Impaired myocardium energetics associated with the risk for new-onset atrial fibrillation after isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery.

Background: New-onset postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) is one of the most common complications occurring in 10-40% of patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. Recent studies suggest that dysmetabolism may contribute to the pathogenesis of atrial fibrillation; however, the putative mechanism in patients undergoing CABG surgery is unknown. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ coactivator-1α (PGC-1α) has been demonstrated as a master regulator of myocardial energy metabolism, and glucose transporter 3 (GLUT3) has both a higher affinity for glucose and a much greater transport capacity compared with GLUT1, GLUT2, and GLUT4.

Left ventricular reconstruction with no-patch technique: early and late clinical outcomes.

Background: Few studies have evaluated late clinical outcome of no-patch technique in patients with large left ventricular aneurysms. The objectives of this study were to evaluate a no-patch surgical technique to reconstruct the left ventricle in patients with left ventricular aneurysm and to assess early and late clinical outcomes.

Methods: In 1995, we began using a no-patch technique in patients with dyskinetic left ventricular aneurysms.

Impact of off-pump techniques on sex differences in early and late outcomes after isolated coronary artery bypass grafts.

Background: Off-pump coronary artery bypass graft surgery (OPCAB) is associated with lower early mortality and benefits women disproportionately. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of off-pump techniques on sex differences in late outcomes.

Methods: We reviewed a clinical database of consecutive patients who underwent isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) at FuWai Hospital from 1999 to 2005.

Is it possible to obtain "true endothelial progenitor cells" by in vitro culture of bone marrow mononuclear cells?

In vitro-cultured bone marrow cells have been shown to contain some low-density lipoprotein (LDL) uptake-positive cells. Although a small portion of LDL uptake-positive cells had expression for endothelial markers, all of them demonstrated a phagocytosis function similar to monocyte/macrophages and expression of the panleukocyte surface marker CD45 and monocyte marker CD14. These LDL uptake-positive cells did not show significant proliferative capacity and died out gradually in long-term culture.

Adult endothelial progenitor cells from human peripheral blood maintain monocyte/macrophage function throughout in vitro culture.

Mononuclear cells (MNCs) isolated from peripheral blood by density gradient centrifugation were plated on human fibronectin-coated culture plates and cultured in EGM-2 medium. Attached spindle-shaped cells, reported as endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) by some investigators, had elongated from adherent round cells, but had not proliferated from a small number of cells as supposed previously. The growth curve of the primary EPCs showed that the cells had little proliferative capacity.