Regulatory T cells as a therapeutic target in acute myocardial infarction.

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI), mainly triggered by vascular occlusion or thrombosis, is the most prevalent cause of morbidity and mortality among all cardiovascular diseases. The devastating consequences of AMI are further aggravated by the intricate cellular processes involved in inflammation. In the past two decades, many studies have reported that regulatory T cells (Tregs), as the main immunoregulatory cells, play a crucial role in AMI progression.

C1q/TNF-related protein-2 improved angiogenesis to protect myocardial function during ischaemia‒reperfusion.

Background: Collateral growth plays an important role in the recovery of acute myocardial infarction. C1q/TNF-related protein-2 (CTRP2), a CTRP family member, showed some protective effects on cell survival. In this study, the relationship between CTRP2 and collateral growth was examined.

Perivascular adipose tissue-derived stromal cells contribute to vascular remodeling during aging.

Aging is an independent risk factor for vascular diseases. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), an active component of the vasculature, contributes to vascular dysfunction during aging. Identification of underlying cell types and their changes during aging may provide meaningful insights regarding the clinical relevance of aging-related vascular diseases.

Association of SLRPs with carotid artery atherosclerosis in essential hypertensive patients.

Recent research suggested that certain small leucine-rich repeat proteoglycans (SLRPs) were involved in the development of atherosclerosis. The present study investigated the relationship between carotid atherosclerosis plaque and the circulating levels of some SLRPs, including decorin, lumican, and osteoglycin, in essential hypertension. In total, 176 essential hypertensive patients were recruited (mean age 62.

Iron oxide nanoparticles and induced autophagy in human monocytes.

Superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles have been widely used in biomedical applications, but understanding of their interactions with the biological immune system is relatively limited. This work is focused on dextran-coated iron oxide nanoparticles and their induced autophagy in human monocytes. We found that these nanoparticles can be taken up by human monocytes, followed by localization within vesicles or free in cytoplasm.

Osteopontin regulates macrophage activation and osteoclast formation in hypertensive patients with vascular calcification.

Vascular calcification (VC) is a highly regulated ectopic mineral deposition process involving immune cell infiltration in the vasculatures, which has been recognized to be promoted by hypertension. The matricellular glycoprotein osteopontin (OPN) is strongly induced in myeloid cells as a potential inflammatory mediator of vascular injury. This study aims to examine whether OPN is involved in the regulation of macrophage activation and osteoclast formation in hypertensive subjects with VC.

Loss of osteoglycin promotes angiogenesis in limb ischaemia mouse models via modulation of vascular endothelial growth factor and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 signalling pathway.

Objective: Osteoglycin (OGN) has been noted for its implication in cardiovascular disease in recent studies. However, the relationship between OGN and angiogenesis remains unknown. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of OGN on ischaemia-induced angiogenesis and to address the underlying mechanisms.

Cyanate-Impaired Angiogenesis: Association With Poor Coronary Collateral Growth in Patients With Stable Angina and Chronic Total Occlusion.

Background: Cyanate has recently gained attention for its role in the pathogenesis of vascular injury. Nonetheless, the effect of cyanate on angiogenesis remains unclear.

Methods And Results: In this study, we demonstrated that oral administration of cyanate impaired blood perfusion recovery in a mouse hind-limb ischemia model.

Complement-mediated inhibition of adiponectin regulates perivascular inflammation and vascular injury in hypertension.

Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT)-derived adiponectin (APN) is a secreted adipokine that protects against hypertension-related cardiovascular injury. However, the regulation of APN expression in hypertension remains to be explored. In this study, we demonstrated that down-regulation of APN was associated with complement activation in the PVAT of desoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive mice.

Impact of weight gain following smoking cessation on one-year outcome after drug-eluting stent implantation.

Background: Weight gain following smoking cessation increases cardiovascular risk, but its effects on prognosis after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between weight gain post smoking cessation and one-year clinical outcome in patients who underwent PCI with drug-eluting stent (DES).

Methods: A total of 895 consecutive male smoking patients were divided into quitters (n = 437) and continuers (n = 458) according to their smoking status after PCI.

[The relationship between amount of cigarette smoked and insulin resistance in male patients with coronary artery disease].

Objective: To investigate the relationship between smoking and insulin resistance in non-obese male patients with CAD.

Methods: 414 consecutive non-obese male patients with angiographically-documented CAD (luminal diameter narrowing > 50%) were recruited, including 113 nonsmokers and 301 smokers. With 99 mild smokers (< 400 packs/year), 95 medium smokers (400 - 799 packs/year) and 107 heavy smokers (≥ 800 packs/year).

Biaxial thin-film coated-plate polarizing beam splitters.

We present a design for a biaxial thin-film coated-plate polarizing beam splitter that transmits the p-polarized component of a beam of light without change of direction and reflects the s-polarized component. The beam splitter has a periodic structure and is planned for fabrication by serial bideposition in mutually orthogonal planes. Recent experimental data for form-birefringent silicon is used to establish the feasibility of the design for a beam splitter to be used at 1310 nm and at an angle of 45 degrees in air.

Structurally perturbed chiral Bragg reflectors for elliptically polarized light.

The structure of an inorganic chiral medium represented as a stack of identical form-birefringent layers that twist steadily with increasing thickness is perturbed by realigning a fraction of each layer to a fixed direction. Experimental results show that the resulting chiral-birefringent composite medium exhibits Bragg resonance with elliptically polarized light, and simulations indicate that Bragg reflectors can be designed for any polarization including linear.

Inorganic positive uniaxial films fabricated by serial bideposition.

The physical vapor deposition process of serial bideposition is adapted to the fabrication of uniaxial optical coatings. During the coating process the vapor impinges at an angle of incidence of about 70 on to the substrate, and a stepwise axial rotation with 90 increments causes a columnar structure to grow normal to the substrate. Symmetry considerations that follow from the choice of 90 for the stepwise increment ensure that the film is achiral and has negligible in-plane linear birefringence.

Supermodes of chiral photonic filters with combined twist and layer defects.

We consider the circularly polarized localized modes of chiral photonic structures with combined central twist and isotropic layer defects. The general filter is shown to suffer from anomalous remittance and saturation of linewidth as the thickness of the structure is increased. However, by choosing parameters that phase match the elements of the round-trip matrix of the isotropic layer defect, we demonstrate the existence of supermodes that maintain exceptional purity of polarization state and exponential decrease in linewidth as the thickness is increased.