Publications by authors named "E S J van Rooij"

In contrast to adult mammalian hearts, the adult zebrafish heart efficiently replaces cardiomyocytes lost after injury. Here we reveal shared and species-specific injury response pathways and a correlation between Hmga1, an architectural non-histone protein, and regenerative capacity, as Hmga1 is required and sufficient to induce cardiomyocyte proliferation and required for heart regeneration. In addition, Hmga1 was shown to reactivate developmentally silenced genes, likely through modulation of H3K27me3 levels, poising them for a pro-regenerative gene program.

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Introduction: A healthy young woman, age 26 without prior cardiac complications, experienced an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest caused by ventricular fibrillation (VF), which coincided with a fever. Comprehensive diagnostics including echo, CMR, exercise testing, and genetic sequencing, did not identify any potential cause. This led to the diagnosis of idiopathic VF and installment of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, which six months later appropriately intervened another VF episode under conditions comparable to the first event.

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Article Synopsis
  • * Advanced techniques such as adeno-associated viral vectors and CRISPR-Cas9 are proving to be efficient for gene delivery and repairing genetic issues in humans.
  • * The statement reviews various gene therapy approaches for heart failure and its causes, discusses their clinical applications, and highlights safety concerns and regulatory challenges for future development.
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Article Synopsis
  • Intracellular calcium overload contributes to heart dysfunction, and understanding how to regulate calcium levels could help develop better heart failure therapies.
  • The transcription factor ZEB2, induced by HIF1α in low-oxygen conditions, helps manage genes related to calcium handling and heart contraction, thus protecting against heart issues.
  • ZEB2 enhances calcium uptake by increasing phosphorylation of phospholamban, while also reducing harmful signaling that leads to heart remodeling, making it a key player in maintaining heart function.
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