Optical Frequency Domain Imaging of Very Late Stent Thrombosis Following Bare-Metal Stent Implantation for Acute Myocardial Infarction.

A 43-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome. He had experienced myocardial infarction 19 months previously, and a bare-metal stent (BMS) had been implanted in the culprit distal right coronary artery at another hospital. Emergency coronary angiography showed thrombotic in-stent occlusion of the BMS.

Acute myocardial infarction in a 25-year-old woman with sitosterolemia.

We report the case of acute myocardial infarction in a 25-year-old woman with sitosterolemia. She was treated using statins, but her low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels did not decrease appreciably. Genetic analysis revealed mutations in the ABCG8 gene.

Treatment with telmisartan attenuates graft arteriosclerosis in murine cardiac allografts.

Background: Chronic rejection remains the most prominent cause of graft failure after transplantation. Recently, it was reported that telmisartan can function as a partial agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) in addition to a blocker of angiotensin II receptor. We investigated the effect of telmisartan on chronic rejection.

Attenuation of experimental autoimmune myocarditis by blocking T cell activation through 4-1BB pathway.

4-1BB, a member of the tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) family, binds the 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL), works as a costimulatory molecule, and regulates T cell-mediated immune responses. Although inflammation is an essential pathological feature of myocarditis, the role of 4-1BB in experimental autoimmune myocarditis (EAM) remains unclear. Lewis rats were immunized on day 0 with purified porcine cardiac myosin to establish EAM.

Suppression of neointimal hyperplasia after vascular injury by blocking 4-1BB/4-1BB ligand pathway.

Aim: T cell-mediated immunity is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and arteriosclerosis. This study examined whether the 4-1BB pathway affects the development of arteriosclerosis after vascular injury.

Methods And Results: The left or right femoral arteries of adult male mice weighing 22 to 25 g were injured with a straight spring wire.

Blockade of the 4-1BB pathway attenuates graft arterial disease in cardiac allografts.

4-1BB, a member of the tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor superfamily, binds the 4-1BB ligand (4-1BBL) and works as a costimulatory molecule and regulates T cell-mediated immune responses. Because T cell-mediated immunity is associated with graft arterial disease (GAD), we investigated the role of the 4-1BB pathway in the progression of GAD. Hearts from C57BL/6 mice were transplanted into Bm12 mice (class II mismatch).

Pitavastatin suppresses acute and chronic rejection in murine cardiac allografts.

Introduction: HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors play several roles in the maintenance of organ transplants. We investigated the role of pitavastatin, a potent and newly developed HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, in cardiac allograft rejection and mechanism of graft arterial disease (GAD) suppression.

Methods: Balb/c mice hearts were transplanted into C3H/He mice (a full allomismatch combination) to assess acute rejection or C57BL/6 hearts into B6.

Blockade of the interaction between PD-1 and PD-L1 accelerates graft arterial disease in cardiac allografts.

Background: Programmed death-1 (PD-1), a member of the CD28 family, has been identified. PD-1 is involved in the negative regulation of some immune responses. We evaluated the role of PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1) in graft arterial disease (GAD) of cardiac allografts and in smooth muscle cells (SMCs).