complications and length of hospital stay. However, no large randomised control trial has been conducted to assess the reality of the potential benefits of VATS lobectomy or its medicoeconomic impact.

Subcutaneous cardioverter defibrillator has longer time to therapy but is less cardiotoxic than transvenous cardioverter defibrillator. Study carried out in a preclinical porcine model.

Aims: Totally subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) delivers higher shock energy and can have longer time to therapy compared to transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (T-ICD). Aim of the study was to compare time to therapy and to investigate cardiac, cerebral and systemic injuries of S-ICD and T-ICD shocks delivered after ventricular fibrillation (VF) induction.

Methods And Results: Fourteen pigs were randomly implanted with a S-ICD (n = 7) or a T-ICD (n = 7).

Medical and Economic Evaluation of FOREseal Bioabsorbable Reinforcement Sleeves Compared With Current Standard of Care for Reducing Air Leakage Duration After Lung Resection for Malignancy: A Randomized Trial.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the efficacy of alginate staple-line reinforcement of fissure openings as compared with stapling alone, with or without tissue sealant or glue, in reducing the incidence and duration of air leakage after pulmonary lobectomy for malignancy.

Summary Background Data: No randomized trial evaluating alginate staple-line reinforcement has been performed to date.

Methods: The Staple-line Reinforcement for Prevention of Pulmonary Air Leakage study was a multicenter randomized trial, with blinded evaluation of endpoints.

A functional tandem between transient receptor potential canonical channels 6 and calcium-dependent chloride channels in human epithelial cells.

TRPC6 plays important human physiological functions, notably in artery and arterioles constriction, in regulation of vascular volume and in bronchial muscle constriction. It is implicated in pulmonary hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and seems to play a role in cancer development. Previously, we identified Guanabenz, an α2-adrenergic agonist used for hypertension treatment (Wytensin®), as an activator of calcium-dependent chloride channels (CaCC) in human Cystic Fibrosis (CF) nasal epithelial cells by transiently increasing [Ca2+]i via an influx of extracellular Ca2+.

Flail chest in polytraumatized patients: surgical fixation using Stracos reduces ventilator time and hospital stay.

Objectives: Conservative management of patients with flail chest is the treatment of choice. Rib fracture repair is technically challenging; however, with the advent of specially designed molding titanium clips, surgical management has been simplified. Surgical stabilization has been used with good outcomes.

Primary cardiac lymphoma complicated by cardiogenic shock: successful treatment with chemotherapy delivered under extracorporeal membrane oxygenation support.

Primary cardiac lymphomas (PCLs) are rare in immunocompetent patients. Their clinical presentation is highly variable and in case of cardiogenic shock, death is often inevitable with a diagnosis made post-mortem. We report the case of a 65-year old immunocompetent man with cardiogenic shock requiring emergent extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

The low PLC-δ1 expression in cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells induces upregulation of TRPV6 channel activity.

Increase of Ca(2+) influx in Cystic Fibrosis (CF) cells has been reported to be related to Transient Receptor Potential Canonical (TRPC6) channel, which is implicated in a functional coupling with Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane conductance Regulator (CFTR). Several members of the Transient Receptor Potential Vanilloid (TRPV) channels family have already been described as emerging target for respiratory diseases. Two specific isoforms, TRPV5 and TRPV6 are of particular interest in the context of CF Ca(2+) homeostasis as they are highly selective toward Ca(2+) and constitutively activated.

Partial aortic valve replacement: a new and simple approach for endocarditis.

We describe the replacement of a single cusp in two patients with severe aortic regurgitation due to endocarditis with a one third stentless bioprosthesis, with excellent results in both.

Development of a preclinical model of donation after circulatory determination of death for translational application.

Background: Extracorporeal membranous oxygenation is proposed for abdominal organ procurement from donation after circulatory determination of death (DCD). In France, the national Agency of Biomedicine supervises the procurement of kidneys from DCD, specifying the durations of tolerated warm and cold ischemia. However, no study has determined the optimal conditions of this technique.

Amniotic fluid-derived mesenchymal stem cells prevent fibrosis and preserve renal function in a preclinical porcine model of kidney transplantation.

It is well known that ischemia/reperfusion injuries strongly affect the success of human organ transplantation. Development of interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy is the main deleterious phenomenon involved. Stem cells are a promising therapeutic tool already validated in various ischemic diseases.

Cystic fibrosis bronchial epithelial cells are lipointoxicated by membrane palmitate accumulation.

The F508del-CFTR mutation, responsible for Cystic Fibrosis (CF), leads to the retention of the protein in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The mistrafficking of this mutant form can be corrected by pharmacological chaperones, but these molecules showed limitations in clinical trials. We therefore hypothesized that important factors in CF patients may have not been considered in the in vitro assays.

ANO1 contributes to angiotensin-II-activated Ca2+-dependent Cl- current in human atrial fibroblasts.

Cardiac fibroblasts are an integral part of the myocardial tissue and contribute to its remodelling. This study characterises for the first time the calcium-dependent chloride channels (CaCC) in the plasma membrane of primary human atrial cardiac fibroblasts by means of the iodide efflux and the patch clamp methods. The calcium ionophore A23187 and Angiotensin II (Ang II) activate a chloride conductance in cardiac fibroblasts that shares pharmacological similarities with calcium-dependent chloride channels.

Aortic root replacement in a patient with left ventricular noncompaction.

We describe the case of a 57-year-old woman with noncompaction of the left ventricle and regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve who presented with progressive congestive heart failure and was successfully treated with aortic root replacement. The long-term outcome for these patients is poor because of progressive left ventricular impairment, increased rates of life-threatening arrhythmias, and intraventricular thrombi. To our knowledge, only 3 patient with noncompaction of the left ventricle has been reported to have undergone aortic valve replacement for severely regurgitant bicuspid aortic valve.