Inhibitory Activity of Quercetin 3-O-Arabinofuranoside and 2-Oxopomolic Acid Derived from Malus domestica on Soluble Epoxide Hydrolase.

Flavonoids and triterpenoids were revealed to be the potential inhibitors on soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH). The aim of this study is to reveal sEH inhibitors from Fuji apples. A flavonoid and three triterpenoids derived from the fruit of Malus domestica were identified as quercetin-3-O-arabinoside (1), ursolic acid (2), corosolic acid (3), and 2-oxopomolic acid (4). They had half-maximal inhibitory concentration of the inhibitors (IC50) values of 39.3 ± 3.4, 84.5 ± 9.5, 51.3 ± 4.9, and 11.4 ± 2.7 µM, respectively, on sEH. The inhibitors bound to allosteric sites of enzymes in mixed (1) and noncompetitive modes (2-4). Molecular simulations were carried out for inhibitors 1 and 4 to calculate the binding force of ligands to receptors. The inhibitors bound to the left (1) and right (4) pockets next to the enzyme's active site. Based on analyses of their molecular docking and dynamics, it was shown that inhibitors 1 and 4 can stably bind sEH at 1 bar and 300 K. Finally, inhibitors 1 and 4 are promising candidates for further studies using cell-based assays and in vivo cardiovascular tests.

Low-dose dobutamine stress myocardial contrast echocardiography for the evaluation of myocardial microcirculation and prediction of overall cardiac function recovery.

The study aimed to investigate the role of low-dose dobutamine stress myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE) in evaluating myocardial local microcirculation and predicting cardiac function recovery in patients with myocardial infarction. A total of 50 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) were enrolled in the present study. Positron emission tomography was used as a gold standard to determine viable/non-viable myocardial segments in infarcted myocardial region. MCE and dobutamine stress MCE were carried out 72 h after PCI. MCE was carried out again to evaluate myocardial condition at 6 months after PCI. As compared with normal myocardial segments, resting MCE revealed a significant decrease of the values of A (the peak intensity of the time-perfusion intensity curve, reflecting the myocardial blood volume), ß (the slope of the curve, reflecting the myocardial blood flow (MBF) velocity) and A x ß (reflecting MBF) of viable and non-viable myocardial segments. After being challenged by dobutamine, the values of A, ß and A x ß of normal coronary blood supply areas were significantly increased; while the segments A and A x ß of viable myocardium were markedly decreased. Patients were further divided into two groups based on the changes in the contrast-enhanced index (CSI) following dobutamine loading. In the dobutamine stress echocardiography-positive group (the CSI increased or decreased by >0.2), the left ventricular ejection fraction was significantly increased and pro-B-type natriuretic peptide significantly decreased at 6 months following intervention. Low-dose dobutamine stress MCE was indicated to be an effective method to evaluate myocardial microcirculation perfusion in patients with AMI following PCI. In addition, CSI, as a simple semi-quantitative index, may predict left ventricular function in patients with AMI.

Assessment of mitral annulus and mitral leaflet in nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients with various degrees of mitral regurgitation: Real time 3D transesophageal echocardiography.

AIM: To study the changes of mitral valve (MV) in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF)-related mitral regurgitation (MR) and the relationship between MV parameters and the enlarged left atrium (LA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 43 patients with NVAF were divided into two groups: (1) the MR1 group with mild MR and (2) the MR2 group with moderate-to-severe MR. Real time 3D transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) was performed to detect the structure of MV. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the basic characteristics among the three groups. As compared with the control group, anterolateral to posteromedial diameter of the annulus (DALPm), anterior to posterior diameter (DAP), three-dimensional circumference (C3D), two-dimensional area (A2D), three-dimensional area (A3D), exposed area of the leaflets (A3DE), and NPA (nonplanar angle) were significantly increased, whereas height and ellipticity were significantly decreased in the MR1 group and MR2 group. The overall longitudinal strain of left atrium (GLS) was significantly decreased in the MR1 and MR2 groups compared to the control group. Furthermore, GLS was inversely correlated with DALPm, DAP, C3D, A2D, A3D, A3DE, and NPA, whereas positively correlated with height, ellipticity, and the leaflet tenting height in both MR1 and MR2 groups. CONCLUSION: Even in NVAF patients with mild MR, the structure of MV was changed intensively with the expansion and deformation of the "saddle shape" structure. The deformation of MV was associated with the decreased function of LA. Our results may provide novel insight into evaluation risk factors leading to AF recurrence after ablation procedures.

Preliminary study of the application of transthoracic echocardiography-guided three-dimensional printing for the assessment of structural heart disease.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the feasibility and diagnostic value of a preoperative transthoracic echocardiography-guided three-dimensional printed model (TTE-guided 3DPM) for the assessment of structural heart disease (SHD). METHODS: Fourty-four patients underwent cardiac surgery at Tianjin Chest Hospital. The patients were preoperatively assessed using TTE-guided 3DPM, which was compared to conventional three-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography (3DTTE) along with direct intraoperative findings, which were considered the "gold standard." Twelve patients had SHD, including four with mitral prolapse, two with partial endocardial cushion defects, two with secondary atrial septal defects, two with rheumatic mitral stenosis, one with tetralogy of Fallot, and one with a ventricular septal defect (VSD). Thirty-two patients who did not have SHDs were designated as the negative control group. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity of the TTE-guided 3DPM were greater than or equal to those of the 3DTTE. The P-value of the McNemar test of 3DTTE was >.05, which indicates that the difference was not statistically significant (Kappa = 0.745, P < .001). The P-value of the McNemar test of TTE-guided 3DPM was >.05, which indicates that the difference was not statistically significant (Kappa = 0.955, P < .001). A comparison of 3DTTE and TTE-guided 3DPM resulted in a P-value >.05, which indicates that the difference was not statistically significant (Kappa = 0.879, P < .001). TTE-guided 3DPM displayed the 3D structure of SHDs and cardiac lesions clearly and was consistent with the intra-operative findings. CONCLUSION: Transthoracic echocardiography-guided three-dimensional printed model (TTE-guided 3DPM) provides essential information for preoperative evaluation and decision making for patients with SHDs.