Quantification of epicardial adipose tissue by computed tomographic scanning as a prognostic criterion of atrial fibrillation recurrence after catheter ablation.

Aim    This study focused on a systematic review and meta-analysis on the predictive role of quantifying the epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) volume using data of computed tomography (CT) in patients after catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation (AF).Material and methods    We performed a search in PubMed and Google Scholar for studies that examined the predictive value of EAT volume measured by CT for AF recurrence in patients after undergoing pulmonary venous isolation. Risk ratio (RR) values from studies, where similar scoring criteria were available, were pooled for the meta-analysis.Results    Eighteen studies were selected from 901 publications for these systematic review and meta-analysis. In total, 4087 patients were included in this analysis (mean age, 59.0 years; mean follow-up duration, 14.9 mos). Patients with recurrent AF after ablation had higher left atrial EAT volume compared to patients without relapse (weighted mean difference, 5.99 ml; 95% CI: -10.04 to -1.94; p = 0.004). An increase in left atrial EAT volume per ml was significantly associated with the development of AF recurrence after ablation (RR 1.08; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.16; p=0.03). Patients with recurrent AF after ablation also had higher total EAT values than patients without relapse (difference in weighted values, 11.67 ml; 95% CI: -19.81 to -3.54; p = 0.005). However, no significant association was found between the total EAT volume and the risk of AF relapse (RR 1.00; 95% CI: 1.00 to 1.01; p=0.06).Conclusions    The volume of left atrial EAT measured by CT has a significant predictive value in AF patients after catheter ablation and can be used for stratification of the risk for recurrent AF.

The extent of late gadolinium enhancement predicts mortality, sudden death and major adverse cardiovascular events in patients with nonischaemic cardiomyopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

AIM: To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis with the objective of evaluating the prognostic value of extent of myocardial fibrosis by late gadolinium-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) in non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NICM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Google Scholar were searched for studies that investigated the prognostic value of quantification of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) in patients with NICM. Unadjusted and adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of uniformly defined predictors were pooled for meta-analysis. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were retrieved from 884 publications for this systematic review and meta-analysis. In total, 4,336 patients (mean age 51.2 years; mean follow-up 35.1 months) were included in the analysis. Meta-analysis showed the extent of LGE was associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 1.07/1% LGE; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.03-1.11; p=0.0003), composite arrhythmic endpoint (HR: 1.09/1% LGE; 95% CI: 1.03-1.15; p=0.002) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE; HR: 1.06/1% LGE; 95% CI: 1.02-1.11; p=0.005). After adjusting for baseline characteristics, the higher extent of LGE remained associated with the risk of all-cause mortality (HRadjusted: 1.07/1% LGE; 95% CI: 1.00-1.14; p=0.04), also strongly associated with the risk of composite arrhythmic endpoint (HRadjusted: 1.07; 95% CI: 1.02-1.012; p=0.004) and MACE (HRadjusted: 1.04; 95% CI: 1.01-1.08; p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Extent of LGE in CMR predicts all-cause mortality, arrhythmic events, and MACE. Collectively, these findings emphasise that extent of LGE by CMR may have value for optimising current predictive models for clinical events or mortality in patients with NICM.

Prognostic value of myocardial strain by magnetic resonance imaging in nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Aim    This study was aimed at performing a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the prognostic role of left ventricular (LV) myocardial strain variables as determined by magnetic-resonance imaging in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.Material and methods    A search was performed in PubMed (MEDLINE), Google Scholar, and EMBASE databases for studies on the prognostic role of LV myocardial strain based on MR feature-tracking in non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy. Uncorrected odds ratio (OR) values reported by the studies where similar evaluation criteria of myocardial strain were available, were combined for a meta-analysis.Results    Nine studies were selected from 351 publications for this systematic review and meta-analysis. The analysis included a totality of 2139 patients (mean age, 52.3 years; mean follow-up duration, 42.5 months). The meta-analysis showed that the worsening of the LV global longitudinal strain (GLS), global circumferential strain (GCS), and global radial strain (GRS) was associated with increased risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE): OR, 1.13  per each % of GLS; 95 % CI: 1.050-1.225; p=0.001; OR, 1.16 per each % of GCS; 95 % CI: 1.107-1.213; p<0.0001; OR, 0.95 per each % of GRS; 95 % CI: 0.92-0.97; p<0.0001.Conclusion    The LV GLS, GCS, and GRS variables by MR feature-tracking data are powerful predictors for the development of MACE. Evaluation of myocardial strain can be used as an effective instrument for risk stratification in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Study of the Osteoindictive Properties of Protein-Modified Polylactide Scaffolds.

Bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells are multipotent and can differentiate into cells of various tissues, which determines their high importance for clinical application. We performed an in vitro study of the osteogenic potential of mesenchymal stromal cells cultured on intact polylactide scaffolds or scaffolds modified with collagen I or fibrin. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the cells formed osteogenic nodules or osteogenic nodules on both intact and fibrin-modified polylactide scaffolds. Spectrophotometric detection of alkaline phosphatase activity on days 7 and 11 showed that mesenchymal stromal cell grown on intact polylactide scaffolds and on scaffolds modified with collagen type I or fibrin more intensively synthesized alkaline phosphatase than in the control (culture plastic). This dependence increases in the presence of osteogenic differentiation factors in the medium. After long-term culturing (4 weeks), the presence of calcium deposits detected by alizarin red staining confirmed the osteoinductive properties of intact and protein-modified polylactide scaffolds. These findings suggest that polylactide scaffolds and collagen I increase the osteogenic differentiation potential of mesenchymal stromal cells.

[Epicardial Fat and Atrial Fibrillation: the Role of Profibrinogenic Mediators].

BACKGROUND: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) has certain paracrine functions, which could be associated with proinflammatory and fibrotic changes in myocardium even in patients without structural heart disease but with atrial fibrillation (AF). PURPOSE: to evaluate interrelationship between clinical data, parameters of tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), EAT thickness estimated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and biochemical markers of fibrosis and inflammation in patients with nonvalvular AF without concomitant ischemic heart disease (IHD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included in this study 39 AF patients without valvular pathology or IHD with normal or moderately increased left atrial (LA) dimension (mean age 50.8±13.9 years, 49 % men). The following groups were distinguished for analysis: with idiopathic AF (iAFgroup, n=21); with AF and arterial hypertension (AF+AH group, n=18); with normal (.

[Therapeutic Effects of Multipotent Mesenchymal Stromal Cells after Irradiation].

Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) are now considered to be a perspective multifunctional treatment option for radiation side effects. At present.a great number of sufficient evidence has been collected in favor of therapeutic effects of MSCs in acute radiation reactions. It has been shown that MSC-based products injected locally or systemically have therapeutic effects on irradiated organs and tissues. This review presents summarized experimental and clinical data about protective and regenerative effects of MSCs on different radiation-injured organs and tissues; the main probable therapeutic mechanisms of their action are also discussed.

[Quantitative Evaluation of Intracardiac Blood Flow by Left Ventricle Dynamic Anatovy Based On Exact Solutions of Non-Stationary Navier-Stocks Equations for Selforganized tornado-Like Flows of Viscous Incompresssible Fluid].

New approach to intracardiac blood flow condition analysis based on geometric parameters of left ventricle flow channel has been suggested. Parameters, that used in this method, follow from exact solutions of nonstationary Navier-Stocks equations for selforganized tornado-like flows of viscous incompressible fluid. The main advantage of this method is considering dynamic anatomy of intracardiac cavity and trabeculae relief of left ventricle streamlined surface, both registered in a common mri-process, as flow condition indicator. Calculated quantity options that characterizes blood flow condition can be use as diagnostic criterias for estimation of violation in blood circulation function which entails heart ejection reduction. Developed approach allows to clarify heart jet organization mechanism and estimate the share of the tornado-like flow self-organization in heart ejection structure.

Genetic variability of the mouse hepatoma cells MH-22a revealed by RAPD-PCR-fingerprinting under different conditions of cultivation.

AIM: to study genetic variability in clonal lines of the mouse hepatoma MH-22a and the dependence of the capability of different clonal line cells for differentiation on the amount of genetic disturbances revealed by the RAPD-PCR method. METHODS: The hepatoma MH-22a and its ten clonal lines were transplanted into subcutaneous connective tissue (SCT) and the eye anterior chamber (EAC) by injection of the cells to syngenic C3HA mice. The growth of transplants was checked in 15-20 days after transplantation. The tumors were fixed in neutral paraformaldehyde (10%), passed through ethanol of increasing concentrations, embedded in paraffin and stained by hematoxiline and eosine and Van Gisone. The genetic heterogeneity in the hepatoma cell population MH-22a and its clonal lines in vitro and in vivo was revealed by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD-PCR). For the estimation of genetic variability revealed in the fingerprints was used the genetic variability index (GVI), based on the Bootstrep and Mikulinskaya's statistic programme. RESULTS: The comparative analysis of the genetic structure of the clonal line populations in vitro and in vivo has revealed that the amount of clones with the high, intermediate, and low variability is approximately the same in both cases. It was also shown that GVI in various clonal lines in vitro correlated with their vital ability: the clones yielding clone lines had the lowest GVI. The same GVI value was found in the clonal lines proliferated in the EAC regardless of their capability for differentiation. Intraclonal analysis has shown that the highest values of changes revealed on fingerprints of the amplification of DNA products do not prevent from differentiation of tumor hepatoma cells in the EAC. CONCLUSION: These data allow concluding that the mouse hepatoma cells MH-22a can preserve ability for differentiation in spite of significant changes in their genome.

PCR-detected genome polymorphism in malignant cell growth.

In this chapter, we analyze the problem of genetic polymorphism in tumorigenesis, which determines basic capacities of tumors. The study of genome polymorphism with modified PCR methods allows the detection of various forms of polymorphism in tumor cells. This method has made it possible to determine association of DNA polymorphism with conditions of oncogenes, antioncogenes, and genes of apoptosis and with their allelic states. A special type of nonspecific DNA polymorphism that resulted from an increase in the mutation number in the cancer cell genome was discovered. This phenomenon was called the microsatellite mutator phenotype. Because the type of DNA polymorphism correlates with various biological capacities of malignant tumors and has an important prognostic significance, the analysis of DNA polymorphism in benign and malignant tumors of different histogenesis will play an important role both in theoretical studies of cancer and in oncological practice. A modified B1-PCR was used to study the genome polymorphism in the mouse tumor cells. The gain of the band 470 bp and the loss of the band 600 bp were revealed in the hepatoma cell line MH-22a as compared with liver cells of C3HA mice. The differentiation of teratocarcinoma EC F9 cells to endoderm-like cells was not accompanied by any changes in the B1-AF DNA fingerprint.

N-terminal truncated cytochrome P450 2B4: catalytic activities and reduction with alternative electron sources.

It was shown that riboflavin binds to the truncated cytochrome P450 2B4 and forms a complex with the K(d) = 26 microM. Noncovalent complex of truncated (Delta2-27) cytochrome P450 2B4 with riboflavin was essential for electron transfer realization and catalyzed the NADH-dependent and hydrogen peroxide-supported monooxygenase reactions of aminopyrine N-demethylation and aniline p-hydroxylation. Flavocytochrome molecular maquette was capable of supporting photoactivatable electron transfer and could be photoreduced and electroreduced quantitatively in the absence of pyridine nucleotides.