[Microflora of peripheral blood obtained from patients with infective endocarditis.]

Infective endocarditis is a serious inflammatory disease associated with damage of heart valves and other parts of endocardium. This study included 91 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of «infectious endocarditis¼ and hospitalized at the Research Institute of Complex Problems of Cardiovascular Disease (Kemerovo, Russia) from 2010 to 2015. The determination of the spectrum of microorganisms in the samples of patients' peripheral blood was carried out using the PCR method using reagents produced by Lyteh Ltd. (Moscow, Russia) allowing detect Staphylococcus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus agalacticae, Enterobacter spp., Klebsiella spp., Proteus spp., Haemophilus influenza, Enterococcus faecalis, Enterococcus faecium in the samples of biological material. Statistical analysis was performed in the StatSoft STATISTICA 10 software. 83.5% of patients were characterized by presence Staphylococcus spp. in the peripheral blood; the other pathogens were detected much less often (from six cases of enterococci detection to one case of Streptococcus agalacticae and Proteus spp.). In nine patients, none of the analyzed pathogens was detected, and a number of patients were characterized by the simultaneous presence of several pathogens. There was no reliable data on the difference in microflora structure depending on sex, drug addiction, the type of infective endocarditis and the damaged valve. It was established that the results of PCR of peripheral blood samples and microbiological examination of the tissues of damaged valves that were removed during cardiac surgery, differ significantly. The obtained results testify to the need for more in-depth studies including PCR analysis of peripheral blood samples, flushing from damaged valves, and also homogenized valve tissue samples, which will allow us to obtain more detailed data and conclude that PCR can be used as a diagnostic test for early detection microbiological agent as causative.

The cytokine response of human coronary artery endothelial cells treated with doxorubicin: results of an in vitro experiment.

The cytokine profile of primary coronary artery endothelial cells cultivated in the presence of doxorubicin (2 µg/ml and 6 µg/ml) was evaluated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and qPCR. Cultivation of cells in the presence of these concentrations of doxorubicin for 24 h, upregulated expression of the following genes: IL6 (by 2.30 and 2.66 times, respectively), IL1B (by 1.25 and 3.44 times), and CXCL8 (by 6.47 times and 6.42 times), MIF (2.34 and 2.28 times), CCL2 (4.22 and 3.98 times). Under these conditions the following genes were downregulated: IL10, IL1R2, TNF. Cultivation of cells in the presence of doxorubicin (2 µg/ml and 6 µg/ml) for 24 h also increased the secretion of IL-6.

[The expression level of cytokine genes in the cases of native heart valves in infectious endocarditis]. / Otsenka urovnia ékspressii genov tsitokinov v stvorkakh nativnykh klapanov serdtsa pri infektsionnom éndokardite.

The expression level of IL1B, IL6, IL8, IL10, IL12A, IL12B, IL18, IL23, IL33, CCL2, and IL1RL1 has been investigated using biopsies of native mitral, aortic, and tricuspid valves obtained during surgical correction of acquired defect from 25 patients with infectious endocarditis. Biopsies of native mitral and aortic valve cusps from 12 patients who underwent surgical correction of acquired heart disease of non-infectious etiology were used as control. We used quantitative PCR with fluorescent dye SYBR Green for determination of the cytokine gene expression level. This study revealed that genes could be subdivided into three groups: (i) genes with increased expression (IL1B, IL6, and IL8); (ii) genes with reduced expression (IL33 and IL1RL1); (iii) genes with unchanged expression (IL12A, IL18, IL23, and CCL2). The IL8 gene expression was characterized by the most pronounced increase (9.83 times versus control), while the IL1RL1 gene demonstrated the most pronounced decrease in its expression (4.17 times). Expression of IL10 and IL12B genes was negligible in all samples.