Fetal cells traffic to injured maternal myocardium and undergo cardiac differentiation.

Rationale: Fetal cells enter the maternal circulation during pregnancy and may persist in maternal tissue for decades as microchimeras.

Objective: Based on clinical observations of peripartum cardiomyopathy patients and the high rate of recovery they experience from heart failure, our objective was to determine whether fetal cells can migrate to the maternal heart and differentiate to cardiac cells.

Methods And Results: We report that fetal cells selectively home to injured maternal hearts and undergo differentiation into diverse cardiac lineages.

Integrated role of two apoliprotein E polymorphisms on apolipoprotein B levels and coronary artery disease in a biethnic population.

Background: Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) plays a major role in lipoprotein metabolism and genetic variability of ApoE confers susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD). Beyond variability in the coding region, promoter polymorphisms in the ApoE gene impact on ApoE transcription.

Methods: We determined the ApoE - 491 A/T promoter polymorphism, ApoE isoforms, lipid and lipoprotein levels, and CAD risk factors in 313 Caucasians and 215 African Americans.

ApoE and ApoC-I polymorphisms: association of genotype with cardiovascular disease phenotype in African Americans.

Apolipoproteins (apo) E and C-I are components of triglyceride (TG)-rich lipoproteins and impact their metabolism. Functional polymorphisms have been established in apoE but not in apoC-I. We studied the relationship between apoE and apoC-I gene polymorphisms and plasma lipoproteins and coronary artery disease (CAD) in 211 African Americans and 306 Caucasians.

Effects of apoA-V on HDL and VLDL metabolism in APOC3 transgenic mice.

Apolipoprotein A-V (apoA-V) and apoC-III are exchangeable constituents of VLDL and HDL. ApoA-V counteracts the effect of apoC-III on triglyceride (TG) metabolism with poorly defined mechanisms. To better understand the effects of apoA-V on TG and cholesterol metabolism, we delivered apoA-V cDNA into livers of hypertriglyceridemic APOC3 transgenic mice by adenovirus-mediated gene transfer.

Carbohydrate restriction alters lipoprotein metabolism by modifying VLDL, LDL, and HDL subfraction distribution and size in overweight men.

To determine the effects of carbohydrate restriction (CR) with and without soluble fiber on lipoprotein metabolism, 29 men participated in a 12-wk weight loss intervention. Subjects were matched by age and BMI and randomly assigned to consume 3 g/d of either a soluble fiber supplement (n=14) or placebo (n=15) with a macronutrient energy distribution of approximately 10% carbohydrate, approximately 65% fat, and approximately 25% protein. Because the groups did not differ in any of the variables measured, all data were pooled and comparisons were made between baseline and 12 wk.