Angiotensin II receptor blocker intake associates with reduced markers of inflammatory activation and decreased mortality in patients with cardiovascular comorbidities and COVID-19 disease.

Aims: Patients with cardiovascular comorbidities have a significantly increased risk for a critical course of COVID-19. As the SARS-CoV2 virus enters cells via the angiotensin-converting enzyme receptor II (ACE2), drugs which interact with the renin angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) were suspected to influence disease severity.

Methods And Results: We analyzed 1946 consecutive patients with cardiovascular comorbidities or hypertension enrolled in one of the largest European COVID-19 registries, the Lean European Open Survey on SARS-CoV-2 (LEOSS) registry.

Identification of Novel and Potent Modulators Involved in Neonatal Cardiac Regeneration.

Neonatal mammalian heart has been shown to possess the capacity to regenerate substantially after an injury. This remarkable regenerative capacity is lost in a week. This transition has been marked with cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest and induction of fibrotic response similar to what occurs after myocardial infarction in adult hearts.

Development of Small Molecule MEIS Inhibitors that modulate HSC activity.

Meis1, which belongs to TALE-type class of homeobox gene family, appeared as one of the key regulators of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and a potential therapeutical target. However, small molecule inhibitors of MEIS1 remained unknown. This led us to develop inhibitors of MEIS1 that could modulate HSC activity.

c-Myc Inhibitor 10074-G5 Induces Murine and Human Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Expansion and HDR Modulator Rad51 Expression.

Background: c-Myc plays a major role in the maintenance of glycolytic metabolism and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) quiescence.

Objective: Targeting modulators of HSC quiescence and metabolism could lead to HSC cell cycle entry with concomitant expansion.

Methods And Results: Here we show that c-Myc inhibitor 10074-G5 treatment leads to 2-fold increase in murine LSKCD34low HSC compartment post 7 days.

Stem Cells in Regenerative Cardiology.

The common prevalence of heart failure and limitations in its treatment are leading cause of attention and interest towards the induction of cardiac regeneration with novel approaches. Recent studies provide growing evidence regarding bona fide cardiac regeneration post genetic manipulations, administration of stimulatory factors and myocardial injuries in animal models and human studies. To this end, stem cells of different sources have been tested to treat heart failure for the development of cellular therapies.

Evolving approaches to heart regeneration by therapeutic stimulation of resident cardiomyocyte cell cycle.

Heart has long been considered a terminally differentiated organ. Recent studies, however, have suggested that there is a modest degree of cardiomyocyte (CM) turnover in adult mammalian heart, albeit not sufficient for replacement of lost CMs following cardiac injuries. Cardiac regeneration studies in various model organisms including zebrafish, newt, and more recently in neonatal mouse, have demonstrated that CM dedifferentiation and concomitant proliferation play important roles in replacement of lost CMs and restoration of cardiac contractility.