[Relationship of characteristic duration and magnitude of the oscillatory breathing related with exercise functional capacity in patients with chronic heart failure].

Objective: To find out the relationship between the duration and amplitude of oscillatory breathing (OB) and their exercise capacity in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) we did this study. Methods: Two hundred and thirty-seven CHF patients performed a maximum incremental upright cycle ergometry cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET). Respiratory gas exchange was measured on a breath-by-breath basis throughout the test. OB was defined as 3 or more continuous cycle fluctuations of ventilation during CPET, and the amplitude of VE oscillations exceed 25% of concurrent mean value. The CHF patients with OB (OB+) were divided into 3 sub-groups according to their Peak VO2. Group1 (mild OB+) Peak VO2 of ≥16 ml/min/kg, group 2 (moderate OB+) Peak VO2 is between 12~16 ml/min/kg, group 3 (severe OB+) Peak VO2 ≤ 12 ml/(min·kg). Results: There were 78(32.6%) patients detected as OB+ in 237 CHF patients. Among OB+ patients, OB duration in s related negatively to Peak VO2 in mL/min/kg (r=-0.82), Peak VO2 in %pred (r=-0.65), VO2 at AT (r=-0.78), and related positively to VE/VCO2 at AT (r=0.61). Conclusion: OB duration is related negatively to exercise capacity of CHF patients.

Inhibiting MicroRNA-497 Improves the Effects of Exercise Training on Myocardial Infarction.

Exercise training (ET) could improve myocardial infarction (MI), and microRNA-497 is highly associated with MI. This study aimed to investigate whether the regulation of miR-497 is involved in the positive effects of ET on MI. MI rat models induced by left anterior descending (LAD) were subjected to interval training and infarct size was observed. Blood and myocardial samples were collected from the rats for determining the expressions of miR-497. To evaluate the functions of miR-497, miR-497 agomir and antagomir were injected accordingly into grouped rats during ET, and subsequently, the expressions of apoptotic and inflammatory factors were determined. ET reduced the infarct size in MI rats and inhibited the levels of miR-497. MiR-497 agomir injection enlarged the infarct size, and reversed the shrunk infarct size induced by ET. However, miR-497 antagomir further promoted the positive effect on MI improved by ET. Chloride voltage-gated channel 3 (CLCN3) was identified as the most possible target for miR-497. Moreover, ET improving MI also involved the regulation of apoptotic and inflammatory factors. The mechanisms underlying the positive effects of ET on MI were highly associated with the regulation of miR-497.

Changes in cardiac structure and function in a modified rat model of myocardial hypertrophy.

AIM: In this study we designed a modified method of abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) in order to establish a stable animal model of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). We also evaluated cardiac structure and function in rats with myocardial hypertrophy using echocardiography, and provide a theory and experimental basis for the application of drug interventions using the LVH animal model. We hope this model will provide insight into novel clinical therapies for LVH. METHODS: The abdominal aorta of male Wistar rats (80-100 g) was constricted between the branches of the coeliac and anterior mesenteric arteries, to a diameter of 0.55 mm. Echocardiography, using a linear phase array probe, combined with histology and plasma BNP concentration, was performed at three, four and six weeks post AAC. RESULTS: The acute (24-hour) mortality rate was lower (8%) than in previous reports (15%) using this modified rat model. Compared with shams, animals who underwent AAC demonstrated significantly increased interventricular septal (IVS), LV posterior wall (LVPWd), LV mass index (LVMI), crosssectional area (CSA) of myocytes, and perivascular fibrosis; while the ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS) and cardiac output (CO) were consistently lower at each time interval. Notably, differences in these parameters between the AAC and sham groups were significant by three weeks and reached a peak at four weeks. Following AAC, plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) level was gradually elevated, compared with the sham group, between three and six weeks. CONCLUSION: This modified AAC model induced LVH both stably and safely by week four post surgery. Echocardiography was accurately able to assess changes in chamber dimensions and systolic properties in the rats with LVH.

Effects of intrathecal injection of rapamycin on pain threshold and spinal cord glial activation in rats with neuropathic pain.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of intrathecal injection of rapamycin on pain threshold and spinal cord glial activation in rats with neuropathic pain. METHODS: Healthy 30 male Sprague Dawley (SD) rats were randomly divided into six groups (n = 5 in each group): (1) control group without any treatments; (2) chronic constriction injury (CCI) group; (3) Early-rapamycin group with intrathecal injection of rapamycin 4 hours after CCI days; (4) Early-vehicle group with intrathecal injection of DMSO; (5) Late-rapamycin group with intrathecal injection of rapamycin 7 days after CCI; (6) Late-vehicle group with intrathecal injection of DMSO 7 days after CCI. Rapamycin or DMSO was injected for 3 consecutive days. Mechanical and thermal threshold were tested before and after the CCI operation. Lumbar segment of spinal cords was tested for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) by immunohistochemistry on 14th day after operation. RESULTS: Mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia emerged on fourth day were maintained till fourteenth day after operation. After intrathecal injection of rapamycin 4 hours or 7 days after CCI, mechanical and thermal threshold significantly increased compared to injection of DMSO. The area of GFAP positive and the mean density of GFAP positive area in the dorsal horn of the ipsilateral side greatly increased in rapamycin-treated groups. CONCLUSIONS: Intrathecal injection of rapamycin may attenuate CCI-induced hyperalgesia and inhibit the activation of astrocyte.

Alterations in cardiac structure and function in a modified rat model of myocardial hypertrophy.

This study was aimed to establish a stable animal model of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) to provide theoretical and experimental basis for understanding the development of LVH. The abdominal aorta of male Wistar rats (80-100 g) was constricted to a diameter of 0.55 mm between the branches of the celiac and anterior mesenteric arteries. Echocardiography using a linear phased array probe was performed as well as pathological examination and plasma B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) measurement at 3, 4 and 6 weeks after abdominal aortic constriction (AAC). The results showed that the acute mortality rate (within 24 h) of this modified rat model was 8%. Animals who underwent AAC demonstrated significantly increased interventricular septal (IVS), LV posterior wall (LVPWd), LV mass index (LVMI), cross-sectional area (CSA) of myocytes, and perivascular fibrosis; the ejection fraction (EF), fractional shortening (FS), and cardiac output (CO) were consistently lower at each time point after AAC. Notably, differences in these parameters between AAC group and sham group were significant by 3 weeks and reached peaks at 4th week. Following AAC, the plasma BNP was gradually elevated compared with the sham group at 3rd and 6th week. It was concluded that this modified AAC model can develop LVH, both stably and safely, by week four post-surgery; echocardiography is able to assess changes in chamber dimensions and systolic properties accurately in rats with LVH.

High association between human circulating microRNA-497 and acute myocardial infarction.

Recent papers have reported the fundamental roles of miR-497 in infarction which acute myocardial infarction (AMI) belongs to. However, the expression levels of miR-497 in AMI patients were unclear, especially the circulating miR-497 that was detectable in the human plasma. In this study, we focused on the expression levels of circulating miR-497 in AMI and the roles of plasma miR-497 as a promising biomarker for AMI. The plasma miR-497 levels were detected from 27 AMI patients and 31 healthy volunteers by qRT-PCR. The cTnI concentrations of these samples were also analyzed by ELISA. Results showed circulating miR-497 levels were upregulated in AMI patients at 4 h, 8 h, 12 h, and 24 h, by contrast to those in control. Interestingly, time courses of circulating miR-497 levels displayed similar trends to that of cTnI concentrations in AMI patients; further study revealed the high correlation between circulating miR-497 and cTnI concentrations (r = 0.573, P < 0.001). At last, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was performed and declared that there was a faithworthy sensitivity and specificity to identify the AMI patients by using circulating miR-497. In conclusion, circulating miR-497 might be a promising biomarker for AMI identification and there was high association between human miR-497 and acute myocardial infarction.