Prenatal sonographic findings in a case with bilateral Tessier number 7 cleft in first trimester.

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No evidence of coronary plaque stabilization by allopurinol in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Allopurinol, a xanthine inhibitor that lowers uric acid concentration, has been proven to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress in patients with cardiovascular disease. However, it is unknown whether these beneficial effects translate into favorable plaque modification in acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study aimed to investigate whether allopurinol could improve coronary plaque stabilization using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). METHODS: This was a prospective, single-center, randomized, double-blind clinical trial began in March 2019. A total of 162 ACS patients aged 18-80 years with a blood level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) â€‹> â€‹2 â€‹mg/L were included. The subjects were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive either allopurinol sustained-release capsules (at a dose of 0.25 â€‹g once daily) or placebo for 12 months. The plaque analysis was performed at CCTA. The primary efficacy endpoint was the change in low-attenuation plaque volume (LAPV) from baseline to the 12-month follow-up. RESULTS: Among 162 patients, 54 in allopurinol group and 51 in placebo group completed the study. The median follow-up duration was 14 months in both groups. Compared with placebo, allopurinol therapy did not significantly alter LAPV (-13.4 â€‹± â€‹3.7 â€‹% vs. -17.8 â€‹± â€‹3.6 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.390), intermediate attenuation plaque volume (-16.1 â€‹± â€‹3.0 â€‹% vs. -16.2 â€‹± â€‹2.9 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.992), dense calcified plaque volume (12.2 â€‹± â€‹13.7 â€‹% vs. 9.7 â€‹± â€‹13.0 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.894), total atheroma volume (-15.2 â€‹± â€‹3.2 â€‹% vs. -16.4 â€‹± â€‹3.1 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.785), remodeling index (2.0 â€‹± â€‹3.9 â€‹% vs. 5.4 â€‹± â€‹3.8 â€‹%, p â€‹= â€‹0.536) or hsCRP levels (-73.6 [-91.6-17.9] % vs. -81.2 [-95.4-47.7] %, p â€‹= â€‹0.286). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that allopurinol does not improve atherosclerotic plaque stability or inflammation in ACS.

Different anti-inflammatory drugs on high-sensitivity C-reactive protein in patients after percutaneous coronary intervention: A pilot randomized clinical trial.

ABSTRACT: Colchicine reduces atherothrombotic cardiovascular events in coronary artery disease (CAD) due to its anti-inflammatory effect. However, the effects of the other anti-inflammatory drugs in CAD remain unclear. This study included 132 patients aged 18-80 years who completed the planned percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) and were treated with aggressive secondary prevention strategies for four weeks. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the following treatment groups for four weeks: (1) control: no additional intervention; (2) colchicine: 0.5 mg once a day; (3) tranilast: 0.1 g thrice a day; or (4) oridonin: 0.5 g thrice a day. The primary outcome was the percentage change in hsCRP levels at the end of four weeks. In total, 109 patients completed the study. The mean age was 58.33 years, 81 (74.31%) were male and 28 (25.69%) were female. The percentage changes in hsCRP after four weeks of treatment were -11.62%, -48.28%, -21.60%, and -7.81%, in the control, colchicine, tranilast, and the oridonin groups respectively. Compared with the control group, only the colchicine group showed significantly greater reduction in hsCRP levels (P=0.022). In targeted proteomic analysis, proteins associated with neutrophil activation (azurocidin, myeloperoxidase, myeloblastin), platelet aggregation (glycoprotein VI) and endothelial damage (galectin-3) were reduced with colchicine therapy. These results show that of three anti-inflammatory drugs only colchicine could reduce hsCRP in patients after PCI.

T lymphocyte characteristics and immune repertoires in the epicardial adipose tissue of heart failure patients.

Background: Epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) acts as an active immune organ and plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of heart failure (HF). However, the characteristics of immune cells in EAT of HF patients have rarely been elucidated. Methods: To identify key immune cells in EAT, an integrated bioinformatics analysis was performed on public datasets. EAT samples with paired subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), heart, and peripheral blood samples from HF patients were collected in validation experiments. T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire was assessed by high-throughput sequencing. The phenotypic characteristics and key effector molecules of T lymphocytes in EAT were assessed by flow cytometry and histological staining. Results: Compared with SAT, EAT was enriched for immune activation-related genes and T lymphocytes. Compared with EAT from the controls, activation of T lymphocytes was more pronounced in EAT from HF patients. T lymphocytes in EAT of HF patients were enriched by highly expanded clonotypes and had greater TCR clonotype sharing with cardiac tissue relative to SAT. Experiments confirmed the abundance of IFN-γ+ effector memory T lymphocytes (TEM) in EAT of HF patients. CCL5 and GZMK were confirmed to be associated with T lymphocytes in EAT of HF patients. Conclusion: EAT of HF patients was characterized by pronounced immune activation of clonally expanded IFN-γ+ TEM and a generally higher degree of TCR clonotypes sharing with paired cardiac tissue.

Phosphorylcholine-Primed Dendritic Cells Aggravate the Development of Atherosclerosis in ApoE-/- Mice.

Background: Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease involving activation of adaptive and innate immune responses to antigens, including oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oxLDL) and phosphorylcholine (PC). Dendritic cells (DCs), which are antigen-presenting cells that activate T cells, are present in atherosclerotic lesions and are activated in immune organs. However, the mechanism by which PC promotes atherosclerosis is unclear. Methods and Results: To evaluate whether PC promotes atherosclerosis via DCs, 2×105 DCs activated by PC-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (DCs+PC-KLH) were injected into ApoE-/- mice and the features of the plaques and the effects of the DCs on cellular and humoral immunity against PC-KLH were determined. Mice injected with DCs+PC-KLH had significantly larger atherosclerotic lesions than controls, with increased inflammation in the lesions and plaque instability. Furthermore, DCs+PC-KLH were characterized using flow cytometry after coculture of bone marrow-derived DCs and naïve T cells. DCs+PC-KLH showed an inflammatory phenotype, with increased CD86, CD40, and major histocompatibility complex Class II molecules (MHC-II), which promoted PC-specific T helper (Th) 1 and Th17 cell differentiation in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, 2 weeks after the administration of DCs+PC-KLH to mice, these mice produced PC- and oxLDL-specific IgG2a, compared with no production in the controls. Conclusions: These findings suggest that DCs presenting PC promote specific immunity to PC, increase lesion inflammation, and accelerate atherosclerosis, which may explain how PC promotes atherosclerosis.

Photodynamic therapy: A next alternative treatment strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma?

Liver cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Of all types of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is known to be the most frequent primary liver malignancy and has seriously compromised the health status of the general population. Locoregional thermal ablation techniques such as radiofrequency and microwave ablation, have attracted attention in clinical practice as an alternative strategy for HCC treatment. However, their aggressive thermal effect may cause undesirable complications such as hepatic decompensation, hemorrhage, bile duct injury, extrahepatic organ injuries, and skin burn. In recent years, photodynamic therapy (PDT), a gentle locoregional treatment, has attracted attention in ablation therapy for patients with superficial or luminal tumors as an alternative treatment strategy. However, some inherent defects and extrinsic factors of PDT have limited its use in clinical practice for deep-seated HCC. In this contribution, the aim is to summarize the current status and challenges of PDT in HCC treatment and provide potential strategies to overcome these deficiencies in further clinical translational practice.

The Long Noncoding RNA Hotair Regulates Oxidative Stress and Cardiac Myocyte Apoptosis during Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

Oxidative stress and subsequent cardiac myocyte apoptosis play central roles in the initiation and progression of myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Homeobox transcript antisense intergenic RNA (Hotair) was previously implicated in various heart diseases, yet its role in myocardial I/R injury has not been clearly demonstrated. Mice with cardiac-restricted knockdown or overexpression of Hotair were exposed to I/R surgery. H9c2 cells were cultured and subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) stimulation to further verify the role and underlying mechanisms of Hotair in vitro. Histological examination, molecular detection, and functional parameters were determined in vivo and in vitro. In response to I/R or H/R treatment, Hotair expression was increased in a bromodomain-containing protein 4-dependent manner. Cardiac-restricted knockdown of Hotair exacerbated, whereas Hotair overexpression prevented I/R-induced oxidative stress, cardiac myocyte apoptosis, and cardiac dysfunction. Mechanistically, we observed that Hotair exerted its beneficial effects via activating AMP-activated protein kinase alpha (AMPKα). Further detection revealed that Hotair activated AMPKα through regulating the enhancer of zeste homolog 2/microRNA-451/calcium-binding protein 39 (EZH2/miR-451/Cab39) axis. We provide the evidence that endogenous lncRNA Hotair is an essential negative regulator for oxidative stress and cardiac myocyte apoptosis in myocardial I/R injury, which is dependent on AMPKα activation via the EZH2/miR-451/Cab39 axis.

Liver-heart crosstalk controls IL-22 activity in cardiac protection after myocardial infarction.

Interleukin (IL)-22 regulates tissue inflammation and repair. Here we report participation of the liver in IL-22-mediated cardiac repair after acute myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: We induced experimental MI in mice by ligation of the left ascending artery and evaluated the effect of IL-22 on post-MI cardiac function and ventricular remodeling. Results: Daily subcutaneous injection of 100 µg/kg mouse recombinant IL-22 for seven days attenuated adverse ventricular remodeling and improved cardiac function in mice at 28 days after left anterior descending coronary artery ligation-induced MI. Pharmacological inhibition of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT3) muted these IL-22 activities. While cardiomyocyte-selective depletion of STAT3 did not affect IL-22 activities in protecting post-MI cardiac injury, hepatocyte-specific depletion of STAT3 fully muted these IL-22 cardioprotective activities. Hepatocyte-derived fibroblast growth factor (FGF21) was markedly increased in a STAT3-dependent manner following IL-22 administration and accounted for the cardioprotective benefit of IL-22. Microarray analyses revealed that FGF21 controlled the expression of cardiomyocyte genes that are involved in cholesterol homeostasis, DNA repair, peroxisome, oxidative phosphorylation, glycolysis, apoptosis, and steroid responses, all of which are responsible for cardiomyocyte survival. Conclusions: Supplementation of IL-22 in the first week after acute MI effectively prevented left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure. This activity of IL-22 involved crosstalk between the liver and heart after demonstrating a role of the hepatic STAT3-FGF21 axis in IL-22-induced post-MI cardiac protection.

Defective circulating CD4+LAP+ regulatory T cells in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

There has been increasing evidence that chronic immune activation plays critical roles in the pathogenesis of DCM. CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs are a newly identified T cell subset with suppressive function on the immune response. This study was designed to investigate whether the circulating frequency and function of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs would be impaired in patients with DCM. The results demonstrated that DCM patients had a significantly lower frequency of circulating CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs compared with control donors. CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs from DCM patients showed compromised function to suppress proliferation of CD4(+) LAP(-)CD25(int/low) T cells and proliferation and IgG production of B cells. Moreover, B cell proliferation and IgG subset production could be directly suppressed by CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs. TGF-ß and contact-dependent mechanisms were involved in CD4(+)LAP(+) Treg-mediated suppression. Correlation analysis suggested that CD4(+)LAP(+) Treg frequency was positively correlated with LVEF and negatively correlated with serum IgG3 and NT-proBNP concentration in patients with DCM. Our results are the first to demonstrate that the frequencies of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs in patients with DCM are reduced and that their suppressive function is compromised. Defective CD4(+) LAP(+) Tregs may be an underlying mechanism of immune activation in DCM patients.

Activated regulatory T-cells attenuate myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury through a CD39-dependent mechanism.

Regulatory T-cells (Tregs) are generally regarded as key immunomodulators that maintain immune tolerance and counteract tissue damage in a variety of immune-mediated disorders. However, its role in myocardial ischaemia/reperfusion injury (MIRI) remains unknown. The purpose of the present study was to determine whether Tregs exert a beneficial effect on mouse MIRI. We examined the role of Tregs in murine MIRI by depletion using 'depletion of regulatory T-cell' (DEREG) mice and adoptive transfer using Forkhead box P3 (Foxp3)-GFP knockin mice and the mechanisms of cardio protection were further studied in vivo and in vitro. Tregs rapidly accumulated in murine hearts following MIRI. Selective depletion of Tregs in the DEREG mouse model resulted in aggravated MIRI. In contrast, the adoptive transfer of in vitro-activated Tregs suppressed MIRI, whereas freshly isolated Tregs had no effect. Mechanistically, activated Treg-mediated protection against MIRI was not abrogated by interleukin (IL)-10 or transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1 inhibition but was impaired by the genetic deletion of cluster of differentiation 39 (CD39). Moreover, adoptive transfer of in vitro-activated Tregs attenuated cardiomyocyte apoptosis, activated a pro-survival pathway involving Akt and extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and inhibited neutrophil infiltration, which was compromised by CD39 deficiency. Finally, the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients after primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) revealed a decrease in CD4+CD25+CD127low Tregs and a relative increase in CD39+ cells within the Treg population. In conclusion, our data validated a protective role for Tregs in MIRI. Moreover, in vitro-activated Tregs ameliorated MIRI via a CD39-dependent mechanism, representing a putative therapeutic strategy.

Regulatory T cells protect fine particulate matter-induced inflammatory responses in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells (Tregs) in protecting fine particulate matter (PM-) induced inflammatory responses, and its potential mechanisms. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with graded concentrations (2, 5, 10, 20, and 40 µg/cm(2)) of suspension of fine particles for 24h. For coculture experiment, HUVECs were incubated alone, with CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells (Teff), or with Tregs in the presence of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies for 48 hours, and then were stimulated with or without suspension of fine particles for 24 hours. The expression of adhesion molecules and inflammatory cytokines was examined. RESULTS: Adhesion molecules, including vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and inflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin (IL-) 6 and IL-8, were increased in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the adhesion of human acute monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) to endothelial cells was increased and NF- κ B activity was upregulated in HUVECs after treatment with fine particles. However, after Tregs treatment, fine particles-induced inflammatory responses and NF- κ B activation were significantly alleviated. Transwell experiments showed that Treg-mediated suppression of HUVECs inflammatory responses impaired by fine particles required cell contact and soluble factors. CONCLUSIONS: Tregs could attenuate fine particles-induced inflammatory responses and NF- κ B activation in HUVECs.

IL-17A promotes ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction.

Inflammatory responses play an important role in the pathogenesis of adverse ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). We previously demonstrated that interleukin (IL)-17A plays a pathogenic role in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury and viral myocarditis. However, the role of IL-17A in post-MI remodeling and the related mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. Acute MI was induced by permanent ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in C57BL/6 mice. Repletion of IL-17A significantly aggravated both early- and late-phase ventricular remodeling, as demonstrated by increased infarct size, deteriorated cardiac function, increased myocardial fibrosis, and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. By contrast, genetic IL-17A deficiency had the opposite effect. Additional studies in vitro indicated that IL-17A induces neonatal cardiomyocyte (from C57BL/6 mice) apoptosis through the activation of p38, p53 phosphorylation, and Bax redistribution. These data demonstrate that IL-17A induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis through the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-p53-Bax signaling pathway and promotes both early- and late-phase post-MI ventricular remodeling. IL-17A might be an important target in preventing heart failure after MI. Key message: We demonstrated that IL-17A plays a pathogenic role both in the early and late stages of post-MI remodeling. IL-17A induces murine cardiomyocyte apoptosis. IL-17A induces murine cardiomyocyte apoptosis through the p38 MAPK-p53-Bax signaling pathway.

Impaired circulating CD4+ LAP+ regulatory T cells in patients with acute coronary syndrome and its mechanistic study.

OBJECTIVE: CD4(+) latency-associated peptide (LAP)(+) regulatory T cells (Tregs) are a newly discovered T cell subset in humans and the role of these cells in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) has not been explored. We designed to investigate whether circulating frequency and function of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs are defective in ACS. METHODS: One hundred eleven ACS patients (acute myocardial infarction and unstable angina) and 117 control patients were enrolled in the study. The control patients consisted of chronic stable angina (CSA) and chest pain syndrome (CPS). The frequencies of circulating CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs and the expression of the transmembrane protein glycoprotein-A repetitions predominant (GARP) on CD4(+) T cells were determined by flow cytometry. The function of CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs was detected using thymidine uptake. Serum interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor-ß protein (TGF-ß) levels were detected using ELISA and expression of GARP mRNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was measured by real time-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: We found ACS patients had a significantly lower frequency of circulating CD4(+)LAP(+) Tregs, and the function of these cells was reduced compared to controls. The expression of GARP in CD4(+) T cells and the serum levels of TGF-ß in ACS patients were lower than those of control patients. The serum levels of IL-10 were similar between the two cohorts. CONCLUSIONS: A novel regulatory T cell subset, defined as CD4(+)LAP(+) T cells is defective in ACS patients.

MR imaging of patients with lateral epicondylitis of the elbow: is the common extensor tendon an isolated lesion?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether an injury of the common extensor tendon (CET) is associated with other abnormalities in the elbow joint and find the potential relationships between these imaging features by using a high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: Twenty-three patients were examined with 3.0 T MR. Two reviewers were recruited for MR images evaluation. Image features were recorded in terms of (1) the injury degree of CET; (2) associated injuries in the elbow joint. Spearman's rank correlation analysis was performed to analyze the relationships between the injury degree of CET and associated abnormalities of the elbow joint, correlations were considered significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: Total 24 elbows in 23 patients were included. Various degrees of injuries were found in total 24 CETs (10 mild, 7 moderate and 7 severe). Associated abnormalities were detected in accompaniments of the elbow joints including ligaments, tendons, saccussynovialis and muscles. A significantly positive correlation (r = 0.877,p<0.01) was found in injuries of CET and lateral ulnar collateral ligament (LUCL). CONCLUSION: Injury of the CET is not an isolated lesion for lateral picondylitis, which is mostly accompanied with other abnormalities, of which the LUCL injury is the most commonly seen in lateral epicondylitis, and there is a positive correlation between the injury degree in CET and LUCL.

Impaired thymic export and increased apoptosis account for regulatory T cell defects in patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.

Regulatory T (Treg) cells play a protective role against the development of atherosclerosis. Previous studies have revealed Treg cell defects in patients with non-ST elevation acute coronary syndrome (NSTACS), but the mechanisms underlying these defects remain unclear. In this study, we found that the numbers of peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low) Treg cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low)CD45RA(+)CD45RO(-) naive Treg cells were lower in the NSTACS patients than in the chronic stable angina (CSA) and the chest pain syndrome (CPS) patients. However, the number of CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low)CD45RA(-)CD45RO(+) memory Treg cells was comparable in all of the groups. The frequency of CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low)CD45RO(-)CD45RA(+)CD31(+) recent thymic emigrant Treg cells and the T cell receptor excision circle content of purified Treg cells were lower in the NSTACS patients than in the CSA patients and the CPS controls. The spontaneous apoptosis of Treg cells (defined as CD4(+)CD25(+)CD127(low)annexin V(+)7-AAD(-)) was increased in the NSTACS patients compared with the CSA and CPS groups. Furthermore, oxidized LDL could induce Treg cell apoptosis, and the oxidized LDL levels were significantly higher in the NSTACS patients than in the CSA and CPS groups. In accordance with the altered Treg cell levels, the concentration of TNF-α was increased in the NSTACS patients, resulting in a decreased IL-10/TNF-α ratio. These findings indicate that the impaired thymic output of Treg cells and their enhanced susceptibility to apoptosis in the periphery were responsible for Treg cell defects observed in the NSTACS patients.

Circulating Th17 cells are not elevated in patients with chronic heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Increasing evidences have been obtained that immune activation and inflammation play critical roles in the pathogenesis of chronic heart failure (CHF). T helper (Th) 17 cells are a newly found pro-inflammatory T cell subtype. We therefore assessed the hypothesis that circulating Th17 cells increased in patients with CHF. Hypothesis. Th17 cells and its cytokine might be elevated in patients with CHF. METHODS: A total of 92 patients with CHF and 59 healthy donors were enrolled in the study. The frequencies of circulating Th17 cells were determined by flow cytometry. The interleukin (IL)-17 protein levels in the serum and supernatant of phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated periphery blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were detected using ELISA and the mRNA expression of retinoic acid-related orphan receptor (ROR)γt, which is the key transcription factor of Th17 cells was measured by RT-PCR. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in the frequency of circulating Th17 cells, serum level of IL-17, and expression of RORγt in PBMCs between CHF patients and healthy controls. IL-17 protein level in the supernatants of PHA-stimulated PBMCs was also comparable between CHF patients and health donors. CONCLUSIONS: Circulating Th17 cells are not elevated in patients with CHF.

Regulatory T cells ameliorate cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction.

Persistent inflammatory responses participate in the pathogenesis of adverse ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). We hypothesized that regulatory T (Treg) cells modulate inflammatory responses, attenuate ventricular remodeling and subsequently improve cardiac function after MI. Acute MI was induced by ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery in rats. Infiltration of Foxp3(+) Treg cells was detected in the infarcted heart. Expansion of Treg cells in vivo by means of adoptive transfer as well as a CD28 superagonistic antibody (JJ316) resulted in an increased number of Foxp3(+) Treg cells in the infarcted heart. Subsequently, rats with MI showed improved cardiac function following Treg cells transfer or JJ316 injection. Interstitial fibrosis, myocardial matrix metalloproteinase-2 activity and cardiac apoptosis were attenuated in the rats that received Treg cells transfer. Infiltration of neutrophils, macrophages and lymphocytes as well as expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1ß were also significantly decreased, and the CD8(+) cardiac-specific cytotoxic T lymphocyte response was inhibited. Expression of interleukin (IL)-10 in the heart, however, was increased. Additional studies in vitro indicated that Treg cells directly protect neonatal rat cardiomyocytes against LPS-induced apoptosis, and this protection depends on the cell-cell contact and IL-10 expression. Furthermore, Treg cells inhibited proinflammatory cytokines production by cardiomyocytes. These data demonstrate that Treg cells serve to protect against adverse ventricular remodeling and contribute to improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction via inhibition of inflammation and direct protection of cardiomyocytes.

Impaired thymic export and apoptosis contribute to regulatory T-cell defects in patients with chronic heart failure.

OBJECTIVE: Animal studies suggest that regulatory T (T(reg)) cells play a beneficial role in ventricular remodeling and our previous data have demonstrated defects of T(reg) cells in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). However, the mechanisms behind T(reg-)cell defects remained unknown. We here sought to elucidate the mechanism of T(reg-)cell defects in CHF patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed flow cytometry analysis and demonstrated reduced numbers of peripheral blood CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+)CD45RO(-)CD45RA(+) naïve T(reg) (nT(reg)) cells and CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+)CD45RO(+)CD45RA(-) memory T(reg) (mT(reg)) cells in CHF patients as compared with non-CHF controls. Moreover, the nT(reg)/mT(reg) ratio (p<0.01), CD4(+)CD25(+)FOXP3(+)CD45RO(-) CD45RA(+)CD31(+) recent thymic emigrant T(reg) cell (RTE-T(reg)) frequency (p<0.01), and T-cell receptor excision circle levels in T(reg) cells (p<0.01) were lower in CHF patients than in non-CHF controls. Combined annexin-V and 7-AAD staining showed that peripheral T(reg) cells from CHF patients exhibited increased spontaneous apoptosis and were more prone to interleukin (IL)-2 deprivation- and CD95 ligand-mediated apoptosis than those from non-CHF individuals. Furthermore, analyses by both flow cytometry and real-time polymerase chain reaction showed that T(reg)-cell frequency in the mediastinal lymph nodes or Foxp3 expression in hearts of CHF patients was no higher than that of the non-CHF controls. CONCLUSION: Our data suggested that the T(reg)-cell defects of CHF patients were likely caused by decreased thymic output of nascent T(reg) cells and increased susceptibility to apoptosis in the periphery.

[c.359T>C mutation of the MYH14 gene in two autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment families with common ancestor].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the gene mutation for two Chinese families with autosomal dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment(NSHI). METHODS: Two NSHI pedigrees with common ancestor were identified by clinical examination and family investigation. Linkage analysis was performed for all known NSHI loci, and all exons and exon-intron boundaries of the non-muscle myosin heavy chain 14 (MYH14) gene were amplified by PCR and sequenced. RESULTS: The disease-causing gene of these 2 pedigrees was fine mapped to the DFNA4 locus on 19q13.33. A heterozygous transition of c. 359T>C (p.S120L) in MYH14 gene was identified. The mutation was detected in all patients but not in normal members in the two families. CONCLUSION: It is the first report that mutation in MYH14 gene can cause dominant non-syndromic hearing impairment in Asian population, suggesting that MYH14 gene can be a disease-causing gene of Chinese patients with hearing impairment.

[Genetic analysis of GJB2 in a Chinese family with nonsyndromic hearing impairment].

Nonsyndromic neurosensory hearing impairment (NSHI) is the most common human sensory disorder. Approximately one in a thousand children is born with prelingual hearing loss. Mutations of the GJB2 gene, which encodes Connexin 26, are the most common cause of hereditary NSHI in many ethnic populations, and are responsible for 50% of cases of autosomal recessive NSHI. In this study, we recruited a complex NSHI pedigree from Jiangsu province of China. Linkage analysis of microsatellite markers flanking all known arNSHI genes linked the causative gene in the family to the polymorphic macrosatellite marker D13S175. Direct DNA sequencing of the whole coding region of GJB2 revealed that a common homozygous mutation 235delC was responsible for most of the affected members in the NSHI family.