The First Bacterial Endocarditis Due to in a Dog.

Infectious endocarditis (IE) in dogs is often associated with a high mortality rate as diagnostic work-up as well as antibiotic treatment might be challenging. The present case describes bacteremia in a dog caused by   leading to an infectious endocarditis. ( ) is an aerobic Gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium, which has been associated with multiple nosocomial opportunistic diseases in human medicine.

Vitamin D is a regulator of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and arterial stiffness in mice.

The vitamin D hormone 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] is essential for the preservation of serum calcium and phosphate levels but may also be important for the regulation of cardiovascular function. Epidemiological data in humans have shown that vitamin D insufficiency is associated with hypertension, left ventricular hypertrophy, increased arterial stiffness, and endothelial dysfunction in normal subjects and in patients with chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. However, the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying these associations remain largely unexplained.

Lamina-associated polypeptide 2alpha loss impairs heart function and stress response in mice.

Rationale: Lamina-associated polypeptide (LAP)2alpha is a mammalian chromatin-binding protein that interacts with a fraction of A-type lamins in the nuclear interior. Because mutations in lamins and LAP2alpha lead to cardiac disorders in humans, we hypothesized that these factors may play important roles in heart development and adult tissue homeostasis.

Objective: We asked whether the presence of LAP2alpha was required for normal cardiac function.

Impaired heart contractility in Apelin gene-deficient mice associated with aging and pressure overload.

Apelin constitutes a novel endogenous peptide system suggested to be involved in a broad range of physiological functions, including cardiovascular function, heart development, control of fluid homeostasis, and obesity. Apelin is also a catalytic substrate for angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, the key severe acute respiratory syndrome receptor. The in vivo physiological role of Apelin is still elusive.