Your browser doesn't support javascript.
loading
Show: 20 | 50 | 100
Results 1 - 20 de 137.158
Filter
Add more filters








Publication year range
2.
Transl Psychiatry ; 14(1): 241, 2024 Jun 06.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38844469

ABSTRACT

Ordinary sensations from inside the body are important causes and consequences of our affective states and behaviour, yet the roles of neurotransmitters in interoceptive processing have been unclear. With a within-subjects design, this experiment tested the impacts of acute increases of endogenous extracellular serotonin on the neural processing of attended internal sensations and the links of these effects to anxiety using a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) (20 mg CITALOPRAM) and a PLACEBO. Twenty-one healthy volunteers (fourteen female, mean age 23.9) completed the Visceral Interoceptive Attention (VIA) task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with each treatment. The VIA task required focused attention on the heart, stomach, or visual sensation. The relative neural interoceptive responses to heart sensation [heart minus visual attention] (heart-IR) and stomach sensation [stomach minus visual attention] (stomach-IR) were compared between treatments. Visual attention subtraction controlled for the general effects of CITALOPRAM on sensory processing. CITALOPRAM was associated with lower interoceptive processing in viscerosensory (the stomach-IR of bilateral posterior insular cortex) and integrative/affective (the stomach-IR and heart-IR of bilateral amygdala) components of interoceptive neural pathways. In anterior insular cortex, CITALOPRAM reductions of heart-IR depended on anxiety levels, removing a previously known association between anxiety and the region's response to attended heart sensation observed with PLACEBO. Preliminary post hoc analysis indicated that CITALOPRAM effects on the stomach-IR of the amygdalae corresponded to acute anxiety changes. This direct evidence of general and anxiety-linked serotonergic influence on neural interoceptive processes advances our understanding of interoception, its regulation, and anxiety.


Subject(s)
Anxiety , Citalopram , Interoception , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors , Humans , Female , Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors/pharmacology , Male , Citalopram/pharmacology , Young Adult , Adult , Interoception/physiology , Interoception/drug effects , Anxiety/physiopathology , Attention/drug effects , Attention/physiology , Insular Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Insular Cortex/drug effects , Amygdala/drug effects , Amygdala/diagnostic imaging , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/drug effects , Heart/drug effects
3.
Cell Biochem Funct ; 42(4): e4070, 2024 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38845544

ABSTRACT

In this study, we report the cardioprotective effect of the glycerol monooleate (GMO) based nanocurcumin in both in vitro and in vivo conditions under a hyperthyroid state. The heart is one of the primary target organs sensitive to the action of thyroid hormone, and slight variations in the thyroid hormone serum concentrations result in measurable changes in cardiac performance. Hyperthyroidism-induced hypermetabolism is associated with oxidative stress and is an important mechanism responsible for the progression of heart failure. Curcumin has been known to play a protective role against oxidative stress-related diseases like Alzheimer's, asthma, and aging due to its antioxidant properties. Nevertheless, its potent biological activity has been hindered due to its poor bioavailability. To overcome this drawback, a GMO-based biodegradable nanoparticle (NP) formulation loaded with curcumin has been developed, and the protective effect of curcumin-loaded NPs was compared against the native drug. Oxidative stress parameters like reactive oxygen species (ROS) release, change in mitochondrial membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation (LPx), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and the activity and protein expression of the endogenous antioxidant enzymes like superoxide dismutase, catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase were evaluated. The results from in vitro showed that curcumin-loaded NPs showed better DPPH and NO radical scavenging activity than native curcumin in a concentrations range of 2.5-20 µM. It was also observed that the nanoparticulate curcumin was comparatively more effective than native curcumin in protecting against ROS-induced membrane damage by reducing LPx and LDH leakage at low concentrations of 5-10 µM. Further, curcumin NPs performed better in facilitating the activities of antioxidant enzymes under in vitro and in vivo conditions with respect to time and concentrations, resulting in reduced cellular ROS levels. In this scenario, we anticipate that curcumin-loaded NPs can serve as a better antioxidant than its native counterpart in protecting the heart from oxidative stress-related diseases.


Subject(s)
Curcumin , Nanoparticles , Oxidative Stress , Rats, Wistar , Curcumin/pharmacology , Curcumin/chemistry , Animals , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Rats , Male , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Antioxidants/chemistry , Antioxidants/metabolism , Myocardium/metabolism , Myocardium/pathology , Heart/drug effects , Lipid Peroxidation/drug effects
4.
J Biomed Opt ; 29(6): 066005, 2024 Jun.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38841076

ABSTRACT

Significance: Damage to the cardiac conduction system remains one of the most significant risks associated with surgical interventions to correct congenital heart disease. This work demonstrates how light-scattering spectroscopy (LSS) can be used to non-destructively characterize cardiac tissue regions. Aim: To present an approach for associating tissue composition information with location-specific LSS data and further evaluate an LSS and machine learning system as a method for non-destructive tissue characterization. Approach: A custom LSS probe was used to gather spectral data from locations across 14 excised human pediatric nodal tissue samples (8 sinus nodes, 6 atrioventricular nodes). The LSS spectra were used to train linear and neural-network-based regressor models to predict tissue composition characteristics derived from the 3D models. Results: Nodal tissue region nuclear densities were reported. A linear model trained to regress nuclear density from spectra achieved a prediction r-squared of 0.64 and a concordance correlation coefficient of 0.78. Conclusions: These methods build on previous studies suggesting that LSS measurements combined with machine learning signal processing can provide clinically relevant cardiac tissue composition.


Subject(s)
Scattering, Radiation , Spectrum Analysis , Humans , Spectrum Analysis/methods , Machine Learning , Light , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Myocardium/chemistry
5.
BMC Vet Res ; 20(1): 237, 2024 Jun 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38824556

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Dromedaries' normal heart architecture and size have not been adequately examined utilizing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and topographic anatomy. RESULT: we aimed to investigate the regular appearance of the heart and its dimensions, using MRI and cross-sectional anatomy, in mature Arabian one-humped camels (Camelus dromedarius). We also analyzed hematological and cardiac biochemical markers. MRI scans were conducted on twelve camel heart cadavers using a closed 1.5-Tesla magnet with fast spin echo (FSE) weighted sequences. Subsequently, the hearts were cross-sectionally sliced. Additionally, hematobiochemical studies were conducted on ten mature live camels. The study analyzed standard cardiac dimensions including HL, BW, RA, LA, RV, LV, IVS, LAD, RAD, RVD, AoD, TCVD, and MVD. The results showed a strong positive correlation between the cardiac dimensions obtained from both gross analysis and MR images, with no significant difference between them. On both gross and MRI images, the usual structures of the heart were identified and labeled. Along with the cardiac markers (creatine kinase and troponin), the average hematological values and standard biochemical parameters were also described. CONCLUSION: According to what we know, this investigation demonstrates, for the first time the typical heart structures and dimensions of the heart in dromedaries, and it could serve as a basis for diagnosing cardiac disorders in these animals.


Subject(s)
Camelus , Heart , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Animals , Camelus/anatomy & histology , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/veterinary , Heart/anatomy & histology , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Male , Female , Creatine Kinase/blood
6.
Int J Immunopathol Pharmacol ; 38: 3946320241260635, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38831558

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder mainly affecting joints, yet the systemic inflammation can influence other organs and tissues. The objective of this study was to unravel the ameliorative capability of Ondansetron (O) or ß-sitosterol (BS) against inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress that complicates Extra-articular manifestations (EAM) in liver, kidney, lung, and heart of arthritic and arthritic irradiated rats. METHODS: This was accomplished by exposing adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) rats to successive weekly fractions of total body γ-irradiation (2 Gray (Gy)/fraction once per week for four weeks, up to a total dose of 8 Gy). Arthritic and/or arthritic irradiated rats were either treated with BS (40 mg/kg b.wt. /day, orally) or O (2 mg/kg) was given ip) or were kept untreated as model groups. RESULTS: Body weight changes, paw circumference, oxidative stress indices, inflammatory response biomarkers, expression of Janus kinase-2 (JAK-2), Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), high mobility group box1 (HMGB1), and nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), as well as pro- and anti-inflammatory mediators in the target organs, besides histopathological examination of ankle joints and extra-articular tissues. Treatment of arthritic and/or arthritic irradiated rats with BS or O powerfully alleviated changes in body weight gain, paw swelling, oxidative stress, inflammatory reactions, and histopathological degenerative alterations in articular and non-articular tissues. CONCLUSION: The obtained data imply that BS or O improved the articular and EAM by regulating oxidative and inflammatory indices in arthritic and arthritic irradiated rats.


Subject(s)
Arthritis, Experimental , Kidney , Liver , Lung , Ondansetron , Oxidative Stress , Sitosterols , Animals , Sitosterols/pharmacology , Lung/drug effects , Lung/pathology , Lung/metabolism , Lung/radiation effects , Arthritis, Experimental/pathology , Arthritis, Experimental/drug therapy , Arthritis, Experimental/metabolism , Kidney/drug effects , Kidney/pathology , Kidney/metabolism , Kidney/radiation effects , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Rats , Liver/drug effects , Liver/pathology , Liver/metabolism , Liver/radiation effects , Male , Ondansetron/pharmacology , HMGB1 Protein/metabolism , Heart/drug effects , Heart/radiation effects , Myocardium/pathology , Myocardium/metabolism , Inflammation/pathology , Inflammation/metabolism , Anti-Inflammatory Agents/pharmacology , STAT3 Transcription Factor/metabolism , Rats, Wistar
8.
J Nanobiotechnology ; 22(1): 223, 2024 May 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38702815

ABSTRACT

Cardiac muscle targeting is a notoriously difficult task. Although various nanoparticle (NP) and adeno-associated viral (AAV) strategies with heart tissue tropism have been developed, their performance remains suboptimal. Significant off-target accumulation of i.v.-delivered pharmacotherapies has thwarted development of disease-modifying cardiac treatments, such as gene transfer and gene editing, that may address both rare and highly prevalent cardiomyopathies and their complications. Here, we present an intriguing discovery: cargo-less, safe poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) particles that drastically improve heart delivery of AAVs and NPs. Our lead formulation is referred to as ePL (enhancer polymer). We show that ePL increases selectivity of AAVs and virus-like NPs (VLNPs) to the heart and de-targets them from the liver. Serotypes known to have high (AAVrh.74) and low (AAV1) heart tissue tropisms were tested with and without ePL. We demonstrate up to an order of magnitude increase in heart-to-liver accumulation ratios in ePL-injected mice. We also show that ePL exhibits AAV/NP-independent mechanisms of action, increasing glucose uptake in the heart, increasing cardiac protein glycosylation, reducing AAV neutralizing antibodies, and delaying blood clearance of AAV/NPs. Current approaches utilizing AAVs or NPs are fraught with challenges related to the low transduction of cardiomyocytes and life-threatening immune responses; our study introduces an exciting possibility to direct these modalities to the heart at reduced i.v. doses and, thus, has an unprecedented impact on drug delivery and gene therapy. Based on our current data, the ePL system is potentially compatible with any therapeutic modality, opening a possibility of cardiac targeting with numerous pharmacological approaches.


Subject(s)
Dependovirus , Genetic Vectors , Myocardium , Nanoparticles , Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer , Dependovirus/genetics , Animals , Nanoparticles/chemistry , Mice , Myocardium/metabolism , Polylactic Acid-Polyglycolic Acid Copolymer/chemistry , Humans , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Heart , Genetic Therapy/methods , Gene Transfer Techniques , Liver/metabolism , Viral Tropism , HEK293 Cells
9.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf ; 279: 116484, 2024 Jul 01.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38820875

ABSTRACT

Myclobutanil (MYC) is a common triazole fungicide widely applied in agriculture. MYC extensively exists in the natural environment and can be detected in organisms. However, little is known about MYC-induced embryonic developmental damage. This study aimed to unravel the cardiotoxicity of MYC and the underlying mechanisms, as well as the cardioprotective effect of curcumin (CUR, an antioxidant polyphenol) using the zebrafish model. Here, zebrafish embryos were exposed to MYC at concentrations of 0, 0.5, 1 and 2 mg/L from 4 to 96 h post fertilization (hpf) and cardiac development was assessed. As results, MYC reduced the survival and hatching rate, body length and heart rate, but increased the malformation rate and spontaneous movement. MYC caused abnormal cardiac morphology and function in myl7:egfp transgenic zebrafish, and downregulated cardiac developmental genes. MYC promoted oxidative stress through excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation and suppressed the activities of antioxidant enzymes, triggering cardiomyocytic apoptosis via upregulated expression of apoptosis-related genes. These adverse toxicities could be significantly ameliorated by the antioxidant properties of CUR, indicating that CUR rescued MYC-induced cardiotoxicity by inhibiting oxidative stress and apoptosis. Overall, our study revealed the potential mechanisms of oxidative stress and apoptosis in MYC-induced cardiotoxicity in zebrafish and identified the cardioprotection of CUR in this pathological process.


Subject(s)
Apoptosis , Cardiotoxicity , Curcumin , Fungicides, Industrial , Oxidative Stress , Triazoles , Zebrafish , Animals , Oxidative Stress/drug effects , Curcumin/pharmacology , Apoptosis/drug effects , Triazoles/toxicity , Fungicides, Industrial/toxicity , Larva/drug effects , Reactive Oxygen Species/metabolism , Animals, Genetically Modified , Embryo, Nonmammalian/drug effects , Antioxidants/pharmacology , Water Pollutants, Chemical/toxicity , Heart/drug effects , Nitriles
10.
Stress ; 27(1): 2352626, 2024 Jan.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38766757

ABSTRACT

The cold pressor test (CPT) elicits strong cardiovascular reactions via activation of the sympathetic nervous system (SNS), yielding subsequent increases in heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). However, little is known on how exposure to the CPT affects cardiac ventricular repolarization. Twenty-eight healthy males underwent both a bilateral feet CPT and a warm water (WW) control condition on two separate days, one week apart. During pre-stress baseline and stress induction cardiovascular signals (ECG lead II, Finometer BP) were monitored continuously. Salivary cortisol and subjective stress ratings were assessed intermittently. Corrected QT (QTc) interval length and T-wave amplitude (TWA) were assessed for each heartbeat and subsequently aggregated individually over baseline and stress phases, respectively. CPT increases QTc interval length and elevates the TWA. Stress-induced changes in cardiac repolarization are only in part and weakly correlated with cardiovascular and cortisol stress-reactivity. Besides its already well-established effects on cardiovascular, endocrine, and subjective responses, CPT also impacts on cardiac repolarization by elongation of QTc interval length and elevation of TWA. CPT effects on cardiac repolarization share little variance with the other indices of stress reactivity, suggesting a potentially incremental value of this parameter for understanding psychobiological adaptation to acute CPT stress.


Subject(s)
Blood Pressure , Cold Temperature , Electrocardiography , Heart Rate , Hydrocortisone , Humans , Male , Heart Rate/physiology , Adult , Hydrocortisone/metabolism , Blood Pressure/physiology , Young Adult , Stress, Physiological/physiology , Sympathetic Nervous System/physiology , Saliva/metabolism , Saliva/chemistry , Stress, Psychological/physiopathology , Heart/physiology
11.
Sci Rep ; 14(1): 11009, 2024 05 14.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38744988

ABSTRACT

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging allows precise non-invasive quantification of cardiac function. It requires reliable image segmentation for myocardial tissue. Clinically used software usually offers automatic approaches for this step. These are, however, designed for segmentation of human images obtained at clinical field strengths. They reach their limits when applied to preclinical data and ultrahigh field strength (such as CMR of pigs at 7 T). In our study, eleven animals (seven with myocardial infarction) underwent four CMR scans each. Short-axis cine stacks were acquired and used for functional cardiac analysis. End-systolic and end-diastolic images were labelled manually by two observers and inter- and intra-observer variability were assessed. Aiming to make the functional analysis faster and more reproducible, an established deep learning (DL) model for myocardial segmentation in humans was re-trained using our preclinical 7 T data (n = 772 images and labels). We then tested the model on n = 288 images. Excellent agreement in parameters of cardiac function was found between manual and DL segmentation: For ejection fraction (EF) we achieved a Pearson's r of 0.95, an Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.97, and a Coefficient of variability (CoV) of 6.6%. Dice scores were 0.88 for the left ventricle and 0.84 for the myocardium.


Subject(s)
Deep Learning , Disease Models, Animal , Myocardial Infarction , Animals , Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging , Myocardial Infarction/physiopathology , Swine , Reproducibility of Results , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine/methods , Humans , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Heart/physiopathology , Stroke Volume , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods
12.
BMC Med Ethics ; 25(1): 61, 2024 May 21.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38773517

ABSTRACT

Certain organoid subtypes are particularly sensitive. We explore whether moral intuitions about the heartbeat warrant unique moral consideration for newly advanced contracting cardiac organoids. Despite the heartbeat's moral significance in organ procurement and abortion discussions, we argue that this significance should not translate into moral implications for cardiac organoids.


Subject(s)
Morals , Organoids , Humans , Tissue and Organ Procurement/ethics , Heart/physiology , Myocardium/cytology
13.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38748531

ABSTRACT

Brain-heart interactions (BHI) are critical for generating and processing emotions, including anxiety. Understanding specific neural correlates would be instrumental for greater comprehension and potential therapeutic interventions of anxiety disorders. While prior work has implicated the pontine structure as a central processor in cardiac regulation in anxiety, the distributed nature of anxiety processing across the cortex remains elusive. To address this, we performed a whole-brain-heart analysis using the full frequency directed transfer function to study resting-state spectral differences in BHI between high and low anxiety groups undergoing fMRI scans. Our findings revealed a hemispheric asymmetry in low-frequency interplay (0.05 Hz - 0.15 Hz) characterized by ascending BHI to the left insula and descending BHI from the right insula. Furthermore, we provide evidence supporting the "pacemaker hypothesis", highlighting the pons' function in regulating cardiac activity. Higher frequency interplay (0.2 Hz - 0.4Hz) demonstrate a preference for ascending interactions, particularly towards ventral prefrontal cortical activity in high anxiety groups, suggesting the heart's role in triggering a cognitive response to regulate anxiety. These findings highlight the impact of anxiety on BHI, contributing to a better understanding of its effect on the resting-state fMRI signal, with further implications for potential therapeutic interventions in treating anxiety disorders.


Subject(s)
Anxiety , Brain , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Male , Female , Adult , Anxiety/psychology , Anxiety/physiopathology , Young Adult , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain/physiopathology , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Heart Rate/physiology , Functional Laterality/physiology , Prefrontal Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Prefrontal Cortex/physiopathology , Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Cerebral Cortex/physiopathology , Anxiety Disorders/diagnostic imaging , Anxiety Disorders/physiopathology , Anxiety Disorders/psychology
14.
Sci Rep ; 14(1): 11774, 2024 05 23.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38783018

ABSTRACT

To develop and assess a deep learning (DL) pipeline to learn dynamic MR image reconstruction from publicly available natural videos (Inter4K). Learning was performed for a range of DL architectures (VarNet, 3D UNet, FastDVDNet) and corresponding sampling patterns (Cartesian, radial, spiral) either from true multi-coil cardiac MR data (N = 692) or from synthetic MR data simulated from Inter4K natural videos (N = 588). Real-time undersampled dynamic MR images were reconstructed using DL networks trained with cardiac data and natural videos, and compressed sensing (CS). Differences were assessed in simulations (N = 104 datasets) in terms of MSE, PSNR, and SSIM and prospectively for cardiac cine (short axis, four chambers, N = 20) and speech cine (N = 10) data in terms of subjective image quality ranking, SNR and Edge sharpness. Friedman Chi Square tests with post-hoc Nemenyi analysis were performed to assess statistical significance. In simulated data, DL networks trained with cardiac data outperformed DL networks trained with natural videos, both of which outperformed CS (p < 0.05). However, in prospective experiments DL reconstructions using both training datasets were ranked similarly (and higher than CS) and presented no statistical differences in SNR and Edge Sharpness for most conditions.The developed pipeline enabled learning dynamic MR reconstruction from natural videos preserving DL reconstruction advantages such as high quality fast and ultra-fast reconstructions while overcoming some limitations (data scarcity or sharing). The natural video dataset, code and pre-trained networks are made readily available on github.


Subject(s)
Deep Learning , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Video Recording/methods , Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cine/methods
15.
Biosensors (Basel) ; 14(5)2024 Apr 27.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38785693

ABSTRACT

Zebrafish larvae have emerged as a valuable model for studying heart physiology and pathophysiology, as well as for drug discovery, in part thanks to its transparency, which simplifies microscopy. However, in fluorescence-based optical mapping, the beating of the heart results in motion artifacts. Two approaches have been employed to eliminate heart motion during calcium or voltage mapping in zebrafish larvae: the knockdown of cardiac troponin T2A and the use of myosin inhibitors. However, these methods disrupt the mechano-electric and mechano-mechanic coupling mechanisms. We have used ratiometric genetically encoded biosensors to image calcium in the beating heart of intact zebrafish larvae because ratiometric quantification corrects for motion artifacts. In this study, we found that halting heart motion by genetic means (injection of tnnt2a morpholino) or chemical tools (incubation with para-aminoblebbistatin) leads to bradycardia, and increases calcium levels and the size of the calcium transients, likely by abolishing a feedback mechanism that connects contraction with calcium regulation. These outcomes were not influenced by the calcium-binding domain of the gene-encoded biosensors employed, as biosensors with a modified troponin C (Twitch-4), calmodulin (mCyRFP1-GCaMP6f), or the photoprotein aequorin (GFP-aequorin) all yielded similar results. Cardiac contraction appears to be an important regulator of systolic and diastolic Ca2+ levels, and of the heart rate.


Subject(s)
Biosensing Techniques , Calcium , Larva , Myocardial Contraction , Zebrafish , Animals , Calcium/metabolism , Myocardial Contraction/physiology , Heart/physiology , Troponin T/metabolism , Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism , Troponin C/metabolism
16.
Xenotransplantation ; 31(3): e12861, 2024.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38818852

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Preoperative size matching is essential for both allogeneic and xenogeneic heart transplantation. In preclinical pig-to-baboon xenotransplantation experiments, porcine donor organs are usually matched to recipients by using indirect parameters, such as age and total body weight. For clinical use of xenotransplantation, a more precise method of size measurement would be desirable to guarantee a "perfect match." Here, we investigated the use of transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) and described a new method to estimate organ size prior to xenotransplantation. METHODS: Hearts from n = 17 genetically modified piglets were analyzed by TTE and total heart weight (THW) was measured prior to xenotransplantation into baboons between March 2018 and April 2022. Left ventricular (LV) mass was calculated according to the previously published method by Devereux et al. and a newly adapted formula. Hearts from n = 5 sibling piglets served as controls for the determination of relative LV and right ventricular (RV) mass. After explantation, THW and LV and RV mass were measured. RESULTS: THW correlated significantly with donor age and total body weight. The strongest correlation was found between THW and LV mass calculated by TTE. Compared to necropsy data of the control piglets, the Devereux formula underestimated both absolute and relative LV mass, whereas the adapted formula yielded better results. Combining the adapted formula and the relative LV mass data, THW can be predicted with TTE. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate reliable LV mass estimation by TTE for size matching prior to xenotransplantation. An adapted formula provides more accurate results of LV mass estimation than the generally used Devereux formula in the xenotransplantation setting. TTE measurement of LV mass is superior for the prediction of porcine heart sizes compared to conventional parameters such as age and total body weight.


Subject(s)
Echocardiography , Heart Transplantation , Transplantation, Heterologous , Animals , Transplantation, Heterologous/methods , Heart Transplantation/methods , Echocardiography/methods , Swine , Organ Size , Papio , Heterografts , Animals, Genetically Modified , Heart/anatomy & histology
17.
Med Image Anal ; 95: 103196, 2024 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38781755

ABSTRACT

The success of deep learning on image classification and recognition tasks has led to new applications in diverse contexts, including the field of medical imaging. However, two properties of deep neural networks (DNNs) may limit their future use in medical applications. The first is that DNNs require a large amount of labeled training data, and the second is that the deep learning-based models lack interpretability. In this paper, we propose and investigate a data-efficient framework for the task of general medical image segmentation. We address the two aforementioned challenges by introducing domain knowledge in the form of a strong prior into a deep learning framework. This prior is expressed by a customized dynamical system. We performed experiments on two different datasets, namely JSRT and ISIC2016 (heart and lungs segmentation on chest X-ray images and skin lesion segmentation on dermoscopy images). We have achieved competitive results using the same amount of training data compared to the state-of-the-art methods. More importantly, we demonstrate that our framework is extremely data-efficient, and it can achieve reliable results using extremely limited training data. Furthermore, the proposed method is rotationally invariant and insensitive to initialization.


Subject(s)
Deep Learning , Humans , Lung/diagnostic imaging , Neural Networks, Computer , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods , Radiography, Thoracic , Algorithms , Heart/diagnostic imaging
18.
Mol Biol Rep ; 51(1): 604, 2024 May 03.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38700644

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The healing process after a myocardial infarction (MI) in humans involves complex events that replace damaged tissue with a fibrotic scar. The affected cardiac tissue may lose its function permanently. In contrast, zebrafish display a remarkable capacity for scar-free heart regeneration. Previous studies have revealed that syndecan-4 (SDC4) regulates inflammatory response and fibroblast activity following cardiac injury in higher vertebrates. However, whether and how Sdc4 regulates heart regeneration in highly regenerative zebrafish remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: This study showed that sdc4 expression was differentially regulated during zebrafish heart regeneration by transcriptional analysis. Specifically, sdc4 expression increased rapidly and transiently in the early regeneration phase upon ventricular cryoinjury. Moreover, the knockdown of sdc4 led to a significant reduction in extracellular matrix protein deposition, immune cell accumulation, and cell proliferation at the lesion site. The expression of tgfb1a and col1a1a, as well as the protein expression of Fibronectin, were all down-regulated under sdc4 knockdown. In addition, we verified that sdc4 expression was required for cardiac repair in zebrafish via in vivo electrocardiogram analysis. Loss of sdc4 expression caused an apparent pathological Q wave and ST elevation, which are signs of human MI patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that Sdc4 is required to mediate pleiotropic repair responses in the early stage of zebrafish heart regeneration.


Subject(s)
Heart , Regeneration , Syndecan-4 , Zebrafish , Animals , Zebrafish/genetics , Zebrafish/metabolism , Syndecan-4/genetics , Syndecan-4/metabolism , Regeneration/genetics , Heart/physiology , Heart/physiopathology , Zebrafish Proteins/genetics , Zebrafish Proteins/metabolism , Myocardial Infarction/genetics , Myocardial Infarction/metabolism , Myocardial Infarction/pathology , Cell Proliferation/genetics , Myocardium/metabolism , Myocardium/pathology , Gene Knockdown Techniques
19.
PLoS Negl Trop Dis ; 18(5): e0012183, 2024 May.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38814859

ABSTRACT

Human cystic echinococcosis (CE) is a parasitic infection caused by the larval stage of the tapeworm Echinococcus granulosus sensu lato, primarily affecting the liver and lungs. Although the heart is affected in only 0.02-2% of all CE cases, a considerable number of cases have been, and continue to be, published. However, due to the rare occurrence of cardiac CE and the resulting lack of clinical trials, knowledge about various aspects of the disease remains limited. To obtain a clearer picture of anatomical, clinical, diagnostic as well as therapeutic aspects of cardiac CE, we systematically reviewed the literature published between 1965 and 2022. The anatomical pattern of the affected cardiac structures follows the extension of the supplying capillary bed. The majority of patients (82.7%) are symptomatic and present with prolonged non-specific symptoms such as dyspnoea, chest pain and palpitations. Acute complications generally derive from cyst rupture, occur in 18.3% of cases and manifest as embolism, pericardial tamponade, or anaphylactic reaction in 83.2%, 17.8% and 10.9% of these cases, respectively. As for CE cysts localized in other organs, the diagnosis of cardiac CE is made by imaging. Serology plays a minor role due to its limited sensitivity. Unlike abdominal CE cysts, cardiac CE cysts are usually resected independent of their stage (active/inactive), because their presence impairs cardiac performance and carries the risk of long-term sequelae. More than 80% of patients are treated with a single surgical intervention. We found a disease-related case fatality rate of 11.1%. Since local recurrence was reported up to 108 months and secondary CE up to 72 months after surgery, patients should be followed up for a minimum of 10 years.


Subject(s)
Echinococcosis , Humans , Echinococcosis/diagnosis , Echinococcosis/surgery , Animals , Heart Diseases/parasitology , Heart Diseases/surgery , Echinococcus granulosus , Heart/parasitology
20.
Comput Med Imaging Graph ; 115: 102389, 2024 Jul.
Article in English | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-38692199

ABSTRACT

Accurate reconstruction of a high-resolution 3D volume of the heart is critical for comprehensive cardiac assessments. However, cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) data is usually acquired as a stack of 2D short-axis (SAX) slices, which suffers from the inter-slice misalignment due to cardiac motion and data sparsity from large gaps between SAX slices. Therefore, we aim to propose an end-to-end deep learning (DL) model to address these two challenges simultaneously, employing specific model components for each challenge. The objective is to reconstruct a high-resolution 3D volume of the heart (VHR) from acquired CMR SAX slices (VLR). We define the transformation from VLR to VHR as a sequential process of motion correction and super-resolution. Accordingly, our DL model incorporates two distinct components. The first component conducts motion correction by predicting displacement vectors to re-position each SAX slice accurately. The second component takes the motion-corrected SAX slices from the first component and performs the super-resolution to fill the data gaps. These two components operate in a sequential way, and the entire model is trained end-to-end. Our model significantly reduced inter-slice misalignment from originally 3.33±0.74 mm to 1.36±0.63 mm and generated accurate high resolution 3D volumes with Dice of 0.974±0.010 for left ventricle (LV) and 0.938±0.017 for myocardium in a simulation dataset. When compared to the LAX contours in a real-world dataset, our model achieved Dice of 0.945±0.023 for LV and 0.786±0.060 for myocardium. In both datasets, our model with specific components for motion correction and super-resolution significantly enhance the performance compared to the model without such design considerations. The codes for our model are available at https://github.com/zhennongchen/CMR_MC_SR_End2End.


Subject(s)
Deep Learning , Heart , Imaging, Three-Dimensional , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Humans , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Heart/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Motion , Image Processing, Computer-Assisted/methods
SELECTION OF CITATIONS
SEARCH DETAIL