IgE and cardiac disease.

IgE acts primarily via the high affinity IgE receptor (FcεRI) and is central to immediate hypersensitivity reactions (anaphylaxis). However, IgE is also important in the development of chronic hypersensitivity reactions (allergy). In the cardiovascular system, numerous clinical studies have investigated serum IgE levels, mainly in the context of myocardial infarction, and have established a clear association between IgE and ischemic cardiac events.

The orphan nuclear receptor Nr4a1 contributes to interstitial cardiac fibrosis via modulation of cardiac fibroblast and macrophage phenotype.

The orphan nuclear receptor Nr4a1 has complex biological functions and has been implicated in numerous diseases, including cardiovascular disease. While protective in atherosclerosis and myocardial ischemia, Nr4a1 has been shown to cause cardiac fibrosis in non-ischemic adverse remodeling of the heart. However, mechanisms underlying these actions are still poorly understood.

Cellular metabolism of substance P produces neurokinin-1 receptor peptide agonists with diminished cyclic AMP signaling.

Substance P (SP) is released from sensory nerves in the arteries and heart. It activates neurokinin-1 receptors (NK1Rs) causing vasodilation, immune modulation, and adverse cardiac remodeling. The hypothesis was tested: SP and SP metabolites activate different second messenger signaling pathways.

StrucNet: a global network for automated vegetation structure monitoring.

Climate change and increasing human activities are impacting ecosystems and their biodiversity. Quantitative measurements of essential biodiversity variables (EBV) and essential climate variables are used to monitor biodiversity and carbon dynamics and evaluate policy and management interventions. Ecosystem structure is at the core of EBVs and carbon stock estimation and can help to inform assessments of species and species diversity.

[Formula: see text] Caregiver-reported infant motor and imitation skills predict M-CHAT-R/F.

Altered motor and social-communicative abilities in infancy have been linked to later ASD diagnosis. Most diagnostic instruments for ASD cannot be utilized until 12 months, and the average child is diagnosed substantially later. Imitation combines motor and social-communicative skills and is commonly atypical in infants at risk for ASD.

Replacement substance P reduces cardiac fibrosis in monkeys with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-associated cardiac fibrosis contributes to heart failure. We previously showed that diabetic mice with cardiomyopathy, including cardiac fibrosis, exhibit low levels of the neuropeptide substance P; exogenous replacement of substance P reversed cardiac fibrosis, independent of body weight, blood glucose and blood pressure. We sought to elucidate the effectiveness and safety of replacement substance P to ameliorate or reverse cardiac fibrosis in type 2 diabetic monkeys.

Foxe1 Deletion in the Adult Mouse Is Associated With Increased Thyroidal Mast Cells and Hypothyroidism.

Context: Foxe1 is a key thyroid developmental transcription factor. Germline deletion results in athyreosis and congenital hypothyroidism. Some data suggest an ongoing role for maintaining thyroid differentiation.

Relaxin/serelaxin for cardiac dysfunction and heart failure in hypertension.

The pregnancy related hormone relaxin is produced throughout the reproductive system. However, relaxin also has important cardiovascular effects as part of the adaptation that the cardiovascular system undergoes in response to the extra demands of pregnancy. These effects are primarily mediated by the relaxin family peptide receptor 1, which is one of four known relaxin receptors.

Replacement of Lost Substance P Reduces Fibrosis in the Diabetic Heart by Preventing Adverse Fibroblast and Macrophage Phenotype Changes.

Reduced levels of the sensory nerve neuropeptide substance P (SP) have been reported in the diabetic rat heart, the consequence being a loss of cardioprotection in response to ischemic post-conditioning. We considered whether this loss of SP also predisposes the heart to non-ischemic diabetic cardiomyopathy in the form of fibrosis and hypertrophy. We report that diabetic Lepr mice have reduced serum SP and that administration of exogenous replacement SP ameliorated cardiac fibrosis.

Histamine receptors in heart failure.

The biogenic amine, histamine, is found predominantly in mast cells, as well as specific histaminergic neurons. Histamine exerts its many and varied actions via four G-protein-coupled receptors numbered one through four. Histamine has multiple effects on cardiac physiology, mainly via the histamine 1 and 2 receptors, which on a simplified level have opposing effects on heart rate, force of contraction, and coronary vasculature function.

The Histamine 3 Receptor Is Expressed in the Heart and Its Activation Opposes Adverse Cardiac Remodeling in the Angiotensin II Mouse Model.

Histamine is a basic amine stored in mast cells, with its release capable of activating one of four histamine receptors. The histamine 3 receptor (HR) is known to be cardioprotective during acute ischemia by acting to limit norepinephrine release. However, a recent study reported that myofibroblasts isolated from the infarct zone of rat hearts responded to HR activation by up-regulating collagen production.

Author Correction: Heterogeneity-diversity relationships differ between and within trophic levels in temperate forests.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

The Diabetic Cardiac Fibroblast: Mechanisms Underlying Phenotype and Function.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy involves remodeling of the heart in response to diabetes that includes microvascular damage, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, and cardiac fibrosis. Cardiac fibrosis is a major contributor to diastolic dysfunction that can ultimately result in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Cardiac fibroblasts are the final effector cell in the process of cardiac fibrosis.

Radar vision in the mapping of forest biodiversity from space.

Recent progress in remote sensing provides much-needed, large-scale spatio-temporal information on habitat structures important for biodiversity conservation. Here we examine the potential of a newly launched satellite-borne radar system (Sentinel-1) to map the biodiversity of twelve taxa across five temperate forest regions in central Europe. We show that the sensitivity of radar to habitat structure is similar to that of airborne laser scanning (ALS), the current gold standard in the measurement of forest structure.

Regulation of Cardiac Mast Cell Maturation and Function by the Neurokinin-1 Receptor in the Fibrotic Heart.

Cardiac fibrosis is an underlying cause of diastolic dysfunction, contributing to heart failure. Substance P (SP) activation of the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK-1R) contributes to cardiac fibrosis in hypertension. However, based on in vitro experiments, this does not appear to be via direct activation of cardiac fibroblasts.

Prolonged tropical forest degradation due to compounding disturbances: Implications for CO and H O fluxes.

Drought, fire, and windstorms can interact to degrade tropical forests and the ecosystem services they provide, but how these forests recover after catastrophic disturbance events remains relatively unknown. Here, we analyze multi-year measurements of vegetation dynamics and function (fluxes of CO and H O) in forests recovering from 7 years of controlled burns, followed by wind disturbance. Located in southeast Amazonia, the experimental forest consists of three 50-ha plots burned annually, triennially, or not at all from 2004 to 2010.

Substance P-mediated cardiac mast cell activation: An in vitro study.

The neuropeptide substance P can induce degranulation of cardiac mast cells at high concentrations. Herein, we seek to further understand substance P activation of cardiac mast cells in the context of other neuropeptides as well as modulation by non-neuropeptides. This is important given the increasingly recognized role of both cardiac mast cells and substance P in adverse cardiac remodeling.

Doxorubicin-Induced Myocardial Fibrosis Involves the Neurokinin-1 Receptor and Direct Effects on Cardiac Fibroblasts.

Background: Cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based chemotherapy (Anth-bC) may experience early cardiac fibrosis, which could be an important contributing mechanism to the development of impaired left ventricular (LV) function. Substance P, a neuropeptide that predominantly acts via the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK-1R), contributes to adverse myocardial remodelling and fibrosis in other cardiomyopathies. We sought to determine if NK-1R blockade is effective against doxorubicin (Dox - a frequently used Anth-bC)-induced cardiac fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis.

Mast Cells: Key Contributors to Cardiac Fibrosis.

Historically, increased numbers of mast cells have been associated with fibrosis in numerous cardiac pathologies, implicating mast cells in the development of cardiac fibrosis. Subsequently, several approaches have been utilised to demonstrate a causal role for mast cells in animal models of cardiac fibrosis including mast cell stabilising compounds, rodents deficient in mast cells, and inhibition of the actions of mast cell-specific proteases such as chymase and tryptase. Whilst most evidence supports a pro-fibrotic role for mast cells, there is evidence that in some settings these cells can oppose fibrosis.

The role of neuropeptides in adverse myocardial remodeling and heart failure.

In addition to traditional neurotransmitters of the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, the heart also contains numerous neuropeptides. These neuropeptides not only modulate the effects of neurotransmitters, but also have independent effects on cardiac function. While in most cases the physiological actions of these neuropeptides are well defined, their contributions to cardiac pathology are less appreciated.

Corrigendum: Community Composition and Abundance of Bacterial, Archaeal, and Nitrifying Populations in Savanna Soils on Contrasting Bedrock Material in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

[This corrects the article on p. 1638 in vol. 7, PMID: 27807431.

Community Composition and Abundance of Bacterial, Archaeal and Nitrifying Populations in Savanna Soils on Contrasting Bedrock Material in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

Savannas cover at least 13% of the global terrestrial surface and are often nutrient limited, especially by nitrogen. To gain a better understanding of their microbial diversity and the microbial nitrogen cycling in savanna soils, soil samples were collected along a granitic and a basaltic catena in Kruger National Park (South Africa) to characterize their bacterial and archaeal composition and the genetic potential for nitrification. Although the basaltic soils were on average 5 times more nutrient rich than the granitic soils, all investigated savanna soil samples showed typically low nutrient availabilities, i.