Characteristics, predictors and outcomes of new-onset QT prolongation in sepsis: a multicenter retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Sepsis-induced myocardial injury is a serious complication of sepsis. QT prolongation is a proarrhythmic state which reflects myocardial injury in a group of heterogeneous disorders. However, the study on the clinical value of QT prolongation in sepsis is limited. METHODS: We aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and predictors of new-onset QT prolongation in sepsis and its impact on the outcome in a multicenter retrospective cohort study. Electrocardiographic and clinical data were collected from patients with sepsis from the wards and intensive care units of four centers after exclusion of QT-influencing medications and electrolyte abnormalities. Clinical outcomes were compared between patients with and without QT prolongation (QTc > 450 ms). Multivariate analysis was performed to ascertain whether QT prolongation was an independent predictor for 30-day mortality. The factors predicting QT prolongation in sepsis were also analyzed. RESULTS: New-onset QT prolongation occurred in 235/1024 (22.9%) patients. The majority demonstrated similar pattern as type 1 long QT syndrome. Patients with QT prolongation had a higher 30-day in-hospital mortality (P < 0.001), which was also associated with increased tachyarrhythmias including paroxysmal atrial fibrillation or tachycardia (P < 0.001) and ventricular arrhythmia (P < 0.001) during hospitalization. QT prolongation independently predicted 30-day mortality (P = 0.044) after multivariate analysis. History of coronary artery disease (P = 0.001), septic shock (P = 0.008), acute respiratory (P < 0.001), heart (P = 0.021) and renal dysfunction (P = 0.013) were independent predictors of QT prolongation in sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: New-onset QT prolongation in sepsis was associated with increased mortality as well as atrial and ventricular arrhythmias, which was predicted by disease severity and organ dysfunction.

Acute epicardial pulmonary vein reconnection: Nondurable transmural lesion or late manifestation of conduction through intercaval bundle.

INTRODUCTION: Acute pulmonary vein reconnection (PVR) via epicardial fibers can be found during observation period after PV isolation, the characteristics and related factors have not been fully studied. We aimed to investigate the prevalence, locations, electrogram characteristics, and ablation parameters related to acute epicardial pulmonary vein reconnection (AEPVR). METHODS: Acute PVR was monitored during observation period after PV isolation. AEPVRs were mapped and distinguished from endocardial conduction gaps. The clinical, electrophysiological characteristics and lesion set parameters were compared between patients with and without PVR. They were also compared among AEPVR, gap-related reconnection, and epicardial PVR in repeat procedures. RESULTS: A total of 56.1% acute PVR were AEPVR, which required a longer waiting period (p < .001) than endocardial gap. The majority of AEPVR were connections from the posterior PV carina to the left atrial posterior wall, followed by late manifestation of intercaval bundle conduction from the right anterior carina to right atrium. AEPVR was similar to epicardial PVR in redo procedures in distribution and electrogram characteristics. Smaller atrium (p < .001), lower impedance drop (p = .039), and ablation index (p = .028) on the posterior wall were independently associated with presence of AEPVR, while lower interlesion distance (p = .043) was the only predictor for AEPVR in acute PVR. An integrated model containing multiple lesion set parameters had the highest predictive ability for AEPVR in receiver operating characteristics analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Epicardial reconduction accounted for the majority of acute PVR. AEPVR was associated with anatomic characteristics and multiple ablation-related parameters, which could be explained by nondurable transmural lesion or late manifestation of conduction through intercaval bundle.

Discovery of Potent and Oral Bioavailable MAT2A Inhibitors for the Treatment of MTAP-Deleted Tumors.

Inhibition of methionine adenosyltransferase 2A (MAT2A) has received significant interest because of its implication as a synthetic lethal target in methylthioadenosine phosphorylase (MTAP)-deleted cancers. Here, we report the discovery of a series of 3H-pyrido[1,2-c]pyrimidin-3-one derivatives as novel MAT2A inhibitors. The selected compound 30 exhibited high potency for MAT2A inhibition and a favorable pharmacokinetic profile. Furthermore, in an HCT-116 MTAP-deleted xenograft model, compound 30 showed better in vivo potency than current clinical compound AG-270.

Corrigendum: Dregs of Cardamine hupingshanensis as a feed additive to improve the egg quality.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fnut.2022.915865.].

Dregs of Cardamine hupingshanensis as a feed additive to improve the egg quality.

Natural plant herbs have many active compounds to prevent poultry diseases and improve poultry products. However, most herbs are supplied for human medicine. Thus, for economic and sustainable development purposes, the dregs of Cardamine hupingshanensis (DCH) were developed as a feed additive to improve the egg quality of laying hens in this work. Results showed that the contents of selenium in hen serum and eggs were increased under DCH feeding. Subsequently, DCH also promotes the antioxidant capacity and immunity of laying hens through the increase of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and immunoglobulin G (IgG) by ELISA detection. Finally, production performance and egg quality were further graded by monitoring the product condition and scoring the indexes of egg quality, which also displayed that DCH as a feed additive significantly improved the egg quality by enhancing yolk color, eggshell thickness, and egg shape index.

Salidroside Attenuates Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction Partially Through Activation of QKI/FoxO1 Pathway.

Doxorubicin (DOX) is an effective chemotherapy. However, its usage has been associated with adverse effects. Salidroside (SAL) is an antioxidative drug, which confers protective effects against several diseases. Salidroside can attenuate cardiac dysfunction induced by DOX. Quaking (QKI) is identified as a protective factor that can inhibit cardiotoxicity medicated by DOX through the regulation of cardiac circular RNA expression. The present study investigated the role of QKI on the protective effect of SAL in the DOX-induced cardiotoxicity model. Results indicated that SAL attenuated DOX-induced adverse effects, including cardiac dysfunction, weight loss, and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and decreased the expression of BAX, caspase 3, and FoxO1. Also, it increased the Mn-SOD2 and QKI expression in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, QKI knockdown suppressed anti-cardiotoxicity mediated by SAL. In conclusion, the results of the current study show that salidroside attenuates doxorubicin-induced cardiac dysfunction through activation of QKI/FoxO1 pathway.

Inhibition of TRPA1 Promotes Cardiac Repair in Mice After Myocardial Infarction.

Recent studies have shown that TRPA1, a nonselective cation channel with high permeability to calcium, is expressed in many tissues of the cardiovascular system and is involved in the pathogenesis of many cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of TRPA1 in cardiac repair after myocardial infarction (MI) has not been clearly defined. The aim of this study was to confirm whether inhibition of TRPA1 could attenuate MI-induced cardiac ischemia injury. The C57BL/6 mice were subjected to ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery and treated with TRPA1-specific inhibitor HC-030031 (HC) for 4 weeks. Echocardiography was performed to assess cardiac function. The results showed that HC significantly attenuated MI-induced cardiac dysfunction 4 weeks after MI. Similarly, HC reduced cardiac fibrosis and cell apoptosis after MI and significantly increased angiogenesis in the border zone of the infarct. In vitro, we found that HC promoted the proliferation and migration of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Importantly, HC treatment decreased phosphatase and tensin homolog expression and augmented the expression of phosphorylated Akt in the myocardium post MI and HUVECs. However, treatment of HUVECs with a PI3K inhibitor, LY294002, before HC administration almost completely abolished HC-induced migration in HUVECs. In conclusion, we demonstrate that the inhibition of TRPA1 promotes angiogenesis after MI, thereby alleviating myocardial ischemia injury via mechanisms involving inhibition of phosphatase and tensin homolog expression and subsequent activation of the PI3K/Akt signaling.

Salidroside prevents tumor necrosis factor-α-induced vascular inflammation by blocking mitogen-activated protein kinase and NF-κB signaling activation.

Vascular inflammation is a key factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Salidroside is an important active ingredient extracted from the root of the Rhodiola rosea plant, which has been reported to have antioxidative, anti-cancer, neuroprotective and cardioprotective effects. However, the effects of salidroside on vascular inflammation have not been clarified. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the protective effects of salidroside against tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-induced vascular inflammation in cardiac microvascular endothelial cells (CMECs), a specific cell type derived from coronary micro-vessels. Over a 24-h period, salidroside did not exert any significant cytotoxicity up to a dose of 100 µM. Additionally, salidroside decreased the expression levels of the cell adhesion molecule vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) in TNF-α-stimulated CMECs, thus suppressing monocyte-to-CMEC adhesion. Salidroside also decreased the production of inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6 and monocyte chemotactic protein 1 (MCP-1) in TNF-α-induced CMECs, as well as suppressing TNF-α-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and NF-κB activation. Since MAPKs and NF-κB both serve notable roles in regulating the expression of VCAM-1, IL-1ß, IL-6 and MCP-1, the present study provided a preliminary understanding of the mechanism underlying the protective effects of salidroside. Overall, salidroside alleviated vascular inflammation by mediating MAPK and NF-κB activation in TNF-α-induced CMECs. These results indicated that salidroside may have potential applications as a therapeutic agent against vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis.

miR-221-3p inhibits oxidized low-density lipoprotein induced oxidative stress and apoptosis via targeting a disintegrin and metalloprotease-22.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (ox-LDL)-induced oxidative stress and apoptosis are considered as a critical contributor to atherosclerosis. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been reported versatile functions in all biological processes via directly suppressing target messenger RNA at a posttranscriptional level. Although miRNA-221 has been implied to be involved in the regulation of atherosclerosis, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Here, we showed that ox-LDL treatment remarkably suppressed the expression of miR-221-3p in a concentration-dependent and time-dependent manner. Transfection of miR-221-3p mimic significantly reduced the foam cell formation and expression of lipid biomarkers, while transfection of the miR-221-3p inhibitor showed completely opposite effects. Moreover, miR-221-3p was also found to inhibit the process of cell apoptosis in macrophages. A disintegrin and metalloprotease-22 (ADAM22) is predicted as a direct target of miR-221-3p, and silencing AMAM22 resulted in a reduced foam cell formation and cell apoptosis. Furthermore, silencing AMAM22 restored the stimulatory effect of the miR-221-3p inhibitor in ox-LDL-induced foam cell formation and apoptosis. These findings suggest that miR-221-3p inhibits ox-LDL and apoptosis via directly targeting ADAM22.