Chelation-directed interface engineering of in-place self-cleaning membranes.

Water-energy sustainability will depend upon the rapid development of advanced pressure-driven separation membranes. Although energy-efficient, water-treatment membranes are constrained by ubiquitous fouling, which may be alleviated by engineering self-cleaning membrane interfaces. In this study, a metal-polyphenol network was designed to direct the armorization of catalytic nanofilms (ca. 18 nm) on inert polymeric membranes. The chelation-directed mineralized coating exhibits high polarity, superhydrophilicity, and ultralow adhesion to crude oil, enabling cyclable crude oil-in-water emulsion separation. The in-place flux recovery rate exceeded 99.9%, alleviating the need for traditional ex situ cleaning. The chelation-directed nanoarmored membrane exhibited 48-fold and 6.8-fold figures of merit for in-place self-cleaning regeneration compared to the control membrane and simple hydraulic cleaning, respectively. Precursor interaction mechanisms were identified by density functional theory calculations. Chelation-directed armorization offers promise for sustainable applications in catalysis, biomedicine, environmental remediation, and beyond.

S-nitrosylation of AMPKγ impairs coronary collateral circulation and disrupts VSMC reprogramming.

Collateral circulation is essential for blood resupply to the ischemic heart, which is dictated by the contractile phenotypic restoration of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC). Here we investigate whether S-nitrosylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a key regulator of the VSMC phenotype, impairs collateral circulation. In rats with collateral growth and development, nitroglycerin decreases coronary collateral blood flow (CCBF), inhibits vascular contractile phenotypic restoration, and increases myocardial infarct size, accompanied by reduced AMPK activity in the collateral zone. Nitric oxide (NO) S-nitrosylates human recombinant AMPKγ1 at cysteine 131 and decreases AMP sensitivity of AMPK. In VSMCs, exogenous expression of S-nitrosylation-resistant AMPKγ1 or deficient NO synthase (iNOS) prevents the disruption of VSMC reprogramming. Finally, hyperhomocysteinemia or hyperglycemia increases AMPKγ1 S-nitrosylation, prevents vascular contractile phenotypic restoration, reduces CCBF, and increases the infarct size of the heart in Apoe-/- mice, all of which is rescued in Apoe-/-/iNOSsm-/- mice or Apoe-/- mice with enforced expression of the AMPKγ1-C130A mutant following RI/MI. We conclude that nitrosative stress disrupts coronary collateral circulation during hyperhomocysteinemia or hyperglycemia through AMPK S-nitrosylation.

Hypoxia activates macrophage-NLRP3 inflammasome promoting atherosclerosis via PFKFB3-driven glycolysis.

The onset and progression of atherosclerosis are closely linked to the involvement of macrophages. While the contribution of NLRP3 inflammasome activation to the creation of a local highly inflammatory microenvironment is well recognized, the precise triggers remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in response to hypoxia-induced glycolysis involving PFKFB3 in the development of atherosclerosis. To develop an atherosclerosis model, we selected ApoE knockout mice treated with a high-fat western diet. We then quantified the expression of HIF-1α, PFKFB3, and NLRP3. In addition, we administered the PFKFB3 inhibitor PFK158 during atherosclerosis modeling. The glycolytic activity was subsequently determined through 18F-FDG micro-PET/CT, ex vivo glucose uptake, and ECAR analysis. Furthermore, we employed lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and TNF-α to induce the differentiation of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDMs) into M1-like phenotypes under both hypoxic and normoxic conditions. Our histological analyses revealed the accumulation of PFKFB3 in human atherosclerotic plaques, demonstrating colocalization with NLRP3 expression and macrophages. Treatment with PFK158 reduced glycolytic activity and NLRP3 inflammasome activation, thereby mitigating the occurrence of atherosclerosis. Mechanistically, hypoxia promoted glycolytic reprogramming and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in BMDMs. Subsequent blocking of either HIF-1α or PFKFB3 downregulated the NLRP3/Caspase-1/IL-1ß pathway in hypoxic BMDMs. Our study demonstrated that the HIF-1α/PFKFB3/NLRP3 axis serves as a crucial mechanism for macrophage inflammation activation in the emergence of atherosclerosis. The therapeutic potential of PFKFB3 inhibition may represent a promising strategy for atheroprotection.

Genome-wide association study of cardiometabolic multimorbidity in the UK Biobank.

Considering the high prevalence and poor prognosis of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM), identifying causal factors and actively implementing preventive measures is crucial. However, Mendelian randomization (MR), a key method for identifying the causal factors of CMM, requires knowledge of the effects of SNPs on CMM, which remain unknown. We first analyzed the genetic overlap of single cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs) using the latest genome-wide association study (GWAS) for evidential support and comparison. We observed strong positive genetic correlations and shared loci among all CMDs. Further, GWAS and post-GWAS analyses of CMM were performed in 407 949 European ancestry individuals from the UK Biobank. Eleven loci and 12 lead SNPs were identified. By comparison, we found these SNPs were a subset of SNPs associated with CMDs, including both shared and non-shared SNPs. Then, the polygenic risk score model predicted the risk of CMM (C-index = 0.62) and we identified candidate genes related to lipid metabolism and immune function. Finally, as an example, two-sample MR analysis based on the GWAS revealed potential causal effects of total cholesterol, serum urate, body mass index, and smoking on CMM. These results provide a basis for future MR research and inspire future studies on the mechanism and prevention of CMM.

Hypertension and iron deficiency anemia: Exploring genetic associations and causal inference.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Observational studies have suggested a potential association between hypertension and Iron deficiency anemia (IDA). However, it is unclear whether there is a genetic and causal link between hypertension and IDA. METHODS AND RESULTS: Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) data for hypertension were sourced from the UK Biobank and FinnGen. Genetic variants data for IDA were extracted from FinnGen and the IEU Open GWAS project, all derived from European populations. The genetic association between hypertension and IDA was assessed using Linkage Disequilibrium Score Regression (LDSC), with MR employed to determine causality. Inverse variance weighted (IVW) as a major analytical method for MR. Sensitivity and heterogeneity analyses were conducted to ensure result reliability. Furthermore, validation analysis was performed to further strengthen the robustness of the findings. A genetic association between hypertension and IDA was observed (rg = 0.121, P = 0.002). Our findings suggest that hypertension increases the risk of developing IDA (OR = 2.493,P = 0.038), and IDA maybe serve as a risk factor for hypertension (OR = 1.006,P < 0.001). Validation analysis yielded consistent results. Importantly, our findings demonstrated no heterogeneity or horizontal pleiotropy. CONCLUSION: Additional insights into the connection between hypertension and IDA were gained. Regular testing of iron ions and anemia-related markers in hypertensive patients is crucial for early identification of IDA. Furthermore, it is imperative to closely monitor the blood pressure of patients with IDA to promptly identify and diagnose hypertension. The implementation of these integrated health strategies is vital for global efforts to tackle the dual challenges of hypertension and IDA.

Omentin-1 drives cardiomyocyte cell cycle arrest and metabolic maturation by interacting with BMP7.

Mammalian cardiomyocytes (CMs) undergo maturation during postnatal heart development to meet the increased demands of growth. Here, we found that omentin-1, an adipokine, facilitates CM cell cycle arrest and metabolic maturation. Deletion of omentin-1 causes mouse heart enlargement and dysfunction in adulthood and CM maturation retardation in juveniles, including delayed cell cycle arrest and reduced fatty acid oxidation. Through RNA sequencing, molecular docking analysis, and proximity ligation assays, we found that omentin-1 regulates CM maturation by interacting directly with bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7). Omentin-1 prevents BMP7 from binding to activin type II receptor B (ActRIIB), subsequently decreasing the downstream pathways mothers against DPP homolog 1 (SMAD1)/Yes-associated protein (YAP) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK). In addition, omentin-1 is required and sufficient for the maturation of human embryonic stem cell-derived CMs. Together, our findings reveal that omentin-1 is a pro-maturation factor for CMs that is essential for postnatal heart development and cardiac function maintenance.

Associations between consumption of three types of beverages and risk of cardiometabolic multimorbidity in UK Biobank participants: a prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Although the association between beverages and a single cardiometabolic disease has been well studied, their role in disease progression from the single cardiometabolic disease state to cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) state remains unclear. This study examined the associations between three types of beverages: sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs), and pure fruit/vegetable juices, and the incidence of CMM in patients with a single cardiometabolic disease. METHODS: Our analysis included 37,994 participants from the UK Biobank who completed at least one dietary questionnaire and were diagnosed with only one cardiometabolic disease at the time of recruitment. Competing risk models were used to examine the association between the three types of beverages and incidence of CMM. We conducted analysis both in patients with any single cardiometabolic disease and in patients with specific cardiometabolic disease. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 9.1 years (interquartile range [IQR] 9.0-9.8), a total of 6399 participants developed CMM. The consumption of SSBs and ASBs (>1 serving per day) was associated with a higher risk of CMM (SSBs: hazard ratio [HR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.08-1.31; ASBs: HR 1.15, 95% CI 1.04-1.27). Intake of pure fruit/vegetable juices was inversely associated with the incidence of CMM (0-1 serving per day: HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.85-0.94; >1 serving per day: HR 0.90, 95% CI 0.81-0.99). However, the association of the high-level consumption of pure fruit/vegetable juices (>1 serving per day) was not statistically significant after correcting for multiple testing. In the analysis of patients with specific cardiometabolic diseases, positive associations were observed in patients with hypertension for SSBs consumption, while inverse associations persisted in patients with cardiovascular disease (coronary heart disease or stroke) and in hypertensive patients for pure fruit/vegetable juice consumption. CONCLUSIONS: Consuming >1 serving of SSBs and ASBs per day was associated with a higher risk of CMM in patients with a single cardiometabolic disease. In contrast, intake of pure fruit/vegetable juices was inversely associated with the risk of CMM. Our findings highlight the need to limit the use of SSBs and ASBs in patients with a single cardiometabolic disease.

Association between healthy lifestyle and the occurrence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity in hypertensive patients: a prospective cohort study of UK Biobank.

BACKGROUND: Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) is becoming increasingly common in patients with hypertension, and it is well established that healthy lifestyle plays a key role in the prevention of hypertension. However, the association between combined lifestyle factors and CMM in patients with hypertension is uncertain. METHODS: This prospective analysis included the data (obtained from the UK biobank) of participants with hypertension who did not have coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, or diabetes. The outcome was the occurrence of CMM, defined as ≥ 1 disease of CHD, stroke, and diabetes that occurred in participants with hypertension. Four lifestyle factors (smoking, alcohol consumption, diet, and physical activity) were assessed using a weighted healthy lifestyle score, and participants were divided into four groups: the very unhealthy, unhealthy, healthy, and very healthy groups. The flexible parameter Royston-Parmar proportional hazard model was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) between lifestyles and CMM, as well as the difference in CMM-free life expectancy. RESULTS: During a median follow-up of 12.2 years, 9812 (18.4%) of the 53,397 hypertensive patients occurred CMM. Compared with the very unhealthy group, the very healthy group had a 41% reduction in the risk for CMM in hypertensive patients and a 32-50% reduction in the risk for specific cardiometabolic diseases such as CHD, stroke, and diabetes. For each lifestyle factor, non-smoking had the greatest protective effect against CMM (HR: 0.64, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.60-0.68). A lifestyle combining multiple healthy factors extended CMM-free life expectancy (e.g., six years longer at age 45 years for participants in the very healthy group). CONCLUSIONS: Combined healthy lifestyle factors were associated with a lower risk for CMM in hypertensive patients. This suggests that combined healthy lifestyle should be supported to decrease disease burden.

Associations of baseline use of fish oil with progression of cardiometabolic multimorbidity and mortality among patients with hypertension: a prospective study of UK Biobank.

PURPOSE: The role of fish oil in the prognosis of hypertensive patients is unknown. This study investigated the associations of fish oil supplementation with the progression of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) and mortality among patients with hypertension. METHODS: Based on UK Biobank, we enrolled participants with hypertension and free of other cardiometabolic diseases. The exposure was baseline use of fish oil derived from questionnaires at baseline. The primary outcomes were the incidence of CMM and all-cause mortality. Competing risk models and flexible parametric proportion-hazards models were fitted to assess the adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) for the risk of CMM and mortality outcomes, respectively. RESULTS: Among 81,579 participants involved [50.37%, men; mean age, 59.38 years (standard deviation, 7.23 years)], 15,990 CMM events and 6456 all-cause deaths were reported (median follow-up, 12.23 years). In multivariable-adjusted models, baseline use of fish oil was associated with 8% lower risk of CMM [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.89-0.96, P < 0.001] and 10% lower risk of all-cause mortality (95% CI 0.85-0.95, P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In individuals with hypertension, baseline use of fish oil was associated with a reduced risk of CMM and all-cause mortality, and further clinical trials are needed to prove this hypothesis.

Use of fish oil and mortality of patients with cardiometabolic multimorbidity: A prospective study of UK biobank.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) has risen as a global issue of public health, with an in-creasing prevalence and more severe clinical prognosis. This study aimed to estimate the association between use of fish oil and mortality among patients with CMM. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this prospective study based on UK Biobank, participants with ≥2 of cardiometabolic diseases (CMDs, including coronary heart disease [CHD], diabetes, hypertension, and stroke in this study) at recruitment were included. Use of fish oil was derived from touchscreen questionnaires at baseline. All-cause and cardiovascular mortality were accessed via electronic health-related records. Kaplan-Meier curves and flexible parametric Royston-Parmar proportion-hazard models were fitted to assess the as-sociations of fish-oil use with all-cause, cardiovascular mortality, and related life expectancy alterations. Among 30 068 participants from UK Biobank (67.9% men; mean age 61.75 years), 5357 deaths were reported during 12.03 years of follow-up. For patients with CMM, use of fish oil was associated with a 17% lower risk of all-cause mortality (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 0.78-0.88, P < 0.001), and 19% lower risk of cardiovascular mortality (95% CI 0.72-0.90, P < 0.001) in multivariable-adjusted models. At 45 years old, using fish oil was associated with 1.66 years of life expectancy gained. CONCLUSION: Among patients with CMM, use of fish oil was associated with a significantly reduced risk of all-cause, cardiovascular mortality, and prolonged life expectancy.

Solving the class imbalance problem using ensemble algorithm: application of screening for aortic dissection.

BACKGROUND: Imbalance between positive and negative outcomes, a so-called class imbalance, is a problem generally found in medical data. Despite various studies, class imbalance has always been a difficult issue. The main objective of this study was to find an effective integrated approach to address the problems posed by class imbalance and to validate the method in an early screening model for a rare cardiovascular disease aortic dissection (AD). METHODS: Different data-level methods, cost-sensitive learning, and the bagging method were combined to solve the problem of low sensitivity caused by the imbalance of two classes of data. First, feature selection was applied to select the most relevant features using statistical analysis, including significance test and logistic regression. Then, we assigned two different misclassification cost values for two classes, constructed weak classifiers based on the support vector machine (SVM) model, and integrated the weak classifiers with undersampling and bagging methods to build the final strong classifier. Due to the rarity of AD, the data imbalance was particularly prominent. Therefore, we applied our method to the construction of an early screening model for AD disease. Clinical data of 523,213 patients from the Institute of Hypertension, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University were used to verify the validity of this method. In these data, the sample ratio of AD patients to non-AD patients was 1:65, and each sample contained 71 features. RESULTS: The proposed ensemble model achieved the highest sensitivity of 82.8%, with training time and specificity reaching 56.4 s and 71.9% respectively. Additionally, it obtained a small variance of sensitivity of 19.58 × 10-3 in the seven-fold cross validation experiment. The results outperformed the common ensemble algorithms of AdaBoost, EasyEnsemble, and Random Forest (RF) as well as the single machine learning (ML) methods of logistic regression, decision tree, k nearest neighbors (KNN), back propagation neural network (BP) and SVM. Among the five single ML algorithms, the SVM model after cost-sensitive learning method performed best with a sensitivity of 79.5% and a specificity of 73.4%. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we demonstrate that the integration of feature selection, undersampling, cost-sensitive learning and bagging methods can overcome the challenge of class imbalance in a medical dataset and develop a practical screening model for AD, which could lead to a decision support for screening for AD at an early stage.

Transition of Ultrathick Polyamide Tubes into Vesicles with Great Stability.

This work reports on the transition of a polyamide ultrathick wall microtubes to microvesicles through self-assembly. An amphiphilic polyamide is synthesized first by the solution polycondensation of sodium isophthalate-5-sulfonate (SIPA) and poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) 2000. Then, its self-assembly in aqueous solution is investigated through direct hydration. The size and morphology of the self-assemblies is investigated by transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and optical microscope (OM) measurements. The result shows that the as-prepared polyamide first self-assembles to thick walled tubes, then these tubes can gradually evolve to ultrathick wall microvesicles with an unusually thick membrane above 330 nm. Both the transition pathway and the mechanism are investigated in micromicroscopy. Most importantly, the microvesicles show great thermal and chemical stability. The novel superstable self-assembly structures as well as the transition mechanism presented here offer a promising perspective for the application in the scope of the biological membrane movements and nanoelectromechanics in medical devices.

Endogenous reduction of miR-185 accelerates cardiac function recovery in mice following myocardial infarction via targeting of cathepsin K.

Angiogenesis is critical for re-establishing the blood supply to the surviving myocardium after myocardial infarction (MI) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). MicroRNAs are recognised as important epigenetic regulators of endothelial function. The aim of this study was to determine the roles of microRNAs in angiogenesis. Eighteen circulating microRNAs including miR-185-5p were differently expressed in plasma from patients with ACS by high-throughput RNA sequencing. The expressional levels of miR-185-5p were dramatically reduced in hearts isolated from mice following MI and cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) under hypoxia, as determined by fluorescence in situ hybridisation and quantitative RT-PCR. Evidence from computational prediction and luciferase reporter gene activity indicated that cathepsin K (CatK) mRNA is a target of miR-185-5p. In HUVECs, miR-185-5p mimics inhibited cell proliferations, migrations and tube formations under hypoxia, while miR-185-5p inhibitors performed the opposites. Further, the inhibitory effects of miR-185-5p up-regulation on cellular functions of HUVECs were abolished by CatK gene overexpression, and adenovirus-mediated CatK gene silencing ablated these enhancive effects in HUVECs under hypoxia. In vivo studies indicated that gain-function of miR-185-5p by agomir infusion down-regulated CatK gene expression, impaired angiogenesis and delayed the recovery of cardiac functions in mice following MI. These actions of miR-185-5p agonists were mirrored by in vivo knockdown of CatK in mice with MI. Endogenous reductions of miR-185-5p in endothelial cells induced by hypoxia increase CatK gene expression to promote angiogenesis and to accelerate the recovery of cardiac function in mice following MI.

Induction of microRNA-199 by Nitric Oxide in Endothelial Cells Is Required for Nitrovasodilator Resistance via Targeting of Prostaglandin I2 Synthase.

BACKGROUND: Nitrates are widely used to treat coronary artery disease, but their therapeutic value is compromised by nitrate tolerance, because of the dysfunction of prostaglandin I2 synthase (PTGIS). MicroRNAs repress target gene expression and are recognized as important epigenetic regulators of endothelial function. The aim of this study was to determine whether nitrates induce nitrovasodilator resistance via microRNA-dependent repression of PTGIS gene expression. METHODS: Nitrovasodilator resistance was induced by nitroglycerin (100 mg·kg-1·d-1, 3 days) infusion in Apoe-/- mice. The responses of aortic arteries to nitric oxide donors were assessed in an organ chamber. The expression levels of microRNA-199 (miR-199)a/b were assayed by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction or fluorescent in situ hybridization. RESULTS: In cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells, nitric oxide donors induced miR-199a/b endogenous expression and downregulated PTGIS gene expression, both of which were reversed by 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide potassium salt or silence of serum response factor. Evidence from computational and luciferase reporter gene analyses indicates that the seed sequence of 976 to 982 in the 3'-untranslated region of PTGIS mRNA is a target of miR-199a/b. Gain functions of miR-199a/b resulting from chemical mimics or adenovirus-mediated overexpression increased PTGIS mRNA degradation in HEK293 cells and human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Furthermore, nitroglycerin-decreased PTGIS gene expression was prevented by miR-199a/b antagomirs or was mirrored by the enforced expression of miR-199a/b in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In Apoe-/- mice, nitroglycerin induced the ectopic expression of miR-199a/b in the carotid arterial endothelium, decreased PTGIS gene expression, and instigated nitrovasodilator resistance, all of which were abrogated by miR-199a/b antagomirs or LNA-anti-miR-199. It is important that the effects of miR-199a/b inhibitions were abolished by adenovirus-mediated PTGIS deficiency. Moreover, the enforced expression of miR-199a/b in vivo repressed PTGIS gene expression and impaired the responses of aortic arteries to nitroglycerin/sodium nitroprusside/acetylcholine/cinaciguat/riociguat, whereas the exogenous expression of the PTGIS gene prevented nitrovasodilator resistance in Apoe-/- mice subjected to nitroglycerin infusion or miR-199a/b overexpression. Finally, indomethacin, iloprost, and SQ29548 improved vasorelaxation in nitroglycerin-infused Apoe-/- mice, whereas U51605 induced nitrovasodilator resistance. In humans, the increased expressions of miR-199a/b were closely associated with nitrate tolerance. CONCLUSIONS: Nitric oxide-induced ectopic expression of miR-199a/b in endothelial cells is required for nitrovasodilator resistance via the repression of PTGIS gene expression. Clinically, miR-199a/b is a novel target for the treatment of nitrate tolerance.

Meta-analysis of the growth rates of abdominal aortic aneurysm in the Chinese population.

BACKGROUND: Several studies on the growth rates of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in Chinese population have been conducted; however, this issue remains unclear. The aim of this study is to systematically review published data of the AAA growth rates among people in China. METHODS: We conducted a comprehensive search of multiple databases to identify all studies of AAA growth in the Chinese population from inception until June 2017. AAA growth rates were combined to yield the growth rates at specified aneurysm diameter ranges, with using a random-effects model or fixed-effects model according to heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 8257 studies were initially identified and only 4 studies were eventually included. A random-effects analysis showed that the growth rates of AAA in Chinses population is ranging from 0.18 cm/year to 0.75 cm/year. The pooled mean growth rates among individuals with aneurysm measuring 3.0-3.9 cm, 4.0-5.9 cm and ≧ 6.0 cm in diameter were 0.21 cm/year (95% CI: 0.19 cm/year to 0.23 cm/year), 0.38 cm/year (95% CI: 0.33 cm/year to 0.43 cm/year), and 0.71 cm/year (95% CI: 0.64 cm/year to 0.77 cm/year) respectively. Further analysis found that the pooled mean growth rates for individuals with small AAA (diameters measuring 3.0-4.9 cm) was 0.28 cm/year (95% CI: - 0.06 cm/year to 0.61 cm/year)`and for individuals with large AAA (diameters ≥5.0 cm) was 0.75 cm/year (95% CI: 0.20 cm/year to 1.3 cm/year). Finally, meta-regression showed a strong trend of linear relationship between AAA growth rate and aneurysm diameter. CONCLUSIONS: The growth rates of AAA in the Chinese population increase with AAA enlargement and appear to range from 0.18 cm/year in the smallest AAAs to 0.75 cm/year when the diameter exceeds 6 cm. However, based on current studies, it is difficult to estimate the accurate average AAA growth rate in Chinese patients. More large-scale, high-quality studies are required to achieve that. Overall, AAA growth rate increase with increased aneurysm diameter.

Nucleolin mediated pro-angiogenic role of Hydroxysafflor Yellow A in ischaemic cardiac dysfunction: Post-transcriptional regulation of VEGF-A and MMP-9.

Hydroxysafflor Yellow A (HSYA), a most representative ingredient of Carthamus tinctorius L., had long been used in treating ischaemic cardiovascular diseases in China and exhibited prominently anticoagulant and pro-angiogenic activities, but the underlying mechanisms remained largely unknown. This study aimed to further elucidate the pro-angiogenic effect and mechanism of HSYA on ischaemic cardiac dysfunction. A C57 mouse model of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) was firstly established, and 25 mg/kg HSYA was intraperitoneally injected immediately after operation and given once, respectively, each morning and evening for 2 weeks. It was found that HSYA significantly improved ischaemia-induced cardiac haemodynamics, enhanced the survival rate, alleviated the myocardial injury and increased the expressions of CD31, vascular endothelial growth factor-A (VEGF-A) and nucleolin in the ischaemic myocardium. In addition, HSYA promoted the migration and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), enhanced the expressions of nucleolin, VEGF-A and matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) in a dose- and time-dependent manner. However, down-regulation of nucleolin expression sharply abrogated the effect mentioned above of HSYA. Further protein-RNA coimmunoprecipitation and immunoprecipitation-RT-PCR assay showed that nucleolin binded to VEGF-A and MMP-9 mRNA and overexpression of nucleolin up-regulated the mRNA expressions of VEGF-A and MMP-9 in the HUVECs through enhancing the stability of VEGF-A and MMP-9 mRNA. Furthermore, HSYA increased the mRNA expressions of VEGF-A and MMP-9 in the extract of antinucleolin antibody-precipitated protein from the heart of AMI mice. Our data revealed that nucleolin mediated the pro-angiogenic effect of HSYA through post-transcriptional regulation of VEGF-A and MMP-9 expression, which contributed to the protective effect of HSYA on ischaemic cardiac dysfunction.

A minimally invasive approach to induce myocardial infarction in mice without thoracotomy.

Acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the world. Traditional method to induce MI by left coronary artery (LCA) ligation is typically performed by an invasive approach that requires ventilation and thoracotomy, causing serious injuries in animals undergoing this surgery. We attempted to develop a minimally invasive method (MIM) to induce MI in mice. Under the guide of ultrasound, LCA ligation was performed in mice without ventilation and chest-opening. Compared to sham mice, MIM induced MI in mice as determined by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining and Masson staining. Mice with MIM surgery revealed the reductions of LVEF, LVFS, E/A and ascending aorta (AAO) blood flow, and the elevations of S-T segment and serum cTn-I levels at 24 post-operative hours. The effects of MI induced by MIM were comparable to the effects of MI produced by traditional method in mice. Importantly, MIM increased the survival rates and caused less inflammation after the surgery of LCA ligation, compared to the surgery of traditional method. Further, MIM induced angiogenesis and apoptosis in ischaemic hearts from mice at postoperative 28 days as similarly as traditional method did. Finally, the MIM model was able to develop into the myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion model by using a balloon catheter with minor modifications. The MI model is able to be efficiently induced by a minimally invasive approach in mice without ventilation and chest-opening. This new model is potentially to be used in studying ischaemia-related heart diseases.

MiR-15b-5p Regulates Collateral Artery Formation by Targeting AKT3 (Protein Kinase B-3).

OBJECTIVE: To identify circulating microRNAs that are differentially expressed in severe coronary heart disease with well or poorly developed collateral arteries and to investigate their mechanisms of action in vivo and in vitro. APPROACH AND RESULTS: In our study, we identified a circulating microRNA, miR-15b-5p, with low expression that, nevertheless, characterized patients with sufficient coronary collateral artery function. Moreover, in murine hindlimb ischemia model, in situ hybridization identified that miR-15b-5p was specifically expressed in vascular endothelial cells of adductors in sham group and was remarkably downregulated after femoral artery ligation. Overexpressed miR-15b-5p significantly inhibited arteriogenesis and angiogenesis in mice. In vitro, both under basal and vascular endothelial growth factor stimulation, loss-of-function or gain-of-function studies suggested that miR-15b-5p significantly promoted or depressed the migration and proliferation of endothelial cells. We identified AKT3 (protein kinase B-3) as a direct target of miR-15b-5p. Interestingly, AKT3 deficiency by injection with Chol-AKT3-siRNA obviously suppressed arteriogenesis and the recovery of blood perfusion after femoral ligation in mice. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that circulating miR-15b-5p is a suitable biomarker for discriminating between patients with well-developed or poorly developed collaterals. Moreover, miR-15b-5p is a key regulator of arteriogenesis and angiogenesis, which may represent a potential therapeutic target for ischemic disease.

Accelerated onset of senescence of endothelial progenitor cells in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: role of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase 2 and asymmetric dimethylarginine.

The risk of cardiovascular complications in diabetic patients is mainly associated with endothelial dysfunction. Reduced number of EPCs and impaired function of EPCs in diabetes result in imbalance of endothelial homeostasis and dysfunction of vessels. In patients with diabetes mellitus, plasma levels of asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) were elevated, while the expression and activity of dimethylarginine dimethylaminohydrolase (DDAH) were reduced. In the present study, we investigated the role of the DDAH2/ADMA pathway in the senescence of EPCs in type 2 diabetic patients and cultured EPCs treated with high glucose. The results showed that the percentage of senescent EPCs increased while the expression of DDAH2 decreased concomitantly with an increase in the plasma levels of ADMA in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Similar results were seen in cultured EPCs treated with high glucose. Exogenous application of ADMA accelerated the senescence of EPCs in a dose-dependent manner, and overexpression of DDAH2 inhibited high glucose-induced EPCs senescence. In addition, it has also been reported that DDAH/ADMA pathway is regulated by silent information regulator 1 (SIRT1) in endothelial cell. In the present study, we found decreased expression of SIRT1 both in T2DM patients and EPCs pretreated with high glucose. And resveratrol (activating SIRT1) inhibited high glucose-induced EPCs senescence by upregulating the expression of DDAH2 and decreasing the levels of ADMA. Taken together, we concluded that DDAH2/ADMA is involved in the accelerated senescence of EPCs in diabetes, which is associated with the activation of SIRT1.