MED1 Regulates BMP/TGF-β in Endothelium: Implication for Pulmonary Hypertension.

Background: Dysregulated BMP (bone morphogenetic protein) or TGF-β (transforming growth factor beta) signaling pathways are imperative in idiopathic and familial pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) as well as experimental pulmonary hypertension (PH) in rodent models. MED1 (mediator complex subunit 1) is a key transcriptional co-activator and KLF4 (Krüppel-like factor 4) is a master transcription factor in endothelium. However, MED1 and KLF4 epigenetic and transcriptional regulations of the BMP/TGF-β axes in pulmonary endothelium and their dysregulations leading to PAH remain elusive.

Endothelial-derived extracellular microRNA-92a promotes arterial stiffness by regulating phenotype changes of vascular smooth muscle cells.

Endothelial dysfunction and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) plasticity are critically involved in the pathogenesis of hypertension and arterial stiffness. MicroRNAs can mediate the cellular communication between vascular endothelial cells (ECs) and neighboring cells. Here, we investigated the role of endothelial-derived extracellular microRNA-92a (miR-92a) in promoting arterial stiffness by regulating EC-VSMC communication.

SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein Impairs Endothelial Function via Downregulation of ACE2.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) includes the cardiovascular complications in addition to respiratory disease. SARS-CoV-2 infection impairs endothelial function and induces vascular inflammation, leading to endotheliitis. SARS-CoV-2 infection relies on the binding of Spike glycoprotein (S protein) to angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) in the host cells.

microRNA-483 ameliorates hypercholesterolemia by inhibiting PCSK9 production.

Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) affects cholesterol homeostasis by targeting hepatic LDL receptor (LDLR) for lysosomal degradation. Clinically, PCSK9 inhibitors effectively reduce LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) levels and the incidence of cardiovascular events. Because microRNAs (miRs) are integral regulators of cholesterol homeostasis, we investigated the involvement of miR-483 in regulating LDL-C metabolism.

Correction to: Cardiac rupture complicating acute myocardial infarction: the clinical features from an observational study and animal experiment.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article.

Risk factors for subclinical renal damage and its progression: Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Study.

Background/objectives: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a global public health problem, including in China. The aim of this study was to identify the risk factors for the development and progression of subclinical renal disease (SRD) in a Chinese population. We also examined whether the impact of the risk factors on SRD changed over time.

Cardiac rupture complicating acute myocardial infarction: the clinical features from an observational study and animal experiment.

Background: Cardiac rupture (CR) is a fatal complication of ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) with its incidence markedly declined in the recent decades. However, clinical features of CR patients now and the effect of reperfusion therapy to CR remain unclear. We investigated the clinical features of CR in STEMI patients and the effect of reperfusion therapy to CR in mice.

Long-term follow-up of antithrombotic management patterns in patients with acute coronary syndrome in China.

Objective: To describe the long-term antithrombotic management patterns (AMPs) and clinical outcomes of Chinese patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS).

Methods: This was an observational, multicenter, longitudinal cohort extension study of Chinese patients who had completed the EPICOR Asia 2-year follow-up study post-hospitalization for an ACS event. Changes in AMP and clinical outcomes for up to 5 years post-ACS event were evaluated.

Angiotensin II deteriorates advanced atherosclerosis by promoting MerTK cleavage and impairing efferocytosis through the ATR/ROS/p38 MAPK/ADAM17 pathway.

Vulnerable plaques in advanced atherosclerosis have defective efferocytosis. The role of ANG II in the progression of atherosclerosis is not fully understood. Herein, we investigated the effects and the underlying mechanisms of ANG II on macrophage efferocytosis in advanced atherosclerosis.

A prospective, multicenter, randomized OCT study of early neointimal condition at first and second months after BuMA Supreme stent versus XIENCE stent implantation in high-bleeding-risk coronary artery disease patients: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Earlier vascular healing after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation may reduce the incidence of late stent thrombosis and provide theoretical evidence to shorten dual antiplatelet therapy duration in patients with high bleeding risks. The BuMA supreme stent is a newly developed DES-coated with the sirolimus by using the international patent electronic grafted eG™ technology. Previous randomized trials showed that BuMA stents had better stent-strut coverage at 3-month follow-ups, which were evaluated by optical coherence tomography (OCT).

Predictors for progressions of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity and carotid intima-media thickness over a 12-year follow-up: Hanzhong Adolescent Hypertension Study.

Objective: Atherosclerotic diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the predictors of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) progression in a Chinese cohort over a 12-year follow-up period and to determine whether these predictors differ by follow-up time.

Methods: A total of 202 participants were recruited from a previously established cohort in Shaanxi Province, China.

Combination of the CYP2C19 metabolizer and the GRACE risk score better predicts the long-term major adverse cardiac events in acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Introduction: Both Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk score and CYP2C19 metabolizer status can independently predict major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). We investigated whether their combination could better predict MACE occurrence in patients with ACS undergoing PCI.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 548 consecutive patients with ACS undergoing PCI.

Association between urinary sodium excretion and uric acid, and its interaction on the risk of prehypertension among Chinese young adults.

High uric acid (UA) level and high salt intake are reportedly associated with cardiovascular disease. This study investigated the association between UA and urinary sodium excretion, as well as its interaction on the risk of prehypertension. A total of 1869 participants without hypertension were recruited from a previously established cohort in Shaanxi Province, China.

AMP-activated Protein Kinase Phosphorylation of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme 2 in Endothelium Mitigates Pulmonary Hypertension.

Rationale: Endothelial dysfunction plays an integral role in pulmonary hypertension (PH). AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) and ACE2 (angiotensin-converting enzyme 2) are crucial in endothelial homeostasis. The mechanism by which AMPK regulates ACE2 in the pulmonary endothelium and its protective role in PH remain elusive.

Effect of Salt Intake on Plasma and Urinary Uric Acid Levels in Chinese Adults: An Interventional Trial.

Uric acid (UA) has been proposed as an important risk factor for cardiovascular and renal morbidity. We conducted an interventional trial to assess effects of altered salt intake on plasma and urine UA levels and the relationship between UA levels and salt sensitivity in humans. Ninety subjects (18-65 years old) were sequentially maintained on a normal diet for 3 days at baseline, a low-salt diet for 7 days (3.

Short-Term High-Salt Diet Increases Corin Level to Regulate the Salt-Water Balance in Humans and Rodents.

Background: Dietary sodium and potassium affect the fluctuation in blood pressure (BP) and renal function. Corin, with its enzymatic activity to convert pro-atrial natriuretic peptide (pro-ANP) to biologically active ANP, regulates BP, cardiac, and renal functions. We investigated whether corin expression responds to a high-salt (HS) diet to regulate salt and water balance.

[Regression analysis of red cell distribution width and mean platelet volume in patients with acute myocardial infarction].

Objective: To investigate clinical implications of changes in red cell distribution width (RDW) and mean platelet volume (MPV) in patients with acute myocardial infarction.

Methods: A total of 127 patients (90 men and 37 women) were enrolled in this analysis, including 66 with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and 61 with unstable angina (UA). The patients' baseline demographic and clinical data were compared between the two groups including age, hypertension, diabetes, smoking, BMI, blood biochemical profiles, cardiac functions and platelet and red blood cell parameters.

[Pioglitazone ameliorates atherosclerosis in apoE knockout mice through transforming growth factor-β/Smad signaling and adaptive T cell immunity].

Objective: To examine whether transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) pathway and adaptive T cell immunity play roles in the anti-atherosclerotic effects of pioglitazone (PIO) in ApoE mice.

Methods: ApoE mice with atherosclerosis induced by high-fat feeding were treated daily with PIO (20 mg/kg) or vehicle for 8 weeks. The protein expressions of TGF-β pathway in the atheromatous lesions of the aorta and the percentages of IFN-γ and Foxp3 cells in the spleen of the mice were examined with immunohistochemical staining.

Effects of salt loading and potassium supplement on the circadian blood pressure profile in salt-sensitive Chinese patients.

Background And Objective: Salt-sensitive (SS) patients more frequently showed a nondipper blood pressure pattern and were associated with more serious target organ damage than non-SS patients. We aimed to investigate whether potassium supplement can improve the blunted nocturnal blood pressure fall in SS patients exposed to a high-salt diet.

Patients And Methods: Approximately 49 normotensive and mildly hypertensive Chinese patients received a study protocol of a 3 days of baseline examination, 7 days of a low-salt diet (3 g NaCl/day), 7 days of a high-salt diet (18 g NaCl/day), and 7 days of a high-salt diet with a potassium supplement (18 g NaCl and 4.

Dietary salt blunts vasodilation by stimulating epithelial sodium channels in endothelial cells from salt-sensitive Dahl rats.

Background And Purpose: Our recent studies show that the reduced activity of epithelial sodium channels (ENaC) in endothelial cells accounts for the adaptation of vasculature to salt in Sprague-Dawley rats. The present study examines a hypothesis that enhanced ENaC activity mediates the loss of vasorelaxation in Dahl salt-sensitive (SS) rats.

Experimental Approach: We used the cell-attached patch-clamp technique to record ENaC activity in split-open mesenteric arteries.

The Role of Uric Acid in Hypertension of Adolescents, Prehypertension and Salt Sensitivity of Blood Pressure.

Uric acid is the end product of purine metabolism. Metabolic disorders of uric acid are associated with many disease states. Substantial evidence suggests the possible role of uric acid as a mediator of high blood pressure.

Plasma Renalase is Not Associated with Blood Pressure and Brachial-Ankle Pulse Wave Velocity in Chinese Adults With Normal Renal Function.

Background/aims: This study aimed to investigate the association of renalase with blood pressure (BP) and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) in order to better understand the role of renalase in the pathogenesis of hypertension and atherosclerosis.

Methods: A total of 344 subjects with normal kidney function were recruited from our previously established cohort in Shaanxi Province, China. They were divided into the normotensive (NT) and hypertensive (HT) groups or high baPWV and normal baPWV on the basis of BP levels or baPWV measured with an automatic waveform analyzer.