Multifunctional Optical Sensor for the Comprehensive Detection of Zinc Ions in Cardiovascular Disease.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are a major global health concern, highlighting the need for effective diagnostic tools. Zinc ions (Zn) play a role in CVDs, but their detection is challenging. This study presents a multifunctional optical sensor, , designed to detect Zn in relation to CVDs.

Enzyme Activity-Based Optical Probe: Imaging Aminopeptidases N in Vulnerable Plaque and Serum.

Cardiovascular disease, a chronic and progressive arterial wall disease, is increasingly recognized for its clinical significance. Aminopeptidases N (APN), crucial in the pathophysiological processes of vulnerable plaque, have been linked to endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and plaque formation, thus highlighting their potential as biomarkers for disease progression. However, current detection methods for APN in body fluids and in vivo have limitations, including insufficient sensitivity and specificity, time delays, and the inability to directly reflect enzyme activity in plaques.

Generation of a lamin A/C knockout human induced pluripotent stem cell line (ZJULLi007-A) via CRISPR/Cas9.

Lamin A/C is a protein encoded by the LMNA gene and belongs to the nuclear lamina protein family. Mutations in the LMNA gene lead to several diseases: Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, familial partial lipodystrophy, limb girdle muscular dystrophy, dilated cardiomyopathy, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, and Hutchinson-Gilford progeria syndrome. In this study, a lamin A/C knockout human induced pluripotent stem cell line was successfully generated using the CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing technology, which was confirmed with normal pluripotency and karyotype.

Lamin A/C deficiency-mediated ROS elevation contributes to pathogenic phenotypes of dilated cardiomyopathy in iPSC model.

Mutations in the nuclear envelope (NE) protein lamin A/C (encoded by LMNA), cause a severe form of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with early-onset life-threatening arrhythmias. However, molecular mechanisms underlying increased arrhythmogenesis in LMNA-related DCM (LMNA-DCM) remain largely unknown. Here we show that a frameshift mutation in LMNA causes abnormal Ca handling, arrhythmias and disformed NE in LMNA-DCM patient-specific iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs).

Apolipoprotein B and interleukin 1 receptor antagonist: reversing the risk of coronary heart disease.

Aims: Epidemiological evidence for the link of interleukin 1 (IL-1) and its inhibition with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remains controversial. We aim to investigate the cardiovascular effects of IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) and underlying mechanisms.

Methods: Genetic variants identified from a genome-wide association study involving 30,931 individuals were used as instrumental variables for the serum IL-1Ra concentrations.

Disruption of the nuclear localization signal in RBM20 is causative in dilated cardiomyopathy.

Human patients carrying genetic mutations in RNA binding motif 20 (RBM20) develop a clinically aggressive dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Genetic mutation knockin (KI) animal models imply that altered function of the arginine-serine-rich (RS) domain is crucial for severe DCM. To test this hypothesis, we generated an RS domain deletion mouse model (Rbm20ΔRS).

Overexpression of KCNJ2 enhances maturation of human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Background: Although human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) are a promising cell resource for cardiovascular research, these cells exhibit an immature phenotype that hampers their potential applications. The inwardly rectifying potassium channel K2.1, encoded by the KCNJ2 gene, has been thought as an important target for promoting electrical maturation of iPSC-CMs.

Causal association between sleep traits and the risk of coronary artery disease in patients with diabetes.

Background And Aims: The association between sleep traits and coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with diabetes has been reported in previous observational studies. However, whether these potential relationships are causal remains unclear. We aim to assess the causal relationship between sleep traits and CAD in diabetic.

Patient-specific iPSC-derived endothelial cells reveal aberrant p38 MAPK signaling in atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome.

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare disease associated with high morbidity and mortality. Existing evidence suggests that the central pathogenesis to aHUS might be endothelial cell damage. Nevertheless, the role of endothelial cell alterations in aHUS has not been well characterized and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Generation of five induced pluripotent stem cell lines with DMD/c.497G > T mutation from renal epithelial cells of a Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient and a recessive carrier parent.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an inherited disease caused by the dystrophin gene mutation, is the most common muscular dystrophy in children and is clinically characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and severe cardiomyopathy. In this study, renal epithelial cells were obtained from urine samples of a DMD patient (4 years old) and his recessive carrier parent (35 years old). The cells were reprogrammed with non-integrating Sendai virus to generate three induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) clones for the patient and two clones for non-manifesting mutation carrier parent.

Generation of an induced pluripotent stem cell line from the dermal fibroblasts of a patient with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy carrying a PKP2/c.2489 + 1G > A mutation.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is an inherited disease in which the right ventricular myocardium is replaced by progressive fibrous adipose tissue. ARVC is clinically characterized by right ventricular enlargement, ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden cardiac death. It eventually leads to heart failure, and thus has a significant impact on the patient's health.

Generation of ZJUi003-A, an induced pluripotent stem cell line from a Wilson's disease patient carrying a c.180_181del mutation in ATP7B gene.

Wilson's disease (WD) is an inherited autosomal recessive disease, which is caused by the mutation of ATP7B gene encoding copper-transporting ATPase protein. The WD patients always suffer from the excessive copper deposition in the liver and other tissues because of the dysfunction of the copper-transporting ATPase protein. In this study, we generated a patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) line (ZJUi003-A), which showed normal karyotype, expressed pluripotency markers and was capable to differentiate into three germ layers.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes reveal abnormal TGFβ signaling in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Diabetes mellitus is a serious metabolic condition associated with a multitude of cardiovascular complications. Moreover, the prevalence of diabetes in heart failure populations is higher than that in control populations. However, the role of cardiomyocyte alterations in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has not been well characterized and the underlying mechanisms remain elusive.

Inhibition of TRPC1 prevents cardiac hypertrophy via NF-κB signaling pathway in human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Cardiac hypertrophy is an adaptive response against increased workload featuring by an increase in left ventricular mass and a thickening left ventricle wall. Here, we showed the expression of transient receptor potential canonical 1 (TRPC1) is higher in hearts of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or heart failure (HF) than that of normal hearts. To better understand the mechanisms of TRPC1 in regulating cellular hypertrophy of human-based cardiomyocytes, we generated human pluripotent stem cell lines of TRPC1 knockout by CRISPR/Cas9.

Modelling cadmium-induced cardiotoxicity using human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

Cadmium, a highly ubiquitous toxic heavy metal, has been widely recognized as an environmental and industrial pollutant, which confers serious threats to human health. The molecular mechanisms of the cadmium-induced cardiotoxicity (CIC) have not been studied in human cardiomyocytes at the cellular level. Here we showed that human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) can recapitulate the CIC at the cellular level.

A Novel Approach for Amplification and Purification of Mouse Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells.

Although transgenic and knockout mice are widely used to study the specification and differentiation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs), mouse primary OPCs are difficult to be purified and maintained, and many in vitro studies have to resort to rat OPCs as substitutes. In this study, we reported that mouse O4 negative early-stage OPCs can be obtained by culturing cortical tissue blocks, and the simultaneous treatment of OPCs with Platelet Derived Growth Factor-AA (PDGFaa), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and epidermal growth factor (EGF) is the key for the propagation of mouse OPCs in culture. EGF was found to be a potent mitogen for OPCs and cooperate with PDGFaa to extend cell division and inhibit their differentiation.

[Expression of neural salient serine-/arginine-rich protein 1 (NSSR1) in colorectal cancer].

Objective: To investigate the expression of neural salient serine/arginine-rich protein 1 (NSSR1) in colorectal cancer.

Methods: RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemical staining were used to detect the expression of NSSR1 mRNA and protein in different mouse tissues and human colorectal cancer, respectively.

Results: NSSR1 mRNA was expressed in mouse cerebrum, cerebellum, heart, liver, intestine, kidney and lung tissue, but NSSR1 protein was only expressed in neural tissues.

[Controlling of the high-voltage generator in a direct radiography system].

A proposal is presented to improve the original complicated control of the exposure parameters in the direct radiography system (DR). The interface circuitry of the high-voltage generator is redesigned using RS-232 serial COM port. The data and signals are transmitted between the personal computer and the high-voltage generator in the serial mode.