The small molecule Chicago Sky Blue promotes heart repair following myocardial infarction in mice.

The adult mammalian heart regenerates poorly after injury and, as a result, ischemic heart diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide. The recovery of the injured heart is dependent on orchestrated repair processes including inflammation, fibrosis, cardiomyocyte survival, proliferation, and contraction properties that could be modulated in patients. In this work we designed an automated high-throughput screening system for small molecules that induce cardiomyocyte proliferation in vitro and identified the small molecule Chicago Sky Blue 6B (CSB). Following induced myocardial infarction, CSB treatment reduced scar size and improved heart function of adult mice. Mechanistically, we show that although initially identified using in vitro screening for cardiomyocyte proliferation, in the adult mouse CSB promotes heart repair through (i) inhibition of CaMKII signaling, which improves cardiomyocyte contractility; and (ii) inhibition of neutrophil and macrophage activation, which attenuates the acute inflammatory response, thereby contributing to reduced scarring. In summary, we identified CSB as a potential therapeutic agent that enhances cardiac repair and function by suppressing postinjury detrimental processes, with no evidence for cardiomyocyte renewal.

Assessing Mucosal Inflammation in a DSS-Induced Colitis Mouse Model by MR Colonography.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is characterized by a chronic flaring inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. To determine disease activity, the inflammatory state of the colon should be assessed. Endoscopy in patients with IBD aids visualization of mucosal inflammation. However, because the mucosa is fragile, there is a significant risk of perforation. In addition, the technique is based on grading of the entire colon, which is highly operator-dependent. An improved, noninvasive, objective magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique will effectively assess pathologies in the small intestinal mucosa, more specifically, along the colon, and the bowel wall and surrounding structures. Here, dextran sodium sulfate polymer induced acute colitis in mice that was subsequently characterized by multisection magnetic resonance colonography. This study aimed to develop a noninvasive, objective, quantitative MRI technique for detecting mucosal inflammation in a dextran sodium sulfate-induced colitis mouse model. MRI results were correlated with endoscopic and histopathological evaluations.