Carrying both the heterozygous Myh6-R453C and Tnnt2-R92W mutations aggravate the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy phenotype in mice.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inherited disease of the heart muscle that is dominated by variations in eight genes encoding sarcomere proteins. Although there are clinical or basic research reports that carrying double mutations can lead to more severe HCM phenotypes, there are also research reports that after reanalyzing the reported mutations, the severity of clinical symptoms in patients with double mutations did not significantly increase compared to patients with only one mutation. To determine whether double pathogenic mutations can aggravate the phenotype of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in mice, we constructed mice carrying single pathogenic heterozygous mutation Myh6-R453C or Tnnt2-R92W and mice carrying both pathogenic heterozygous mutations. Our results showed that mice with double heterozygous mutations exhibited significant hypertrophic cardiomyopathy phenotypes at 4 weeks of age, and the degree of hypertrophy was significantly higher than that of single heterozygous mutant mice of the same age. Our study suggests that carrying the two pathogenic heterozygous mutations simultaneously can aggravate the phenotype of HCM in mice, which provides experimental evidence for the genotype-phenotype relationship of double pathogenic mutations and provides reference significance for clinical risk stratification of HCM patients.

Mendelian randomization did not support the causal effect of diabetes on aortic diseases.

Observational studies revealed paradoxically inverse associations between diabetes and aortic diseases (aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection), yet the causality remains to be determined. To investigate the causal associations between diabetes and aortic diseases using Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses. Summary-level data for exposures (type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, glycated hemoglobin) and outcomes (aortic dissection and aortic aneurysm) were obtained from public genome-wide association study data. The principal analysis was the inverse-variance weighted (IVW) method. Sensitivity analyses were also carried out, including weighted median, MR-Egger, and multivariable MR methods. According to IVW results, type 1 diabetes (odds ratio [OR]: 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.93-1.07; P = 0.87), type 2 diabetes (OR: 0.97; 95% CI 0.77-1.20; P = 0.75), fasting glucose (OR: 1.16; 95% CI 0.48-2.84; P = 0.74), fasting insulin (OR: 2.75; 95% CI 0.53-14.26; P = 0.23), or glycated hemoglobin (OR: 0.33; 95% CI 0.09-1.17; P = 0.09) had no causal effect on aortic dissection. Similarly, type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, or glycated hemoglobin had no causal effect on aortic aneurysm. Sensitivity analyses revealed consistent results. MR-Egger method and funnel plot yielded no indication of directional pleiotropy. Diabetes had no causal associations with aortic dissection or aortic aneurysm. The observed inverse associations in previous cohort studies may be explained by confounding factors or reverse causation.

Machine Learning in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Nonlinear Model From Clinical and CMR Features Predicting Cardiovascular Events.

BACKGROUND: The cumulative burden of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is significant, with a noteworthy percentage (10%-15%) of patients with HCM per year experiencing major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). A current risk stratification scheme for HCM had only limited accuracy in predicting sudden cardiac death (SCD) and failed to account for a broader spectrum of adverse cardiovascular events and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to develop and evaluate a machine learning (ML) framework that integrates CMR imaging and clinical characteristics to predict MACEs in patients with HCM. METHODS: A total of 758 patients with HCM (67% male; age 49 ± 14 years) who were admitted between 2010 and 2017 from 4 medical centers were included. The ML model was built on the internal discovery cohort (533 patients with HCM, admitted to Fuwai Hospital, Beijing, China) by using the light gradient-boosting machine and internally evaluated using cross-validation. The external test cohort consisted of 225 patients with HCM from 3 medical centers. A total of 14 CMR imaging features (strain and late gadolinium enhancement [LGE]) and 23 clinical variables were evaluated and used to inform the ML model. MACEs included a composite of arrhythmic events, SCD, heart failure, and atrial fibrillation-related stroke. RESULTS: MACEs occurred in 191 (25%) patients over a median follow-up period of 109.0 months (Q1-Q3: 73.0-118.8 months). Our ML model achieved areas under the curve (AUCs) of 0.830 and 0.812 (internally and externally, respectively). The model outperformed the classic HCM Risk-SCD model, with significant improvement (P < 0.001) of 22.7% in the AUC. Using the cubic spline analysis, the study showed that the extent of LGE and the impairment of global radial strain (GRS) and global circumferential strain (GCS) were nonlinearly correlated with MACEs: an elevated risk of adverse cardiovascular events was observed when these parameters reached the high enough second tertiles (11.6% for LGE, 25.8% for GRS, -17.3% for GCS). CONCLUSIONS: ML-empowered risk stratification using CMR and clinical features enabled accurate MACE prediction beyond the classic HCM Risk-SCD model. In addition, the nonlinear correlation between CMR features (LGE and left ventricular pressure gradient) and MACEs uncovered in this study provides valuable insights for the clinical assessment and management of HCM.

Spectrum and genotype-phenotype relationship of ALPK3 variants in Chinese patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiac disease, and it has obvious genetic and clinical heterogeneity. Recently, heterozygous ALPK3 truncating variants (ALPK3tv) have been shown to cause HCM. However, the spectrum of ALPK3 variants and their relationships with the clinical characteristics of Chinese patients with HCM remain to be elucidated. Methods and results: Whole-exome sequencing data from 986 patients with HCM and 761 controls without HCM were utilized to analyze ALPK3 variants. Eleven ALPK3tv were detected in 18 patients with HCM (1.8 %), while no such variants were identified in controls. We also detected 21 rare ALPK3 missense variants in 16 patients with HCM (1.6 %) and 8 controls (1.1 %), respectively. ALPK3tv were significantly enriched in patients with HCM (P < 0.001), whereas the prevalence of missense variants was comparable between the HCM and control groups (P = 0.309). Patients with ALPK3tv exhibited a significantly lower left ventricular outflow tract gradient (P = 0.011) and a higher prevalence of apical HCM (27.8 %; P = 0.008). Conclusions: Our study supports that heterozygous ALPK3tv, but not APLK3 missense variants, are a genetic cause of HCM. Patients with HCM carrying ALPK3tv have a greater likelihood of developing apical HCM.

Right Ventricular Strain Derived from Cardiac MRI Feature Tracking for the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy.

Purpose To demonstrate the myocardial strain characteristics of patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC), based on revised Task Force Criteria (rTFC), and to explore the prognostic value of strain analysis in ARVC. Materials and Methods This retrospective study included 247 patients (median age, 38 years [IQR, 28-48 years]; 167 male, 80 female) diagnosed with ARVC, based on rTFC, between 2014 and 2018. Patients were divided into "possible" (n =25), "borderline" (n = 40), and "definite" (n = 182) ARVC groups following rTFC. Biventricular global strain parameters were calculated using cardiac MRI feature tracking (FT). The primary outcome was defined as a composite of cardiovascular events, including cardiovascular death, heart transplantation, and appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator discharge. Univariable and multivariable cumulative logistic regression and Cox proportional hazards regression analysis were used to evaluate the diagnostic and prognostic value of right ventricle (RV) strain parameters. Results Patients with definite ARVC had significantly reduced RV global strain in all three directions compared with possible or borderline groups (all P < .001). RV global longitudinal strain (GLS) was an independent predictor for disease (odds ratio, 1.09 [95% CI: 1.02, 1.16]; P = .009). During a median follow-up of 3.4 years (IQR, 2.0-4.9 years), 55 patients developed primary end point events. Multivariable analysis showed that RV GLS was independently associated with the occurrence of cardiovascular events (hazard ratio, 1.15 [95% CI: 1.07, 1.24]; P < .001). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients with RV GLS worse than median had a higher risk of combined cardiovascular events (log-rank P < .001). Conclusion RV GLS derived from cardiac MRI FT demonstrated good diagnostic and prognostic value in ARVC. Keywords: MR Imaging, Image Postprocessing, Cardiac, Right Ventricle, Cardiomyopathies, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, Revised Task Force Criteria, Cardiovascular MR, Feature Tracking, Cardiovascular Events Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2024.

Integrative analysis of transcriptome, DNA methylome and chromatin accessibility reveals candidate therapeutic targets in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited heart disease and is characterized by primary left ventricular hypertrophy usually caused by mutations in sarcomere genes. The mechanism underlying cardiac remodeling in HCM remains incompletely understood. An investigation of HCM through integrative analysis at multi-omics levels will be helpful for treating HCM. DNA methylation and chromatin accessibility, as well as gene expression, were assessed by nucleosome occupancy and methylome sequencing (NOMe-seq) and RNA-seq, respectively, using the cardiac tissues of HCM patients. Compared with those of the controls, the transcriptome, DNA methylome and chromatin accessibility of the HCM myocardium showed multifaceted differences. At the transcriptome level, HCM hearts returned to the fetal gene program through decreased sarcomeric and metabolic gene expression and increased extracellular matrix gene expression. In the DNA methylome, hypermethylated and hypomethylated differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were identified in HCM. At the chromatin accessibility level, HCM hearts showed changes in different genome elements. Several transcription factors (TFs), including SP1 and EGR1, exhibited a fetal-like pattern of binding motifs in nucleosome-depleted regions (NDRs) in HCM. In particular, the inhibition of SP1 or EGR1 in an HCM mouse model harboring sarcomere mutations markedly alleviated the HCM phenotype of the mutant mice and reversed fetal gene reprogramming. Overall, this study not only provides a high precision multi-omics map of HCM heart tissue but also sheds light on the therapeutic strategy by intervening the fetal gene reprogramming in HCM.

Screening and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease using artificial intelligence-enabled cardiac magnetic resonance imaging.

Cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) is the gold standard for cardiac function assessment and plays a crucial role in diagnosing cardiovascular disease (CVD). However, its widespread application has been limited by the heavy resource burden of CMR interpretation. Here, to address this challenge, we developed and validated computerized CMR interpretation for screening and diagnosis of 11 types of CVD in 9,719 patients. We propose a two-stage paradigm consisting of noninvasive cine-based CVD screening followed by cine and late gadolinium enhancement-based diagnosis. The screening and diagnostic models achieved high performance (area under the curve of 0.988 ± 0.3% and 0.991 ± 0.0%, respectively) in both internal and external datasets. Furthermore, the diagnostic model outperformed cardiologists in diagnosing pulmonary arterial hypertension, demonstrating the ability of artificial intelligence-enabled CMR to detect previously unidentified CMR features. This proof-of-concept study holds the potential to substantially advance the efficiency and scalability of CMR interpretation, thereby improving CVD screening and diagnosis.

Modification Effects of Homologous Recombination Repair Gene Polymorphisms on the Associations Between Urinary Metals and Breast Cancer Risk.

Metals are recognized as important factors related to breast cancer (BC) risk. Homologous recombination repair (HRR) genes might modify the toxicity of metals by influencing the distribution and metabolism of metal compounds. This study aims to investigate the modification effects of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in HRR genes on the associations between urinary metals and BC risk. A total of 685 BC cases and 741 controls were recruited from October 2009 to December 2012. Twenty-one metals were analyzed in urine samples using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and three SNPs (LIG3 rs1052536, RFC1 rs6829064, and RAD54L rs17102086) were genotyped. We identified significant interactions between four metals and two SNPs on the risk of BC. For LIG3 rs1052536 C/T variant, participants with CT/TT genotypes exposed to higher cobalt (Co) levels had higher BC risk compared to those with CC genotype (Pinteraction = 0.048). For RAD54L rs17102086 T/C variant, participants with TT genotype who were exposed to higher levels of zinc (Zn), Co, arsenic (As), and strontium (Sr) had more pronounced BC risk than the CC/TC genotypes (all Pinteraction < 0.05). This study showed compelling evidence for the interaction between genetic variants within the HRR system and urinary metals on BC risk. Our findings highlight the need to consider genetic makeup when evaluating the carcinogenic or protective potential of metals.

A Comparison of the Association of Septal Scar Burden on Responses to LBBAP-CRT and BVP-CRT.

BACKGROUND: Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) is an alternative to biventricular pacing (BVP) for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). However, despite the presence of left bundle branch block, whether cardiac substrate may influence the effect between the 2 strategies is unclear. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to assess the association of septal scar on reverse remodeling and clinical outcomes of LBBAP compared with BVP. METHODS: We analyzed patients with nonischemic cardiomyopathy who had CRT indications undergoing preprocedure cardiac magnetic resonance examination. Changes in left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and echocardiographic response (ER) (≥5% absolute LVEF increase) were assessed at 6 months. The clinical outcome was the composite of all-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalization, or major ventricular arrhythmia. RESULTS: There were 147 patients included (51 LBBAP and 96 BVP). Among patients with low septal scar burden (below median 5.7%, range: 0% to 5.3%), LVEF improvement was higher in the LBBAP than the BVP group (17.5% ± 10.9% vs 12.3% ± 11.8%; P = 0.037), with more than 3-fold increased odds of ER (OR: 4.35; P = 0.033). In high sepal scar subgroups (≥5.7%, range: 5.7%-65.9%), BVP trended towards higher LVEF improvement (9.2% ± 9.4% vs 6.4% ± 12.4%; P = 0.085). Interaction between septal scar burden and pacing strategy was significant for ER (P = 0.002) and LVEF improvement (P = 0.011) after propensity score adjustment. During median follow-up of 33.7 (Q1-Q3: 19.8-42.1) months, the composite clinical outcome occurred in 34.7% (n = 51) of patients. The high-burden subgroups had worse clinical outcomes independent of CRT method. CONCLUSIONS: Remodeling response to LBBAP and BVP among nonischemic cardiomyopathy patients is modified by septal scar burden. High septal scar burden was associated with poor clinical prognosis independent of CRT methods.

Heart Failure with Normal Natriuretic Peptide Levels and Preserved Ejection Fraction: A Prospective Clinical and Cardiac MRI Study.

Purpose To describe the clinical presentation, comprehensive cardiac MRI characteristics, and prognosis of individuals with predisposed heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Materials and Methods This prospective cohort study (part of MISSION-HFpEF [Multimodality Imaging in the Screening, Diagnosis, and Risk Stratification of HFpEF]; NCT04603404) was conducted from January 1, 2019, to September 30, 2021, and included individuals with suspected HFpEF who underwent cardiac MRI. Participants who had primary cardiomyopathy and primary valvular heart disease were excluded. Participants were split into a predisposed HFpEF group, defined as HFpEF with normal natriuretic peptide levels based on an HFA-PEFF (Heart Failure Association Pretest Assessment, Echocardiography and Natriuretic Peptide, Functional Testing, and Final Etiology) score of 4 from the latest European Society of Cardiology guidelines, and an HFpEF group (HFA-PEFF score of ≥ 5). An asymptomatic control group without heart failure was also included. Clinical and cardiac MRI-based characteristics and outcomes were compared between groups. The primary end points were death, heart failure hospitalization, or stroke. Results A total of 213 participants with HFpEF, 151 participants with predisposed HFpEF, and 100 participants in the control group were analyzed. Compared with the control group, participants with predisposed HFpEF had worse left ventricular remodeling and function and higher systemic inflammation. Compared with participants with HFpEF, those with predisposed HFpEF, whether obese or not, were younger and had higher plasma volume, lower prevalence of atrial fibrillation, lower left atrial volume index, and less impaired left ventricular global longitudinal strain (-12.2% ± 2.8 vs -13.9% ± 3.1; P < .001) and early-diastolic global longitudinal strain rate (eGLSR, 0.52/sec ± 0.20 vs 0.57/sec ± 0.15; P = .03) but similar prognosis. Atrial fibrillation occurrence (hazard ratio [HR] = 3.90; P = .009), hemoglobin level (HR = 0.94; P = .001), and eGLSR (per 0.2-per-second increase, HR = 0.28; P = .002) were independently associated with occurrence of primary end points in participants with predisposed HFpEF. Conclusion Participants with predisposed HFpEF showed relatively unique clinical and cardiac MRI features, warranting greater clinical attention. eGLSR should be considered as a prognostic factor in participants with predisposed HFpEF. Keywords: Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction, Normal Natriuretic Peptide Levels, Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance, Myocardial Strain, Prognosis Clinical trial registration no. NCT04603404 Supplemental material is available for this article. © RSNA, 2024.

Long-term outcomes prediction in diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction by cardiac MRI.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to explore imaging features including tissue characterization and myocardial deformation in diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) patients by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and investigate its prognostic value for adverse outcomes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with HFpEF who underwent cardiac MRI between January 2010 and December 2016 were enrolled. Feature-tracking (FT) analysis and myocardial fibrosis were assessed by cardiac MRI. Cox proportional regression analysis was performed to determine the association between MRI variables and primary outcomes. Primary outcomes were all-cause death or heart failure hospitalization during the follow-up period. RESULTS: Of the 335 enrolled patients with HFpEF, 191 had diabetes mellitus (DM) (mean age: 58.7 years ± 10.8; 137 men). During a median follow-up of 10.2 years, 91 diabetic HFpEF and 56 non-diabetic HFpEF patients experienced primary outcomes. DM was a significant predictor of worse prognosis in HFpEF. In diabetic HFpEF, the addition of conventional imaging variables (left ventricular ejection fraction, left atrial volume index, extent of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) resulted in a significant increase in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (from 0.693 to 0.760, p < 0.05). After adjustment for multiple clinical and imaging variables, each 1% worsening in GLS was associated with a 9.8% increased risk of adverse events (p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic HFpEF is characterized by more severely impaired strains and myocardial fibrosis, which is identified as a high-risk HFpEF phenotype. In diabetic HFpEF, comprehensive cardiac MRI provides incremental value in predicting prognosis. Particularly, MRI-FT measurement of GLS is an independent predictor of adverse outcome in diabetic HFpEF. CLINICAL RELEVANCE STATEMENT: Our findings suggested that MRI-derived variables, especially global longitudinal strain, played a crucial role in risk stratification and predicting worse prognosis in diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, which could assist in identifying high-risk patients and guiding therapeutic decision-making. KEY POINTS: • Limited data are available on the cardiac MRI features of diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, including myocardial deformation and tissue characterization, as well as their incremental prognostic value. • Diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction patients was characterized by more impaired strains and myocardial fibrosis. Comprehensive MRI, including tissue characterization and global longitudinal strain, provided incremental value for risk prediction. • MRI served as a valuable tool for identifying high-risk patients and guiding clinical management in diabetic heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.

Geometric remodeling of tricuspid valve in pulmonary hypertension and its correlation with pulmonary hypertension severity: a prospectively case-control study using four-dimensional automatic tricuspid valve quantification technology.

Background: Evaluation of the tricuspid valve (TV) is crucial for clinical decision making and post-treatment follow-up in pulmonary hypertension (PH) patients. However, little is known about 4-dimensional (4D) TV geometric remodeling in patients with PH. The aim of this study was to examine the 4D geometry of the TV in PH and its correlation with PH severity. Methods: A total of 74 PH patients with mean pulmonary arterial pressure >25 mmHg and 15 age- and gender-matched healthy individuals were consecutively included from September 2017 to December 2018 in National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Fuwai Hospital. All participants underwent 2-dimensional (2D) and 4D transthoracic echocardiography and PH patients underwent right heart catheterization (RHC) within 48 hours of echocardiography. TV geometry was analyzed using a dedicated 4D echocardiography from the right ventricular-focused apical view. Results: Compared with controls, PH patients had significantly larger 4D tricuspid annular (TA) and TV tenting sizes except in the 2-chamber diameter. In high-quality image cases, maximal tenting height (MTH), coaptation point height, tenting volume and 4-chamber diameter had good or moderate correlation with PH severity graded according to RHC mean pulmonary artery pressure (r=0.705, r=0.644, r=0.602, r=0.472, respectively; P<0.001 for all). In multivariable linear regression analysis, PH severity was independently associated with coaptation point height (F=18.070, P<0.001 with an R2=0.647) and MTH (F=25.576, P<0.001 with an R2=0.378). Among all 4D TV parameters, MTH had the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) in high-quality image cases [AUC =0.857, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.743-0.972; P<0.001], comparable to echocardiographic systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (AUC =0.847, 95% CI: 0.733-0.961; P<0.001). Conclusions: In PH, TV geometric remodeling occurs mainly in TA septal-lateral dimension and TV tenting height. Worsening PH is an independent determinant of TV coaptation point height and MTH, not TA size. MTH shows a great diagnostic potential to detect severe PH.

High-resolution single-cell transcriptomic survey of cardiomyocytes from patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common inherited cardiovascular disease, which can cause heart failure and lead to death. In this study, we performed high-resolution single-cell RNA-sequencing of 2115 individual cardiomyocytes obtained from HCM patients and normal controls. Signature up- and down-regulated genes in HCM were identified by integrative analysis across 37 patients and 41 controls from our data and published human single-cell and single-nucleus RNA-seq datasets, which were further classified into gene modules by single-cell co-expression analysis. Using our high-resolution dataset, we also investigated the heterogeneity among individual cardiomyocytes and revealed five distinct clusters within HCM cardiomyocytes. Interestingly, we showed that some extracellular matrix (ECM) genes were up-regulated in the HCM cardiomyocytes, suggesting that they play a role in cardiac remodelling. Taken together, our study comprehensively profiled the transcriptomic programs of HCM cardiomyocytes and provided insights into molecular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of HCM.