Publications by authors named "N Bogunovic"
Objective: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a cardiovascular risk factor. Paradoxically, a decreased risk of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) presence and growth rate is described among patients with T2DM, associated with metformin use. This study aimed to investigate the effect of metformin on AAA patient-derived aortic smooth muscle cell (SMC) function.
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- The study focuses on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), a condition where the aorta weakens and dilates in the abdomen, aiming to understand the specific cellular mechanisms involved by analyzing proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from AAA patients versus healthy donors.
- Using advanced proteomic techniques, researchers found significant differences in proteins linked to extracellular matrix remodeling, energy metabolism, and muscle contractility between AAA patients and healthy individuals.
- The research revealed changes in phosphorylation patterns affecting structural proteins like those involved in the actin cytoskeleton and signaling pathways, suggesting specific kinases like NUAK1 and MAPK7 may play crucial roles in AAA development.
Article Synopsis
- Inherited bone disorders represent around 10% of Mendelian disorders and carry a significant financial impact, often requiring the study of osteoblasts, which are crucial for bone development and maintenance.
- Researchers created a new method using platelet lysate to convert skin-derived human fibroblasts into osteoblast-like cells, allowing for the study of these cells without needing patient bone tissue.
- Characterization of these transdifferentiated cells revealed increased expression of bone-related markers, successful mineral deposition, and a unique transcriptome profile, suggesting this model could help in researching bone-related disorders using cells from patients.
Cardiac amyloidosis (CAM), the most common cardiac storage disease is associated with significant changes in left-ventricular (LV) morphology and function. To gain particular insights into LV systolic longitudinal myocardial mechanics we investigated seven parameters derived by speckle-tracking-echocardiography (STE) in patients with confirmed CAM (n = 59). The results were compared with those of individuals with healthy heart (n = 150) and another primary myocardial disease with also thickened myocardium and severe diastolic and systolic LV-dysfunction (symptomatic LV-non-compaction-cardiomyopathy, LV-NC, n = 30).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmooth muscle cells (SMCs) are the predominant cell type in the aortic media. Their contractile machinery is important for the transmission of force in the aorta and regulates vasoconstriction and vasodilation. Mutations in genes encoding for the SMC contractile apparatus proteins are associated with aortic diseases, such as thoracic aortic aneurysms.
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