Neurochemical alterations of intrinsic cardiac ganglionated nerve plexus caused by arterial hypertension developed during ageing in spontaneously hypertensive and Wistar Kyoto rats.

The acknowledged hypothesis of the cause of arterial hypertension is the emerging disbalance in sympathetic and parasympathetic regulations of the cardiovascular system. This disbalance manifests in a disorder of sustainability of endogenous autonomic and sensory neural substances including calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). This study aimed to examine neurochemical alterations of intrinsic cardiac ganglionated nerve plexus (GP) triggered by arterial hypertension during ageing in spontaneously hypertensive rats of juvenile (prehypertensive, 8-9 weeks), adult (early hypertensive, 12-18 weeks) and elderly (persistent hypertensive, 46-60 weeks) age in comparison with the age-matched Wistar-Kyoto rats as controls.

Comparative analysis of intracardiac neural structures in the aged rats with essential hypertension.

Persistent arterial hypertension initiates cardiac autonomic imbalance and alters cardiac tissues. Previous studies have shown that neural component contributes to arterial hypertension etiology, maintenance, and progression and leads to brain damage, peripheral neuropathy, and remodeling of intrinsic cardiac neural plexus. Recently, significant structural changes of the intracardiac neural plexus were demonstrated in young prehypertensive and adult hypertensive spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), yet structural alterations of intracardiac neural plexus that occur in the aged SHR remain undetermined.

Internalisation of RGD-Engineered Extracellular Vesicles by Glioblastoma Cells.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive CNS tumour with no efficient treatment, partly due to the retention of anticancer drugs by the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and their insufficient concentration in tumour cells. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are attractive drug carriers because of their biocompatibility and ability to cross the BBB. Additional efficiency can be achieved by adding GBM-cell-specific ligands.

Comparative gross anatomy of epicardiac ganglionated nerve plexi on the human and sheep cardiac ventricles.

This study aimed to examine the distribution and quantitative parameters of the epicardiac ventricular neural ganglionated plexus in the hearts of humans and sheep, highlighting the differences of this plexus in humans and large models. Five non-sectioned pressure distended whole hearts of the human newborns and 10 hearts of newborn German black-faced lambs were investigated applying a histochemical method for acetylcholinesterase to stain epicardiac neural structures with their subsequent stereomicroscopic examination. In humans, the ventricular nerves are spread by four epicardiac nerve subplexuses, that is, the left and right coronary as well as the left and middle dorsal.

The distribution of sinoatrial nodal cells and their innervation in the pig.

The sinoatrial node (SAN) has been the object of interest of various studies. In experimental neurocardiology, the real challenge is the choice of the most appropriate animal model. Pig is routinely used animal due to its size and physiological features.

Comparison of Microglial Morphology and Function in Primary Cerebellar Cell Cultures on Collagen and Collagen-Mimetic Hydrogels.

Neuronal-glial cell cultures are usually grown attached to or encapsulated in an adhesive environment as evenly distributed networks lacking tissue-like cell density, organization and morphology. In such cultures, microglia have activated amoeboid morphology and do not display extended and intensively branched processes characteristic of the ramified tissue microglia. We have recently described self-assembling functional cerebellar organoids promoted by hydrogels containing collagen-like peptides (CLPs) conjugated to a polyethylene glycol (PEG) core.

Early structural alterations of intrinsic cardiac ganglionated plexus in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Persistent arterial hypertension leads to structural and functional remodeling of the heart resulting in myocardial ischemia, fibrosis, hypertrophy, and eventually heart failure. Previous studies have shown that individual neurons composing the intracardiac ganglia are hypertrophied in the failing human, dog, and rat hearts, indicating that this process involves changes in cardiac innervation. However, despite a wealth of data on changes in intrinsic cardiac ganglionated plexus (GP) in late-stage disease models, little is known about the effects of hypertension on cardiac innervation during the early onset of heart failure development.

Virus Mimetic Poly (I:C)-Primed Airway Exosome-like Particles Enter Brain and Induce Inflammatory Cytokines and Mitochondrial Reactive Oxygen Species in Microglia.

Viral infections induce extracellular vesicles (EVs) containing viral material and inflammatory factors. Exosomes can easily cross the blood-brain barrier during respiratory tract infection and transmit the inflammatory signal to the brain; however, such a hypothesis has no experimental evidence. The study investigated whether exosome-like vesicles (ELVs) from virus mimetic poly (I:C)-primed airway cells enter the brain and interact with brain immune cells microglia.

Chemical phenotypes of intrinsic cardiac neurons in the newborn pig (Sus scrofa domesticus Erxleben, 1777).

Intrinsic cardiac neurons (ICNs) are crucial cells in the neural regulation of heart rhythm, myocardial contractility, and coronary blood flow. ICNs exhibit diversity in their morphology and neurotransmitters that probably are age-dependent. Therefore, neuroanatomical heart studies have been currently focused on the identification of chemical phenotypes of ICNs to disclose their possible functions in heart neural regulation.

Anatomical evidence of non-parasympathetic cardiac nitrergic nerve fibres in rat.

Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)-derived nitric oxide (NO) plays a major role in the neural control of circulation and in many cardiovascular diseases. However, the exact mechanism of how NO regulates these processes is still not fully understood. This study was designed to determine the possible sources of nitrergic nerve fibres supplying the heart attempting to imply their role in the cardiac neural control.

Fatty Acid Oxidation and Mitochondrial Morphology Changes as Key Modulators of the Affinity for ADP in Rat Heart Mitochondria.

Fatty acids are the main respiratory substrates important for cardiac function, and their oxidation is altered during various chronic disorders. We investigated the mechanism of fatty acid-oxidation-induced changes and their relations with mitochondrial morphology and ADP/ATP carrier conformation on the kinetics of the regulation of mitochondrial respiration in rat skinned cardiac fibers. Saturated and unsaturated, activated and not activated, long and medium chain, fatty acids similarly decreased the apparent K.

Common variation in FAM155A is associated with diverticulitis but not diverticulosis.

Colonic diverticulosis is a very common condition. Many patients develop diverticulitis or other complications of diverticular disease. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) consistently identified three major genetic susceptibility factors for both conditions, but did not discriminate diverticulititis and diverticulosis in particular due the limitations of registry-based approaches.

Ultrastructural changes of the human enteric nervous system and interstitial cells of Cajal in diverticular disease.

Background: In spite of numerous advances in understanding diverticular disease, its pathogenesis remains one of the main problems to be solved. We aimed to investigate the ultrastructural changes of the enteric nervous system in unaffected individuals, in asymptomatic patients with diverticulosis and in patients with diverticular disease.

Methods: Transmission electron microscopy was used to analyse samples of the myenteric, outer submucosal and inner submucosal plexuses from patients without diverticula (n=9), asymptomatic patients with diverticulosis (n=7) and in patients with complicated diverticular disease (n=9).

Alterations in enteric calcitonin gene-related peptide in patients with colonic diverticular disease: CGRP in diverticular disease.

Diverticular disease (DD) is one of the most prevalent diseases of the large bowel. Lately, imbalance of neuro-muscular transmission has been recognized as a major etiological factor for DD. Neuronal calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a potent gastrointestinal smooth muscle relaxant shown to have a widespread effect within the alimentary tract.

A Variant of COL3A1 (rs3134646) Is Associated With Risk of Developing Diverticulosis in White Men.

Background: Colonic diverticulosis is one of the most common gastroenterological disorders. Although diverticulosis is typically benign, many individuals develop diverticulitis or other aspects of diverticular disease. Diverticulosis is thought to stem from a complex interaction of environmental, dietary, and genetic factors; however, the contributing genetic factors remain unknown.

Heart rate variability after radiofrequency ablation of epicardial ganglionated plexuses on the ovine left atrium.

Background: Ganglionated plexuses (GP) are terminal parts of cardiac autonomous nervous system (ANS). Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) possibly affects GP. Changes in heart rate variability (HRV) after RFA can reflect ANS modulation.

Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester Reduces Ischemia-Induced Kidney Mitochondrial Injury in Rats.

During partial nephrectomy, the avoidance of ischemic renal damage is extremely important as duration of renal artery clamping (i.e., ischemia) influences postoperative kidney function.

Neuroanatomy of the Pig Cardiac Ventricles. A Stereomicroscopic, Confocal and Electron Microscope Study.

Although the pig is a model for heart disease, the neuroanatomy of cardiac ventricles (CV) in this species remains undetailed. We aimed to define the innervation pattern of pig CV, combining histochemistry for acetylcholinesterase, immunofluorescent labeling and electron microscopy. Forty nine examined pig hearts show that the major nerves supplying the ventral side of CV descend from the venous part of the heart hilum.

Innervation of sinoatrial nodal cells in the rabbit.

In spite of the fact that the rabbit is being widely used as a laboratory animal in experimental neurocardiology, neural control of SAN cells in the rabbit heart has been insufficiently examined thus far. This study analyzes the distribution of SAN cells and their innervation pattern employing fluorescent immunohistochemistry on rabbit whole mount atrial preparations. A dense network of adrenergic (positive for TH), cholinergic (positive for ChAT), nitrergic (positive for nNOS) and possibly sensory (positive for SP) NFs together with numerous neuronal somata were identified on the RRCV where the main mass of SAN cells positive for HCN4 were distributed as well.

Short ischemia induces rat kidney mitochondria dysfunction.

Renal artery clamping itself induces renal ischemia which subsequently causes renal cell injury and can lead to renal failure. The duration of warm ischemia that would be safe for postoperative kidney function during partial nephrectomy remains under investigations. Mitochondria play an important role in pathophysiology of ischemia-reperfusion induced kidney injury, however relation between ischemia time and mitochondrial dysfunction are not fully elucidated.

Innervation of the rabbit cardiac ventricles.

The rabbit is widely used in experimental cardiac physiology, but the neuroanatomy of the rabbit heart remains insufficiently examined. This study aimed to ascertain the architecture of the intrinsic nerve plexus in the walls and septum of rabbit cardiac ventricles. In 51 rabbit hearts, a combined approach involving: (i) histochemical acetylcholinesterase staining of intrinsic neural structures in total cardiac ventricles; (ii) immunofluorescent labelling of intrinsic nerves, nerve fibres (NFs) and neuronal somata (NS); and (iii) transmission electron microscopy of intrinsic ventricular nerves and NFs was used.

A combined acetylcholinesterase and immunohistochemical method for precise anatomical analysis of intrinsic cardiac neural structures.

A significant challenge when investigating autonomic neuroanatomy is being able to reliably obtain tissue that contains neuronal structures of interest. Currently, histochemical staining for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) remains the most feasible and reliable method to visualize intrinsic nerves and ganglia in whole organs. In order to precisely visualize and sample intrinsic cardiac nerves and ganglia for subsequent immunofluorescent labeling, we developed a modified histochemical AChE method using material from pig and sheep hearts.

Innervation of sinoatrial nodal cardiomyocytes in mouse. A combined approach using immunofluorescent and electron microscopy.

Fluorescent immunohistochemistry on the cardiac conduction system in whole mount mouse heart preparations demonstrates a particularly dense and complex network of nerve fibres and cardiomyocytes which are positive to the hyperpolarization activated cyclic nucleotide-gated potassium channel 4 (HCN4-positive cardiomyocytes) in the sinoatrial node region and adjacent areas around the root of right cranial vein. The present study was designed to investigate the morphologic and histochemical pattern of nerve fibres and HCN4-positive cardiomyocytes using fluorescent techniques and/or electron microscopy. Adrenergic and cholinergic nerve fibres together with HCN4-positive cardiomyocytes were identified using primary antibodies for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), and the HCN4 channel respectively.

Morphological pattern of intrinsic nerve plexus distributed on the rabbit heart and interatrial septum.

Although the rabbit is routinely used as the animal model of choice to investigate cardiac electrophysiology, the neuroanatomy of the rabbit heart is not well documented. The aim of this study was to examine the topography of the intrinsic nerve plexus located on the rabbit heart surface and interatrial septum stained histochemically for acetylcholinesterase using pressure-distended whole hearts and whole-mount preparations from 33 Californian rabbits. Mediastinal cardiac nerves entered the venous part of the heart along the root of the right cranial vein (superior caval vein) and at the bifurcation of the pulmonary trunk.

Neuroanatomy of the murine cardiac conduction system: a combined stereomicroscopic and fluorescence immunohistochemical study.

The mouse heart is a popular model to study the function and autonomic control of the specialized cardiac conduction system (CCS). However, the precise identity and anatomical distribution of the intrinsic cardiac nerves that modulate the function of the mouse CCS have not been adequately studied. We aimed at determining the organization and distribution of the intrinsic cardiac nerves that supply the CCS of the mouse.