Combinational Therapy of Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells and Pyridoxamine: The Road to Cardiac Repair?

Myocardial infarction (MI) occurs when the coronary blood supply is interrupted. As a consequence, cardiomyocytes are irreversibly damaged and lost. Unfortunately, current therapies for MI are unable to prevent progression towards heart failure.

Advanced Glycation End Products Impair Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells Properties.

Background: During myocardial infarction (MI), billions of cardiomyocytes are lost. The optimal therapy should effectively replace damaged cardiomyocytes, possibly with stem cells able to engraft and differentiate into adult functional cardiomyocytes. As such, cardiac atrial appendage stem cells (CASCs) are suitable candidates.

Combining stem cells in myocardial infarction: The road to superior repair?

Myocardial infarction irreversibly destroys millions of cardiomyocytes in the ventricle, making it the leading cause of heart failure worldwide. Over the past two decades, many progenitor and stem cell types were proposed as the ideal candidate to regenerate the heart after injury. The potential of stem cell therapy has been investigated thoroughly in animal and human studies, aiming at cardiac repair by true tissue replacement, by immune modulation, or by the secretion of paracrine factors that stimulate endogenous repair processes.

The Impact of Advanced Glycation End-Products (AGEs) on Proliferation and Apoptosis of Primary Stem Cells: A Systematic Review.

Stem cell-based regenerative therapies hold great promises to treat a wide spectrum of diseases. However, stem cell engraftment and survival are still challenging due to an unfavorable transplantation environment. Advanced glycation end-products (AGEs) can contribute to the generation of these harmful conditions.

Differentiation of Human Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells into Adult Cardiomyocytes: A Role for the Wnt Pathway?

Human cardiac stem cells isolated from atrial appendages based on aldehyde dehydrogenase activity (CASCs) can be expanded in vitro and differentiate into mature cardiomyocytes. In this study, we assess whether Wnt activation stimulates human CASC proliferation, whereas Wnt inhibition induces cardiac maturation. CASCs were cultured as described before.

How to Stimulate Myocardial Regeneration in Adult Mammalian Heart: Existing Views and New Approaches.

Stem cell-based therapy has been considered as a promising option in the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Although stem cell administration resulted in the temporary improvement of myocardial contractility in the majority of studies, the formation of new cardiomyocytes within the injured myocardium has not been conclusively demonstrated. Consequently, the focus of research in the field has since shifted to stem cell-derived paracrine factors, including cytokines, growth factors, mRNA, and miRNA.

Muscle wasting after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: impact on post-operative clinical status and effect of exercise-based rehabilitation.

Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is known to induce significant muscle wasting. It remains to be investigated whether muscle wasting after CABG surgery relates to a worse clinical status at entry of rehabilitation and exercise-based rehabilitation remediates such muscle wasting. Prospective observational study.

A randomized, controlled trial of Veriset™ hemostatic patch in halting cardiovascular bleeding.

Background: Obtaining hemostasis during cardiovascular procedures can be a challenge, particularly around areas with a complex geometry or that are difficult to access. While several topical hemostats are currently on the market, most have caveats that limit their use in certain clinical scenarios such as pulsatile arterial bleeding. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness and safety of Veriset™ hemostatic patch in treating cardiovascular bleeding.

A comparison between minimized extracorporeal circuits and conventional extracorporeal circuits in patients undergoing aortic valve surgery: is 'minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation' just low prime or closed loop perfusion ?

Introduction: Even though results have been encouraging, an unequivocal conclusion on the beneficial effect of minimally invasive extracorporeal circulation (MiECC) in patients undergoing aortic valve surgery cannot be derived from previous publications. Long-term outcomes are rarely reported and a significant decrease in operative mortality has not been shown. Most studies have a limited number of patients and are underpowered.

Outcome after PORT in ypN2 or R1/R2 versus no PORT in ypN0 Stage III-N2 NSCLC after Induction Chemotherapy and Resection.

Introduction: We investigated patients with contemporarily staged and treated stage III-N2 NSCLC treated with induction chemotherapy and surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy (PORT). We focused on survival and toxicity and investigated what additional PORT may offer in patients with ypN2 status or incomplete resection.

Methods: We identified 161 patients with pathologically proven, resectable stage III-N2 NSCLC from our prospective database who were treated between 1998 and 2012.

Patterns of Locoregional Relapses in Patients with Contemporarily Staged Stage III-N2 NSCLC Treated with Induction Chemotherapy and Resection: Implications for Postoperative Radiotherapy Target Volumes.

Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate locoregional relapse (LR) patterns after induction chemotherapy and surgery for stage III-N2 NSCLC staged with current standard methods and their impact on radiation target volumes for postoperative radiotherapy (PORT).

Methods: A total of 150 patients with stage III-N2 NSCLC from a prospective database of patients who underwent surgical resection at the University Hospitals of Leuven or the Oncologic Centre Limburg between 1998 and 2012 were included. Patients were staged with fluorodeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography/computed tomography and brain imaging and treated with induction chemotherapy and surgery.

Cardiac atrial appendage stem cells promote angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo.

Cardiac atrial appendage stem cells (CASCs) show extraordinary myocardial differentiation properties, making them ideal candidates for myocardial regeneration. However, since the myocardium is a highly vascularized tissue, revascularization of the ischemic infarct area is essential for functional repair. Therefore, this study assessed if CASCs contribute to cardiac angiogenesis via paracrine mechanisms.

From Bone Marrow to Cardiac Atrial Appendage Stem Cells for Cardiac Repair: A Review.

Traditionally the heart is considered a terminally differentiated organ. However, at the beginning of this century increased mitotic activity was reported in ischemic and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy hearts, compared to healthy controls, underscoring the potential of regeneration after injury. Due to the presence of adult stem cells in bone marrow and their purported ability to differentiate into other cell lineages, this cell population was soon estimated to be the most suited candidate for cardiac regeneration.

Compromised Cardiopulmonary Exercise Capacity in Patients Early After Endoscopic Atraumatic Coronary Artery Bypass Graft: Implications for Rehabilitation.

Objective: The purpose of this work was to test the hypothesis that cardiopulmonary exercise tolerance is better preserved early after endoscopic atraumatic coronary artery bypass graft (endo-ACAB) surgery versus coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Design: Twenty endo-ACAB surgery patients, 20 CABG surgery patients, and 15 healthy subjects executed a maximal cardiopulmonary exercise test, with assessment and comparison of cycling power output, O2 uptake, CO2 output, respiratory gas exchange ratio, end-tidal O2 and CO2 pressures, equivalents for O2 uptake and CO2 output, heart rate, O2 pulse, expiratory volume, tidal volume, respiratory rate, at peak exercise and ventilatory threshold. In patients, forced expiratory volume and forced vital capacity were measured.

Reduction in pulmonary function after CABG surgery is related to postoperative inflammation and hypercortisolemia.

Unlabelled: Pulmonary function is significantly reduced in the acute phase after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Because pulmonary function partly depends on respiratory muscle strength, we studied whether reductions in pulmonary function are related to postoperative alterations in circulatory factors that affect muscle protein synthesis.

Methods: Slow vital capacity (SVC) was assessed in 22 subjects before and 9 ± 3 days after CABG surgery.

Cardiac atrial appendage stem cells engraft and differentiate into cardiomyocytes in vivo: A new tool for cardiac repair after MI.

Background: This study assessed whether autologous transplantation of cardiac atrial appendage stem cells (CASCs) preserves cardiac function after myocardial infarction (MI) in a minipig model.

Methods And Results: CASCs were isolated from right atrial appendages of Göttingen minipigs based on high aldehyde dehydrogenase activity and expanded. MI was induced by a 2h snare ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery.

Magnitude of muscle wasting early after on-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery and exploration of aetiology.

What is the central question of this study? It remains uncertain whether significant fat-free mass wasting occurs early after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and the aetiology of this wasting in these particular conditions is unexplored. What is the main finding and its importance? Significant fat-free mass wasting is present after coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and this wasting effect is greater in younger patients and in patients with greater increments in blood cortisol-to-testosterone ratios after surgery. The magnitude and aetiology of muscle wasting early after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery remains unknown.

Mesenchymal stem cell secreted platelet derived growth factor exerts a pro-migratory effect on resident Cardiac Atrial appendage Stem Cells.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) modulate cardiac healing after myocardial injury through the release of paracrine factors, but the exact mechanisms are still unknown. One possible mechanism is through mobilization of endogenous cardiac stem cells (CSCs). This study aimed to test the pro-migratory effect of MSC conditioned medium (MSC-CM) on endogenous CSCs from human cardiac tissue.

Elective reconstruction of the ascending aorta for aneurysmal disease restores normal life expectancy. An analysis of risk factors for early and late mortality.

Objective: We investigated the survival of patients who had undergone elective reconstruction of the ascending aorta for degenerative aneurysms. The long-term survival was compared to an age- and sex-matched case-control population. An analysis of risk factors, influencing survival was made.

The cardiac atrial appendage stem cell: a new and promising candidate for myocardial repair.

Aims: Considerable shortcomings in the treatment of myocardial infarction (MI) still exist and therefore mortality remains high. Cardiac stem cell (CSC) therapy is a promising approach for myocardial repair. However, identification and isolation of candidate CSCs is mainly based on the presence or absence of certain cell surface markers, which suffers from some drawbacks.

Mesenchymal stem cells or cardiac progenitors for cardiac repair? A comparative study.

In the past, clinical trials transplanting bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells reported a limited improvement in cardiac function. Therefore, the search for stem cells leading to more successful stem cell therapies continues. Good candidates are the so-called cardiac stem cells (CSCs).

Human bone marrow stem cells co-cultured with neonatal rat cardiomyocytes display limited cardiomyogenic plasticity.

Background Aims: This study investigated whether neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCM), when co-cultured, can induce transdifferentiation of either human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) or hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) into cardiomyocytes. Stem cells were obtained from patients with ischemic heart disease.

Methods: Ex vivo-expanded MSC or freshly isolated HSC were used to set-up a co-culture system between NRCM and MSC or HSC.