Aims Macrophages have a critical and dual role in post-ischaemic cardiac repair, as they can foster both tissue healing and damage. Multiple subsets of tissue resident and monocyte-derived macrophages coexist in the infarcted heart, but their precise identity, temporal dynamics, and the mechanisms regulating their acquisition of discrete states are not fully understood. To address this, we used multi-modal

Brown adipocytes within brown adipose tissue (BAT) and beige adipocytes within white adipose tissue dissipate nutritional energy as heat. Studies in mice have shown that activation of thermogenesis in brown and beige adipocytes enhances the lipolytic processing of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) in plasma to supply these adipocytes with fatty acids for oxidation. This process results in formation

Although the available evidence emphasizes the beneficial effects of probiotics in normalizing various cardiometabolic markers, there is still substantial uncertainty in this regard. Thus, we set out to determine the effect sizes of probiotics on blood lipid parameters more coherently. A systematic literature search of the Medline (PubMed) and Scopus databases was conducted from inception to February

Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR-CA) is an increasingly recognized cause of heart failure (HF) and mortality worldwide. Advances in non-invasive diagnosis, coupled with the development of effective treatments, have shifted ATTR-CA from a rare and untreatable disease to a relatively prevalent condition that clinicians should consider on a daily basis. Amyloid fibril formation results from age-related

Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) have been used to treat patients with type 2 diabetes since 2005 and have become popular because of the efficacy and durability in relation to glycaemic control in combination with weight loss in most patients. Today in 2022, seven GLP-1 RAs, including oral semaglutide are available for treatment of type 2 diabetes. Since the efficacy in relation

Aims We investigated the association of fasting triglycerides with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods and results This cohort study included US adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988 to 2014. CVD mortality outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs)

Aims Hypertension (HTN) can lead to heart and kidney damage. The gut microbiota has been linked to HTN, although it is difficult to estimate its significance due to the variety of other features known to influence HTN. In the present study, we used germ-free (GF) and colonized (COL) littermate mice to quantify the impact of microbial colonization on organ damage in HTN. Methods and results Four-week-old

Here we review the highlights of cardiovascular basic science in published in 2021 and early 2022 on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology Council for Basic Cardiovascular Science. We begin with non-coding RNAs which have emerged as central regulators cardiovascular biology, and then discuss how technological developments in single-cell ‘omics are providing new insights in cardiovascular development

A bidirectional relationship exists between hypertension and psychiatric disorders, including unipolar and bipolar depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), psychosis, schizophrenia, mania, and dementia/cognitive decline. Repurposing of antihypertensive drugs to treat mental disorders is thus being explored. A systematic knowledge of the mechanisms of action and clinical consequences

Andersen Tawil Syndrome (ATS) is a rare inheritable disease associated with loss-of-function mutations in KCNJ2, the gene coding the strong inward rectifier potassium channel Kir2.1, which forms an essential membrane protein controlling cardiac excitability. ATS is usually marked by a triad of periodic paralysis, life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias and dysmorphic features, but its expression is variable

Obesity and heart failure (HF) with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) represent two intermingling epidemics driving perhaps the greatest unmet health problem in cardiovascular medicine in the 21st century. Many patients with HFpEF are either overweight or obese, and recent data have shown that increased body fat and its attendant metabolic sequelae have widespread, protean effects systemically and

Aims Declining cellular functional capacity resulting from stress or aging is a primary contributor to impairment of myocardial performance. Molecular pathway regulation of biological processes in cardiac interstitial cells (CICs) is pivotal in stress and aging responses. Altered localization of the RNA binding protein Lin28A has been reported in response to environmental stress, but the role of Lin28A

Aims Elevated blood pressure (BP) is a prevalent modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and contributes to cognitive decline in late life. Despite the fact that functional changes may precede irreversible structural damage and emerge in an ongoing manner, studies have been predominantly informed by brain structure and group-level inferences. Here, we aim to delineate neurobiological correlates

Long COVID has become a world-wide, non-communicable epidemic, caused by long-lasting multi-organ symptoms that endure for weeks or months after SARS-CoV-2 infection has already subsided. This scientific document aims to provide insight into the possible causes and therapeutic options available for the cardiovascular manifestations of long COVID. In addition to chronic fatigue, which is a common symptom

Aims Growing evidence correlate the accrual of the sphingolipid ceramide in plasma and cardiac tissue with heart failure (HF). Regulation of sphingolipid metabolism in the heart and the pathological impact of its derangement remain poorly understood. Recently, we discovered that Nogo-B, a membrane protein of endoplasmic reticulum, abundant in the vascular wall, down-regulates the sphingolipid de novo

Coronary stents have revolutionized the treatment of coronary artery disease. Compared with balloon angioplasty, bare-metal stents effectively prevented abrupt vessel closure but were limited by in-stent restenosis due to smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointimal hyperplasia. The first-generation drug-eluting stent (DES), with its antiproliferative drug coating, offered substantial advantages

Healthy soil is foundational to human health. Healthy soil is needed to grow crops, provides food, and sustains populations. It supports diverse ecosystems and critical ecological services such as pollination. It stores water and prevents floods. It captures carbon and slows global climate change. Soil pollution is a great and growing threat to human health. Soil may be polluted by heavy metals, organic

AIMS Concern about the cardiovascular safety of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines among individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD) may lead to vaccine hesitancy. We sought to assess the association between two COVID-19 vaccines, BNT162b2 and CoronaVac, and the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in individuals with established CVD. METHODS AND RESULTS We identified individuals

Aims Aging impairs cardiac function and increases susceptibility to myocardial ischemic injury. Cardiac myosin light chain kinase (MLCK3) phosphorylates cardiac myosin regulatory light chain (MLC2), controlling sarcomere organization and cardiomyocyte contraction. Dysregulation of MLCK3 and phosphorylated MLC2 (p-MLC2) contributes to heart failure after myocardial infarction (MI). We aimed at exploring

Aims Long QT syndrome (LQTS) carries a risk of life-threatening polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (Torsades de Pointes, TdP) and is a major cause of premature sudden cardiac death. TdP is induced by R-on-T premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), thought to be generated by cellular early-afterdepolarisations (EADs). However, EADs in tissue require cellular synchronisation, and their role in TdP induction

The defects in mitochondrial clearance mechanisms can trigger adverse cardiac remodeling and severely impair cardiac performance. A new study identifies Ulk1/Rab9 mediated alternative mitophagy to be important for mitochondrial clearance in heart under pressure overload conditions. Moreover, the defects in ULK1 mediated alternative mitophagy resulted in accumulation of damaged mitochondria, severe

Aims The present study aims to characterise the genetic risk architecture of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) disease, the most common congenital heart defect. Methods and results We carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) including 2,236 BAV patients and 11,604 controls. This led to the identification of a new risk locus for BAV on chromosome 3q29. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2550262

Aims Endothelial function is essential for cardiovascular health, and flow-mediated dilation (FMD) is an established technique to measure it. This paper is to assess FMD values in apparently healthy individuals and provide reference values to facilitate wider clinical use. Methods and Results In 1,579 apparently healthy individuals (aged 18-76), fasted FMD values (data from 44 studies, 6 institutions

Aims Methylation of non-histone proteins is emerging as a central regulatory mechanism in health and disease. The methyltransferase SETD7 has shown to methylate and alter the function of a variety of proteins in vitro, however its function in the heart is poorly understood. The present study investigates the role of SETD7 in myocardial ischemic injury. Methods and Results Experiments were performed

Aims Thrombotic complications and vasculopathy have been extensively associated with severe COVID-19 infection, however the mechanisms inducing endotheliitis and the disruption of endothelial integrity in the microcirculation are poorly understood. We hypothesized that within the vessel wall, pericytes preferentially take up viral particles and mediate the subsequent loss of vascular integrity. Methods

Aims Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is markedly decreased in heart failure patients. Both BDNF and its receptor, Tropomyosin Related Kinase Receptor (TrkB), are expressed in cardiomyocytes, however the role of myocardial BDNF signaling in cardiac pathophysiology is poorly understood. Here we investigated the role of BDNF/TrkB signaling in cardiac stress response to exercise and pathological

Aims To test the hypothesis that the activation of the growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor signaling pathway within the myocardium both prevents and reverses diastolic dysfunction and pathophysiologic features consistent with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Impaired myocardial relaxation, fibrosis and ventricular stiffness, among other multi-organ morbidities, characterize

Obesity is an important contributing factor to the pathophysiology of atrial fibrillation (AF) and its complications by causing systemic changes, such as altered hemodynamic, increased sympathetic tone and low-grade chronic inflammatory state. In addition, adipose tissue is a metabolically active organ that comprises various types of fat deposits with discrete composition and localisation that show

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction Despite major attempts aiming to revascularize an ischemic heart, prognosis of cardiac ischemia remains poor. A major obstacle for the induction of new blood vessels, referred as therapeutic angiogenesis, is inefficient gene transfer in cardiac endothelial cells (ECs). This poor permissiveness to genetic modification is a limiting

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Fund Introduction Smoke-induced diseases cause 20% of global mortality. The toxic agents of cigarette smoke have notorious destructive effects on the cardiovascular system. Therefore, many people use e-cigarettes instead of traditional tobacco

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (NKFIA; NVKP-16-1-2016-0017 National Heart Program and OTKA-FK 134751) MTA-SE System Pharmacology Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, H-1089 Budapest, Hungary Ischemic heart

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Research, Development and Innovation Office Hungary Introduction Unexpected ischaemia-induced cardiac adverse events are major contributors to clinical trial discontinuation and drug attrition, and these effects remain undetected by routine preclinical cardiotoxicity assessment

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): National Research, Development and Innovation Office of Hungary (NKFIA; NVKP-16-1-2016-0017 National Heart Program and OTKA-FK 134751); MTA-SE System Pharmacology Research Group, Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Semmelweis University, H-1089 Budapest, Hungary We have previously

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Bolyai János Research Scholarship - BO/00837/21 to O.A., National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NKFIH) of Hungary - K135076 to B.M. Introduction Regular physical activity results in characteristic structural and functional changes in the heart, which are collectively referred

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – EU funding. Main funding source(s): European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme - No 952166 (REPAIR) Regione Toscana - Bando Ricerca Salute 2018 - PERCARE project. Severe remodeling processes may occur in the heart due to both genetic and non-genetic diseases. Structural remodeling, such as collagen deposition (fibrosis)

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Intracranial aneurysm (IA) rupture is a common cause of hemorrhagic stroke. IAs are present in 3 to 5% of the general population and the annual rupture rate of an IA has been estimated to 1%. Once formed, an IA can rupture immediately, grow before rupturing, or remain stable. Predicting the evolution of an unruptured IA is very difficult

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Medical Research Council (MR/V009540/1), Wellcome Trust (201543/B/16/Z) British Heart Foundation (FS/12/40/29712). Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inherited cardiac condition associated with diastolic dysfunction and sudden cardiac death. Disease genes for HCM are traditionally coding for proteins involved

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): The study was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF 310030_149986) attributed to MNG, the University of Fribourg and the Fonds Scientifique Cardiovasculaire FSC, Fribourg Hospital attributed to SC The spatiotemporal interaction of macrophages with the cardiac extracellular

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Singapore National Medical Research Council Background New treatments are needed to prevent post-angioplasty and stent restenosis in coronary artery disease (CAD) and peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients. Accumulated findings have shown that mitochondrial dysfunction is involved in

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): University of Genova Background Reactivation of cardiomyocyte renewal represents a milestone for cardiac regeneration. While broadly active in the early neonatal mammalian myocardium, such mechanism is lost soon after birth, with transition to defective repair. We previously showed that human amniotic fluid

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Aim To study frequency and nature of psychopathological symptoms in various forms of somatogenic asthenic syndrome in patients with high cardiovascular risk (CVR). Methods The quantitative anamnestic analysis of medical history, the variational statistics, the probabilistic allocation of clinical signs with estimation of reliability of the results

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Decompensated diabetic patients frequently suffer from ischemic complications including silent ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Purpose Aim of this study was to define prognostic value of low adherence to self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients as risk factor that leads to silent

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Fondazione Intesa San Paolo Introduction Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive degeneration of striated muscles; in addition to skeletal muscle impairment, DMD is also characterized by progressive myocardial disfunction. The low translational value of animal models and

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Research funded by grants of the Romanian Ministry of Education and Research, CNCS-UEFISCDI, project no. PN-III-P1-1.2-PCCDI-2017–0527 (Contract no. 83PCCDI/2018), project no. PN-III-P1-1.1-TE-2019–0811, within PNCDI III” (Contract no. TE 97/2020) Background Dislypidemia is a major risk

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public Institution(s). Main funding source(s): O.O.Bogomolets National Medical University Relevance: Amino acids are one of the important group of myocardial metabolites. Today metabolomic analysis has become an essential tool for understanding the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disorders [1, 3]. Coagulation factors interact with platelets by binding

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Foundation. Main funding source(s): Novo Nordisk Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) induces cardiac and cerebral microvascular dysfunction via increased glycation, oxidative stress and endothelial activation. Liraglutide, a glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor analogue, inhibited the reactive oxygen species producing enzyme NOX2 and adhesion molecules in

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): NWO - ZonMw (VIDI grant 016.176.340 to JL) Dutch Heart Foundation (ERA-CVD JTC2018 grant 2018T094; Dr. Dekker Program grant 2015T082 to JL) The Netherlands Cardio Vascular Research Initiative (CVON): the Dutch Heart Foundation, Dutch Federation of University Medical Center, the Netherlands