Characterization of a new model of chemotherapy-induced heart failure with reduced ejection fraction and nephrotic syndrome in Ren-2 transgenic rats.

All anthracyclines, including doxorubicin (DOXO), the most common and still indispensable drug, exhibit cardiotoxicity with inherent risk of irreversible cardiomyopathy leading to heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). Current pharmacological strategies are clearly less effective for this type of HFrEF, hence an urgent need for new therapeutic approaches. The prerequisite for success is thorough understanding of pathophysiology of this HFrEF form, which requires an appropriate animal model of the disease.

Cardiac miRNA expression during the development of chronic anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy using an experimental rabbit model.

Anthracycline cardiotoxicity is a well-known complication of cancer treatment, and miRNAs have emerged as a key driver in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the expression of miRNAs in the myocardium in early and late stages of chronic anthracycline induced cardiotoxicity to determine whether this expression is associated with the severity of cardiac damage. Cardiotoxicity was induced in rabbits via daunorubicin administration (daunorubicin, 3 mg/kg/week; for five and 10 weeks), while the control group received saline solution.

Primary prevention of chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity with ACE inhibitor is temporarily effective in rabbits, but benefits wane in post-treatment follow-up.

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEis) have been used to treat anthracycline (ANT)-induced cardiac dysfunction, and they appear beneficial for secondary prevention in high-risk patients. However, it remains unclear whether they truly prevent ANT-induced cardiac damage and provide long-lasting cardioprotection. The present study aimed to examine the cardioprotective effects of perindopril on chronic ANT cardiotoxicity in a rabbit model previously validated with the cardioprotective agent dexrazoxane (DEX) with focus on post-treatment follow-up (FU).

Clinically Translatable Prevention of Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity by Dexrazoxane Is Mediated by Topoisomerase II Beta and Not Metal Chelation.

Background: Anthracycline-induced heart failure has been traditionally attributed to direct iron-catalyzed oxidative damage. Dexrazoxane (DEX)-the only drug approved for its prevention-has been believed to protect the heart via its iron-chelating metabolite ADR-925. However, direct evidence is lacking, and recently proposed TOP2B (topoisomerase II beta) hypothesis challenged the original concept.

Prodrug of ICRF-193 provides promising protective effects against chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity in a rabbit model in vivo.

The anthracycline (ANT) anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin or daunorubicin (DAU) can cause serious myocardial injury and chronic cardiac dysfunction in cancer survivors. A bisdioxopiperazine agent dexrazoxane (DEX) has been developed as a cardioprotective drug to prevent these adverse events, but it is uncertain whether it is the best representative of the class. The present study used a rabbit model of chronic ANT cardiotoxicity to examine another bisdioxopiperazine compound called GK-667 (meso-(butane-2,3-diylbis(2,6-dioxopiperazine-4,1-diyl))bis(methylene)-bis(2-aminoacetate) hydrochloride), a water-soluble prodrug of ICRF-193 (meso-4,4'-(butan-2,3-diyl)bis(piperazine-2,6-dione)), as a potential cardioprotectant.

Investigation of Structure-Activity Relationships of Dexrazoxane Analogs Reveals Topoisomerase II Interaction as a Prerequisite for Effective Protection against Anthracycline Cardiotoxicity.

Bisdioxopiperazine agent dexrazoxane (ICRF-187) has been the only effective and approved drug for prevention of chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity. However, the structure-activity relationships (SARs) of its cardioprotective effects remain obscure owing to limited investigation of its derivatives/analogs and uncertainties about its mechanism of action. To fill these knowledge gaps, we tested the hypothesis that dexrazoxane derivatives exert cardioprotection via metal chelation and/or modulation of topoisomerase II (Top2B) activity in chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

[Dynamics of changes in morphometric parameters of the macular zone in glaucoma patients after phacoemulsification].

Purpose: To analyze the dynamics of morphometric changes in the macular zone using optical coherence tomography (OCT) data in patients with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) after phacoemulsification (PE).

Material And Methods: The study enrolled 93 patients (95 eyes) requiring PE; they were divided into 2 groups. The first (control) group consisted of 30 patients (32 eyes) without concomitant eye pathology.

[Meatoplasty - an effective method for surgical treatment of patients with nasolacrimal duct ostium stenosis].

Unlabelled: The authors proposed a novel approach to the surgical correction of distal nasolacrimal duct stenosis - the meatoplasty of the nasolacrimal duct.

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of the developed surgical technique in cases of nasolacrimal duct ostium stenosis.

Methods: 78 patients (90 cases) with nasolacrimal duct stenosis at the level of it's ostium were included and divided into three comparable groups depending on the type of performed surgery: - the meatoplasty of the nasolacrimal duct in group 1, the meatoplasty with concomitant recanalization and bicanalicular silicone intubation of nasolacrimal duct by Ritleng in group 2 and recanalization with bicanalicular silicone intubation of nasolacrimal duct by Ritleng in group 3.

and investigation of cardiotoxicity associated with anticancer proteasome inhibitors and their combination with anthracycline.

Although proteasome inhibitors (PIs) are modern targeted anticancer drugs, they have been associated with a certain risk of cardiotoxicity and heart failure (HF). Recently, PIs have been combined with anthracyclines (ANTs) to further boost their anticancer efficacy. However, this raised concerns regarding cardiac safety, which were further supported by several studies on immature cardiomyocytes.

[Assessing retinal photosensitivity in patients with central vision impairment using a portable perimeter (a preliminary report)].

Introduction: The problem of reliably performing perimetry in people with impaired central vision who are unable to keep the gaze on the fixation point during the examination is yet to be resolved.

Purpose: To develop a perimetry method for patients with impaired central vision using a portative perimeter based on a virtual reality device (p-VRD).

Material And Methods: The study included 16 eyes (19 patients) without central vision (maximum visual acuity was from lateral light projection to 20/400).

Are cardioprotective effects of NO-releasing drug molsidomine translatable to chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity settings?

Chronic anthracycline (ANT) cardiotoxicity is a serious complication of cancer chemotherapy. Molsidomine, a NO-releasing drug, has been found cardioprotective in different models of I/R injury and recently in acute high-dose ANT cardiotoxicity. Hence, we examined whether its cardioprotective effects are translatable to chronic ANT cardiotoxicity settings without induction of nitrosative stress and interference with antiproliferative action of ANTs.

[Centrally acting cholinomimetics in the complex therapy of progressive glaucomatous optic neuropathy].

Unlabelled: Many factors exist that are associated with higher risk of glaucoma progression. Arterial hypotension, low perfusion pressure, vasospastic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, myopia, etc. increase the need for neuroprotective therapy, which is aimed at stabilizing the pathological process and creating favorable conditions for maintaining visual functions.

Cardioprotective effects of inorganic nitrate/nitrite in chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity: Comparison with dexrazoxane.

Dexrazoxane (DEX) is a clinically available cardioprotectant that reduces the toxicity induced by anthracycline (ANT) anticancer drugs; however, DEX is seldom used and its action is poorly understood. Inorganic nitrate/nitrite has shown promising results in myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury and recently in acute high-dose ANT cardiotoxicity. However, the utility of this approach for overcoming clinically more relevant chronic forms of cardiotoxicity remains elusive.

Experimental determination of diagnostic window of cardiac troponins in the development of chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity and estimation of its predictive value.

Background: Cardiac troponins (cTns) seem to be more sensitive for the detection of anthracycline cardiotoxicity than the currently recommended method of monitoring LV systolic function. However, the optimal timing of blood sampling remains unknown. Hence, the aims of the present study were to determine the precise diagnostic window for cTns during the development of chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity and to evaluate their predictive value.

Transgenic rat model of Huntington's disease: a histopathological study and correlations with neurodegenerative process in the brain of HD patients.

Rats transgenic for Huntington's disease (tgHD51 CAG rats), surviving up to two years, represent an animal model of HD similar to the late-onset form of human disease. This enables us to follow histopathological changes in course of neurodegenerative process (NDP) within the striatum and compare them with postmortem samples of human HD brains. A basic difference between HD pathology in human and tgHD51 rats is in the rate of NDP progression that originates primarily from slow neuronal degeneration consequently resulting in lesser extent of concomitant reactive gliosis in the brain of tgHD51 rats.

Molecular remodeling of left and right ventricular myocardium in chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity and post-treatment follow up.

Chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity is a serious clinical issue with well characterized functional and histopathological hallmarks. However, molecular determinants of the toxic damage and associated myocardial remodeling remain to be established. Furthermore, details on the different propensity of the left and right ventricle (LV and RV, respectively) to the cardiotoxicity development are unknown.

Early and delayed cardioprotective intervention with dexrazoxane each show different potential for prevention of chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity in rabbits.

Despite incomplete understanding to its mechanism of action, dexrazoxane (DEX) is still the only clearly effective cardioprotectant against chronic anthracycline (ANT) cardiotoxicity. However, its clinical use is currently restricted to patients exceeding significant ANT cumulative dose (300mg/m(2)), although each ANT cycle may induce certain potentially irreversible myocardial damage. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare early and delayed DEX intervention against chronic ANT cardiotoxicity and study the molecular events involved.

The anticancer activity of alpha-tomatine against mammary adenocarcinoma in mice.

Aim: To evaluate the anticancer effect of alpha-tomatine (i.p.) either alone or in combination with doxorubicin (i.

Specific features of mandible structure and elemental composition in the polyphagous amphipod Acanthogammarus grewingkii endemic to Lake Baikal.

Background: In crustaceans, several mechanisms provide for the mechanical strength of the cuticular "tools" (dactyli, claws, jaws), which serve to catch and crush food objects. Studies on the mandibles of the endemic Baikal amphipod Acanthogammarus grewingkii by means of electron microscopy and elemental analysis have revealed specific structural features of these mouthparts.

Methodology: The fine structure of the mandible has been studied by means of SEM, TEM, and AFM; methods used to analyze its elemental and phase composition include XEPMA, XPS, SEM-EDS analysis, and XRD.

Intervention of Proliferation and Differentiation of Endogenous Neural Stem Cells in the Neurodegenerative Process of Huntington's Disease Phenotype.

The evidence for the existence of neurogenesis in the adult mammalian brain, including humans is now widely accepted. Despite the fact that adult neural stem cells appear to be very promising, a wide range of their unrevealed properties, abilities but also limitations under physiological and especially pathological conditions still need to be investigated and explained. Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by successive degeneration of relatively well-defined neuronal population.

Proteomic insights into chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity.

Chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity is a feared complication of cancer chemotherapy. However, despite several decades of primarily hypothesis-driven research, the molecular basis of this phenomenon remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was to obtain integrative molecular insights into chronic anthracycline cardiotoxicity and the resulting heart failure.

The neurodegenerative process in a neurotoxic rat model and in patients with Huntington's disease: histopathological parallels and differences.

Although Huntington's disease (HD) occurs only in humans, the use of animal models is crucial for HD research. New genetic models may provide novel insights into HD pathogenesis, but their relevance to human HD is problematic, particularly owing to a lower number of typically degenerated and dying striatal neurons and consequent insignificant reactive gliosis. Hence, neurotoxin-induced animal models are widely used for histopathological studies.

The effect of rat strain, diet composition and feeding period on the development of a nutritional model of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in rats.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an important cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality. The aim of this work was to establish and characterize a nutritional model of NAFLD in rats. Wistar or Sprague-Dawley male rats were fed ad libitum a standard diet (ST-1, 10 % kcal fat), a medium-fat gelled diet (MFGD, 35 % kcal fat) and a high-fat gelled diet (HFGD, 71 % kcal fat) for 3 or 6 weeks.

Cardiac remodeling and MMPs on the model of chronic daunorubicin-induced cardiomyopathy in rabbits.

The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a key role during cardiac remodeling. The aim of the study was to investigate the changes in collagenous proteins and MMPs in the model of non-ischemic, anthracycline-induced chronic cardiomyopathy in rabbits using both biochemical and histological approaches. The study was carried out in three groups of Chinchilla male rabbits: 1) daunorubicin (3 mg/kg, once weekly for 10 weeks), 2) control (saline in the same schedule), 3) daunorubicin with the cardioprotectant dexrazoxane (60 mg/kg, before each daunorubicin).

Cardiac biomarkers in a model of acute catecholamine cardiotoxicity.

Coronary heart disease and in particular its most serious form - acute myocardial infarction (AMI) - represents the most common cause of mortality in developed countries. Better prognosis may be achieved by understanding the etiopathogenetic mechanisms of AMI. Therefore, a catecholamine model of myocardial injury, which has appeared to be very similar to AMI in human in some aspect, was used.