IKKα-STAT3-S727 axis: a novel mechanism in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapeutic drug, but its use can lead to cardiomyopathy, which is the leading cause of mortality among cancer patients. Macrophages play a role in DOX-induced cardiomyopathy (DCM), but the mechanisms undlerlying this relationship remain unclear. This study aimed to investigate how IKKα regulates macrophage activation and contributes to DCM in a mouse model.

Ascorbic acid induces MLC2v protein expression and promotes ventricular-like cardiomyocyte subtype in human induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes.

The potentially unlimited number of cardiomyocyte (CMs) derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) facilitates high throughput applications like cell transplantation for myocardial repair, disease modelling, and cardiotoxicity testing during drug development. Despite promising progress in these areas, a major disadvantage that limits the use of hiPSC derived CMs (hiPSC-CMs) is their immaturity. : Three hiPSC lines (PCBC-hiPSC, DP3-hiPSCs, and MLC2v-mEGFP hiPSC) were differentiated into CMs (PCBC-CMs, DP3-CMs, and MLC2v-CMs, respectively) with or without retinoic acid (RA).

Macrophage, a potential targeted therapeutic immune cell for cardiomyopathy.

Cardiomyopathy is a major cause of heart failure, leading to systolic and diastolic dysfunction and promoting adverse cardiac remodeling. Macrophages, as key immune cells of the heart, play a crucial role in inflammation and fibrosis. Moreover, exogenous and cardiac resident macrophages are functionally and phenotypically different during cardiac injury.

A diastolic dysfunction model in non-human primates with transverse aortic constriction.

Transverse aortic constriction (TAC) has been widely used to study cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, diastolic dysfunction, and heart failure in rodents. Few studies have been reported in preclinical animal models. The similar physiology and anatomy between non-human primates (NHPs) and humans make NHPs valuable models for disease modeling and testing of drugs and devices.

I-B Kinase- Deficiency Attenuates the Development of Angiotensin II-Induced Myocardial Hypertrophy in Mice.

I-B kinase- (IKK) is a member of the IKK complex and a proinflammatory regulator that is active in many diseases. Angiotensin II (Ang II) is a vasoconstricting peptide hormone, and Ang II-induced myocardial hypertrophy is a common cardiovascular disease that can result in heart failure. In this study, we sought to determine the role of IKK in the development of Ang II-induced myocardial hypertrophy in mice.

A Novel Molecular Mechanism of IKK-Mediated Akt/mTOR Inhibition in the Cardiomyocyte Autophagy after Myocardial Infarction.

Autophagy of cardiomyocytes after myocardial infarction (MI) is an important factor affecting the prognosis of MI. Excessive autophagy can lead to massive death of cardiomyocytes, which will seriously affect cardiac function. IKK plays a crucial role in the occurrence of autophagy, but the functional role in MI remains largely unknown.

Angiopoietin-1 enhanced myocyte mitosis, engraftment, and the reparability of hiPSC-CMs for treatment of myocardial infarction.

Aims: To examine whether transient over-expression of angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) increases the potency of hiPSC-CMs for treatment of heart failure.

Methods And Results: Atrial hiPSC-CMs (hiPSC-aCMs) were differentiated from hiPSCs and purified by lactic acid and were transfected with Ang-1 (Ang-1-hiPSC-aCMs) plasmid using lipoSTEM. Ang-1 gene transfection efficiency was characterized in vitro.

Dexamethasone inhibits regeneration and causes ventricular aneurysm in the neonatal porcine heart after myocardial infarction.

Aims: Recently, we demonstrated that the hearts of neonatal pigs (2-day old) have regenerative capacity, likely driven by cardiac myocyte division, but this potential is lost immediately after postnatal day 3. However, it is unknown if corticosteroid, a broad anti-inflammatory agent, will abrogate the regenerative capacity in the hearts of neonatal pigs. The aim of the current study is to evaluate the effect Dexamethasone (Dex), a broad anti-inflammatory agent, on heart regeneration, structure, and function of the neonatal pigs' post-myocardial infarction (MI).

IKK Epsilon Deficiency Attenuates Angiotensin II-Induced Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation in Mice by Inhibiting Inflammation, Oxidative Stress, and Apoptosis.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a vascular disorder that is considered a chronic inflammatory disease. However, the precise molecular mechanisms involved in AAA have not been fully elucidated. Recently, significant progress has been made in understanding the function and mechanism of action of inhibitor of kappa B kinase epsilon (IKK) in inflammatory and metabolic diseases.

De Ritis ratio as a significant prognostic factor of international normalized ratio ≥4 in the initial 10 days of warfarin therapy.

To assess the relationship between the De Ritis ratio on admission and warfarin sensitivity in the initial 10 days of anticoagulation therapy. We retrospectively reviewed data from 906 patients who underwent heart valve replacement surgery. A De Ritis ratio of 1.

Non-viral vector based gene transfection with human induced pluripotent stem cells derived cardiomyocytes.

Non-viral transfection of mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs) is challenging. The current study aims to characterize and determine the non-viral vector based gene transfection efficiency with human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs). hiPSC-CMs differentiated from PCBC hiPSCs were used as a cell model to be transfected with plasmids carrying green fluorescence protein (pGFP) using polyethylenimine (PEI), including Transporter 5 Transfection Reagent (TR5) and PEI25, and liposome, including lipofectamine-2000 (Lipo2K), lipofectamine-3000 (Lipo3K), and Lipofectamine STEM (LipoSTEM).

Macrophage-Specific IκB Kinase α Contributes to Ventricular Remodelling and Dysfunction After Myocardial Infarction.

Background: The IκB kinase (IKK) complex has been found to have critical functions in cancer and the immune system. In particular, IKKα, which is a member of the IKK complex, has been shown to influence the inflammatory response and malignant diseases. However, the role of IKKα in macrophages after myocardial infarction (MI) remains largely unknown.

I-κB kinase-ε knockout protects against angiotensin II induced aortic valve thickening in apolipoprotein E deficient mice.

Aortic stenosis (AS) is considered to be an actively regulated progress that involves similar pathophysiological processes as atherosclerosis. I-κB kinase-ε (IKKε) is a proinflammatory molecule involved in atherosclerosis. The objective of the present study was to define the role of IKKε in pathological valvular remodeling.

Stem Cell Homing: a Potential Therapeutic Strategy Unproven for Treatment of Myocardial Injury.

Despite advances in the prevention and therapeutic modalities of ischemic heart disease, morbidity and mortality post-infarction heart failure remain big challenges in modern society. Stem cell therapy is emerging as a promising therapeutic strategy. Stem cell homing, the ability of stem cells to find their destination, is receiving more attention.

Risk factors for early death in primary malignant cardiac tumors: An analysis of over 40 years and 500 patients.

Objectives: To investigate risk factors contributing to early death in patients diagnosed with primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) and derive better understanding of these poorly characterized individuals.

Method: Data from the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End-Results (SEER) registries on 564 patients diagnosed with PMCTs between 1973 and 2014 were analyzed. Early death was defined as survival of ≤3 months from the time of diagnosis.

Association between apolipoprotein E genotype and warfarin response during initial anticoagulation.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotypes are associated with warfarin dose requirements in various populations. Whether APOE genotypes mediate the warfarin response is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic contributions of different APOE genotypes to the early phase of anticoagulation in Han Chinese patients.

Cortistatin attenuates angiotensin II-induced abdominal aortic aneurysm through inactivation of the ERK1/2 signaling pathways.

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a fatal disease that is associated with chronic inflammation in the vessel wall. Cortistatin is implicated in inflammation, vascular smooth muscle cell migration and other cardiovascular pathologies. But, the hypothetical effect of cortistatin on AAA remains uncertain.

Prevalence of primary cardiac tumor malignancies in retrospective studies over six decades: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The incidence of patients diagnosed with primary malignant cardiac tumors (PMCTs) has increased greatly in the past few decades. Whether this rising prevalence is due to overdiagnosis or an increased malignancy rate of primary cardiac tumors (PCTs) remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published retrospective studies to determine whether the malignancy rate has been increasing over time.