TGFß1 Regulates Cellular Composition of In Vitro Cardiac Perivascular Niche Based on Cardiospheres.

The cardiac perivascular niche is a cellular microenvironment of a blood vessel. The principles of niche regulation are still poorly understood. We studied the effect of TGFß1 on cells forming the cardiac perivascular niche using 3D cell culture (cardiospheres). Cardiospheres contained progenitor (c-Kit), endothelial (CD31), and mural (αSMA) cells, basement membrane proteins (laminin) and extracellular matrix proteins (collagen I, fibronectin). TGFß1 treatment decreased the length of CD31+ microvasculature, VE cadherin protein level, and proportion of NG2+ cells, and increased proportion of αSMA+ cells and transgelin/SM22α protein level. We supposed that this effect is related to the stabilizing function of TGFß1 on vascular cells: decreased endothelial cell proliferation, as shown for HUVEC, and activation of mural cell differentiation.

Features of the Population of Mouse Peritoneal Macrophages Isolated after Stimulation with Concanavalin A and Thioglycolate.

Murine peritoneal macrophages isolated from the lavage fluid after administration of thioglycolate and concanavalin A are presented by two populations of cells of different diameters. Polarization of macrophages into a proinflammatory (M1) phenotype is accompanied by an increase in number of small cells. Macrophages obtained after administration of thioglycolate demonstrate higher tendency to anti-inflammatory (M2) phenotype, while macrophages isolated after administration of concanavalin A are committed in the proinflammatory direction. Lactate level is increased in M1 macrophages in comparison with M2 cells, which indicates predominance of glycolytic metabolism. Macrophages obtained after administration of concanavalin A have reduced mitochondrial potential, which reflects a tendency to apoptosis. Autophagy activation and inhibition neutralize the differences in pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of polarized macrophages obtained after thioglycolate administration, but have less pronounced effect on macrophages obtained after administration concanavalin A. Autophagy inhibitor increases mitochondrial potential in non-polarized macrophages obtained after administration of concanavalin A. These results demonstrate divergent properties of macrophages obtained after administration of glycolate and concanavalin A due to the difference in the mechanisms of experimental peritonitis.

[Study of the influence of etoxidol on expression of follistatin-like protein-1 (FSTL-1) in myocardium after experimental infarction in rats]. / Issledovanie vliianiia étoksidola na ékspressiiu follistatin-podobnogo belka-1 (FSTL-1) v miokarde posle éksperimental'nogo infarkta.

In heart attack, FSTL-1 is actively secreted by cardiomyocytes, accelerates growth of heart myofibrils and stimulates of vascular endothelial growth factor expression. The aim of this work was to investigate the effect of Etoxidol on synthesis of FSTL-1 in rats after myocardial infarction. The experiments were performed on Wistar rats weighing 250-350 g with simulated myocardial infarction or intact (group 5). Animals of control groups (groups 1, 2) were treated with saline for 7 and 14 days; Ethoxidol (24 mg/kg) was injected to animals of experimental groups (group 3, 4) (the daily dose was 6.36 mg/animal) for 6 or 14 days. The injection volume was 0.2 ml. At the beginning and at the end of the study plasma concentrations of FSTL-1 were determined by the ELISA method. Myocardial FSTL-1 gene expression was determined by real-time PCR. At the end of the experiments, the hearts were also used for histochemical analysis. To determine the size of the scar formed after the modeled heart attack, we used the classic Mallory staining method. The results show that the development of experimental acute myocardial infarction is accompanied by a significant increase in FSTL-1 expression in the heart, which was detected on the 7th day and stored increased by 14 days after a heart attack. After therapy with Ethoxidol, a tendency to a decrease in the expression of FSTL-1 by the 14th day was observed; it coincided with the dynamics of the plasma protein FSTL-1 level. It can be assumed that the downregulation trend in the FSTL-1 expression is associated with a more effective repair process after a heart attack, since FSTL-1 increases precisely in response to myocardial damage and decreases when the incentives for its expression from damaged heart tissue are reduced. Indirectly, this assumption is confirmed by the detected tendency to reduce the size of post-infarction fibrosis in the treatment with Ethoxidol. The results indicate the ability of Ethoxidol to influence FSTL-1 synthesis of in rats after myocardial infarction.

ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CARDIAC PROGENITOR CELLS OBTAINING FROM MYOCARDIAL RIGHT ATRIAL APPENDAGE TISSUE.

Resident stem cells of the heart are denoted as heterogeneous population of immature cells, which reside in the myocardium and characterized by their ability to self-renewal and are multipotent differentiation capacity into cardiomyocyte-like and vascular like cells. CSCs were originally isolated directly by long enzymatic digestion of heart tissue and selection using stem cell markers. However, long exposure to enzymatic digestion and small myocardial sample size can affect the possibility of obtaining a significant amount of viable cells. To avoid these problems, we developed a method consisting of growing of the CPC in explant culture and subsequent immunomagnetic selection.