Polymorphic Protective Dps-DNA Co-Crystals by Cryo Electron Tomography and Small Angle X-Ray Scattering.

Rapid increase of intracellular synthesis of specific histone-like Dps protein that binds DNA to protect the genome against deleterious factors leads to in cellulo crystallization-one of the most curious processes in the area of life science at the moment. However, the actual structure of the Dps-DNA co-crystals remained uncertain in the details for more than two decades. Cryo-electron tomography and small-angle X-ray scattering revealed polymorphous modifications of the co-crystals depending on the buffer parameters.

Modification of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α and C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 18 Secretion by Monocytes Derived from Patients with Diabetic Foot Syndrome.

This study involves the investigation of spontaneous and induced secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the anti-inflammatory chemokine C-C motif chemokine ligand 18 (CCL18) by monocytes isolated from blood of patients with long-term type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), both with or without foot ulcers. A total of 121 patients with T2DM (79 without diabetic foot syndrome (DFS) and 42 patients with DFS) were included. Cluster of Differentiation 14 (CD14+) monocytes were isolated from patients' blood and stimulated by interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and interleukin-4 (IL-4) for induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory monocyte activation, respectively.

[Resynchronization Therapy for Chronic Heart Failure: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Approaches].

Chronic heart failure (CHF) remains one of the most important problems of modern cardiology. One of the effective treatment methods is resynchronization therapy (RT). The article presents an analysis of literature data on the effectiveness of RT in improving the quality of life, reducing the number of hospitalizations and mortality in patients with heart failure with severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction and expanding QRS complex, and also discusses key methods for optimizing RT.

Neurodegenerative Diseases Associated with Mitochondrial DNA Mutations.

Mitochondrial dysfunction underlies several human chronic pathologies, including cardiovascular disorders, cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. Impaired mitochondrial function associated with oxidative stress can be a result of both nuclear and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations. Neurological disorders associated with mtDNA mutations include mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia, neurogenic weakness, and Leigh syndrome.

Mitochondrion as a Selective Target for the Treatment of Atherosclerosis: Role of Mitochondrial DNA Mutations and Defective Mitophagy in the Pathogenesis of Atherosclerosis and Chronic Inflammation.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition that affects different arteries in the human body and often leads to severe neurological complications, such as stroke and its sequelae. Affected blood vessels develop atherosclerotic lesions in the form of focal thickening of the intimal layer, so called atherosclerotic plaques.

Objectives: Despite the high priority of atherosclerosis research for global health and the numerous preclinical and clinical studies conducted, currently, there is no effective pharmacological treatment that directly impacts atherosclerotic plaques.

Immune-Inflammatory Responses in Atherosclerosis: The Role of Myeloid Cells.

Inflammation plays a key role in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and can be caused by multiple agents, including increased concentration of circulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol. Areas of the arterial wall affected by atherosclerosis are enriched with lymphocytes and dendritic cells (DCs). Atherosclerotic plaques contain a variety of proinflammatory immune cells, such as macrophages, DCs, T cells, natural killer cells, neutrophils and others.

preserves bone quality through the regulation of gut microbiota diversity, oxidative stress, TMAO and Sirt6 levels in aging mice.

Gut dysbiosis and oxidative stress may trigger senile osteoporosis. (FLL) has bone-preserving properties and affects the intestinal microecology. However, the mechanism of the anti-osteoporotic effect of FLL and its link to the gut microbiota remains to be elucidated.

Therapeutic effects of garlic in cardiovascular atherosclerotic disease.

Garlic (Allium sativum) is a widely known medicinal plant, potential of which remains to be fully evaluated. Its wide-range beneficial effects appear to be relevant for treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis and related diseases. It is generally believed that garlic-based preparations are able to improve lipid profile in humans, inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis, suppress low density lipoprotein oxidation, modulate blood pressure, suppress platelet aggregation, lower plasma fibrinogen level and increase fibrinolytic activity, thus providing clinically relevant cardioprotective and anti-atherosclerotic effects.

MicroRNAs as Potential Biomarkers in Atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a complex multifactorial disease that, despite advances in lifestyle management and drug therapy, remains to be the major cause of high morbidity and mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in industrialized countries. Therefore, there is a great need in reliable diagnostic/prognostic biomarkers and effective treatment alternatives to reduce its burden. It was established that microRNAs (miRNAs/miRs), a class of non-coding single-stranded RNA molecules, can regulate the expression of genes at the post-transcriptional level and, accordingly, coordinate the cellular protein expression.

The role of mitochondria in cardiovascular diseases related to atherosclerosis.

Atherosclerosis is a complex disorder that involves several mechanisms of pathogenesis tightly related to each other: lipid accumulation, inflammation and structural changes in the arterial wall. The main source of lipids accumulating in the arterial wall is low-density lipoprotein (LDL) atherogenically modified by desialylation or oxidation. Oxidized LDL can be produced as a result of enhanced generation of reactive oxygen species by mitochondria during oxidative stress.

Atherosclerosis prevention: the role of special diets and functional food.

Accumulating evidence highlight the importance of diet in the pathogenesis as well as prevention of atherosclerosis. In this review, we summarize the results of recent studies that demonstrate direct and indirect effects if functional foods and their analogues in prevention of initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. We discuss the epidemiological and clinical observations of such diets and dicuss their effects on the pathological mechanisms that drive atherosclerosis at cellular and molecular level.

Prevention of atherosclerosis: the role of special diets and functional foods.

The importance of diet for prevention of atherosclerosis is supported by numerous studies. However, to date, no rigorous method exists to assess its impact. Dietary ingredients and supplements and functional foods receive special attention as promising components in prevention of atherosclerosis.

Creation of Cybrid Cultures Containing mtDNA Mutations m.12315G>A and m.1555G>A, Associated with Atherosclerosis.

In the present work, a pilot creation of four cybrid cultures with high heteroplasmy level was performed using mitochondrial genome mutations m.12315G>A and m.1555G>A.

Heteroplasmic Variants of Mitochondrial DNA in Atherosclerotic Lesions of Human Aortic Intima.

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are likely involved in atherogenesis. Since the mitochondrial genome variation can alter functional activity of cells, it is necessary to assess the presence in atherosclerotic lesions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) heteroplasmic mutations known to be associated with different pathological processes and ageing. In this study, mtDNA heteroplasmy and copy number (mtCN) were evaluated in the autopsy-derived samples of aortic intima differing by the type of atherosclerotic lesions.

Modelling of atherosclerosis in genetically modified animals.

Atherosclerosis is a lipid-driven, chronic inflammatory disease that leads to plaque formation at specific sites of the arterial tree. Being the common cause of many cardiovascular disorders, atherosclerosis makes a tremendous impact on morbidity and mortality rates of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in countries with higher income. Animal models of atherosclerosis are utilized as useful tools for studying the aetiology, pathogenesis and complications of atherosclerosis, thus, providing a valuable platform for the efficacy testing of different pharmacological therapies and validation of imaging techniques.

Clinical Efficacy of а Medical Centre- and Home-based Cardiac Rehabilitation Program for Patients with Coronary Heart Disease After Coronary Bypass Graft Surgery.

Background: Rehabilitation measures are crucial for maintaining clinical benefits of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. We evaluated the clinical efficacy of a medical centre- and home-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) for patients after CABG in an out-patient setting.

Methods: The study included 36 male patients 3-8 weeks after CABG that were randomly assigned to either study or control group.

Changes in Mitochondrial Genome Associated with Predisposition to Atherosclerosis and Related Disease.

Atherosclerosis-related cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and the search for novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods is ongoing. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations associated with atherosclerosis represent one of the less explored aspects of the disease pathogenesis that may bring some interesting opportunities for establishing novel molecular markers and, possibly, new points of therapeutic intervention. Recent studies have identified a number of mtDNA mutations, for which the heteroplasmy level was positively or negatively associated with atherosclerosis, including the disease at its early, subclinical stages.

Characterization of Organic Layer in Oil Carbonate Reservoir Rocks and its Effect on Microscale Wetting Properties.

Effective production of oil from carbonate reservoirs often requires the application of improved oil recovery technologies such as waterflooding. However, conventional waterflooding in carbonates usually results in low hydrocarbon recovery as most of these formations exhibit a complex pore throats structure and are mostly oil-wet. Therefore, improved insight into the causes of hydrophobic wetting behavior of such reservoirs is important for understanding the fluid distribution, displacement and enhancing recovery processes.

The Atherogenic Role of Circulating Modified Lipids in Atherosclerosis.

Lipid accumulation in the arterial wall is a crucial event in the development of atherosclerotic lesions. Circulating low-density lipoprotein (LDL) is the major source of lipids that accumulate in the atherosclerotic plaques. It was discovered that not all LDL is atherogenic.

Trained Circulating Monocytes in Atherosclerosis: Model Approach.

Inflammation is one of the key processes in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Numerous studies are focused on the local inflammatory processes associated with atherosclerotic plaque initiation and progression. However, changes in the activation state of circulating monocytes, the main components of the innate immunity, may precede the local events.

Correction to: Rehmanniae Radix Preparata suppresses bone loss and increases bone strength through interfering with canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in OVX rats.

There was a mistake in the part of OVX rats model and RRP intervention in the original publication.

Pericytes in Atherosclerosis.

Pericytes are pluripotent cells found in the vascular wall of both capillaries and large blood vessels. Pericytes are highly heterogeneous cells in terms of phenotype, tissue distribution, origin and functions, and they play an important role in the regulation of vascular morphogenesis and function. Pericytes were shown to be involved in tissue development and homeostasis, as well as in pathological processes, including atherosclerosis.