The change in circulating galectin-3 predicts absence of atrial fibrillation after thoracoscopic surgical ablation.

Aims: Galectin-3 (Gal-3) is an important mediator of cardiac fibrosis, particularly in heart failure. Increased Gal-3 concentration (Gal-3), associated with increased risk of developing atrial fibrillation (AF), may reflect atrial fibrotic remodelling underlying AF progression. We aimed to investigate whether the change in serum Gal-3 reflects alterations of the arrhythmogenic atrial substrate following thoracoscopic AF surgery, and predicts absence of AF.

Transforming growth factor β receptor inhibition prevents ventricular fibrosis in a mouse model of progressive cardiac conduction disease.

Aims: Loss-of-function mutations in SCN5A, the gene encoding NaV1.5 channel, have been associated with inherited progressive cardiac conduction disease (PCCD). We have proposed that Scn5a heterozygous knock-out (Scn5a+/-) mice, which are characterized by ventricular fibrotic remodelling with ageing, represent a model for PCCD.

The Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor Dapagliflozin Prevents Cardiomyopathy in a Diabetic Lipodystrophic Mouse Model.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a well-recognized independent risk factor for heart failure. T2DM is associated with altered cardiac energy metabolism, leading to ectopic lipid accumulation and glucose overload, the exact contribution of these two parameters remaining unclear. To provide new insight into the mechanism driving the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, we studied a unique model of T2DM: lipodystrophic (seipin knockout [SKO]) mice.

Effects of long-term active immunization with the second extracellular loop of human β- or β-adrenoceptors in thoracic aorta and mesenteric arteries in Lewis rats.

Objective: To evaluate whether active immunization producing β- or β-antibodies (β-ABs and β-ABs) detected in sera of patients with dilated cardiomyopathies has deleterious effects on vascular reactivity in Lewis rat thoracic aorta (TA) and small mesenteric arteries (SMA).

Design And Method: Lewis rats were immunized for 6months with peptidic sequences corresponding to the second extracellular loop of β- and β-adrenoceptors (ARs). During the immunization, systolic blood pressure (SBP) was monitored using the tail cuff method.

Identifying potential functional impact of mutations and polymorphisms: linking heart failure, increased risk of arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death.

Researchers and clinicians have discovered several important concepts regarding the mechanisms responsible for increased risk of arrhythmias, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death. One major step in defining the molecular basis of normal and abnormal cardiac electrical behavior has been the identification of single mutations that greatly increase the risk for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death by changing channel-gating characteristics. Indeed, mutations in several genes encoding ion channels, such as SCN5A, which encodes the major cardiac Na(+) channel, have emerged as the basis for a variety of inherited cardiac arrhythmias such as long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, progressive cardiac conduction disorder, sinus node dysfunction, or sudden infant death syndrome.