hKLK alleviates myocardial fibrosis in mice with viral myocarditis.

Myocardial fibrosis is the most serious complication of viral myocarditis (VMC). This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic benefits and underlying mechanisms of lentivirus-mediated human tissue kallikrein gene transfer in myocardial fibrosis in VMC mice. We established VMC mouse model via intraperitoneal injection with Coxsackie B3 virus. The effect was then assessed after treatment with vehicle, the empty lentiviral vectors (EZ.null), and the vectors expressing hKLK1 (EZ.hKLK1) via tail vein injection for 30 days, respectively. The results showed that administering EZ.hKLK1 successfully induced hKLK1 overexpression in mouse heart. Compared with EZ.null treatment, EZ.hKLK1 administration significantly reduced the heart/weight ratio, improved cardiac function, and ameliorated myocardial inflammation in VMC mice, suggesting that hKLK1 overexpression alleviates VMC in mice. EZ.hKLK1 administration also significantly abrogated the increased myocardial collagen content, type I/III collagen ratio, TGF-ß1 mRNA and protein expression in VMC mice, suggesting that hKLK1 overexpression reduces collagen accumulation and blunts TGF-ß1 signaling in the hearts of VMC mice. In conclusion, our results suggest that hKLK1 alleviates myocardial fibrosis in VMC mice, possibly by downregulating TGF-ß1 expression.

MicroRNA-30a-5p silencing polarizes macrophages toward M2 phenotype to alleviate cardiac injury following viral myocarditis by targeting SOCS1.

Viral myocarditis (VMC) is a life-threatening disease characterized by severe cardiac inflammation generally caused by coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection. Several microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are known to play crucial roles in the pathogenesis of VMC. The study aimed to decipher the role of miR-30a-5p in the underlying mechanisms of VMC pathogenesis. We first quantified miR-30a-5p expression in a CVB3-induced mouse VMC model. The physiological characteristics of mouse cardiac tissues were then detected by hematoxylin and eosin (HE) and Picrosirius red staining. We established the correlation between miR-30a-5p and SOCS1, using dual-luciferase gene assay and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The expression of inflammatory factors (IFN-γ, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-13), M1 polarization markers [TNF-α, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS)], M2 polarization markers (Arg-1, IL-10), and myocardial hypertrophy markers [atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and brain natriuretic peptide (BNP)] was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. miR-30a-5p was found to be highly expressed in VMC mice. Silencing of miR-30a-5p improved the cardiac function index and reduced heart weight-to-body weight ratio, myocardial tissue pathological changes and fibrosis degree, serological indexes, as well as proinflammatory factor levels, while enhancing anti-inflammatory factor levels in VMC mice. Furthermore, silencing of miR-30a-5p inhibited M1 polarization of macrophages while promoting M2 polarization in vivo and in vitro. SOCS1 was a target gene of miR-30a-5p, and the aforementioned cardioprotective effects of miR-30a-5p silencing were reversed upon silencing of SOCS1. Overall, this study shows that silencing of miR-30a-5p may promote M2 polarization of macrophages and improve cardiac injury following VMC via SOCS1 upregulation, constituting a potential therapeutic target for VMC treatment.NEW & NOTEWORTHY We found in this study that microRNA (miR)-30a-5p inhibition might improve cardiac injury following viral myocarditis (VMC) by accelerating M2 polarization of macrophages via SOCS1 upregulation. Furthermore, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of miR-30a-5p inhibition may contribute to the development of new therapeutic strategies for VMC.

Myocarditis and inflammatory cardiomyopathy: current evidence and future directions.

Inflammatory cardiomyopathy, characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration into the myocardium and a high risk of deteriorating cardiac function, has a heterogeneous aetiology. Inflammatory cardiomyopathy is predominantly mediated by viral infection, but can also be induced by bacterial, protozoal or fungal infections as well as a wide variety of toxic substances and drugs and systemic immune-mediated diseases. Despite extensive research, inflammatory cardiomyopathy complicated by left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure or arrhythmia is associated with a poor prognosis. At present, the reason why some patients recover without residual myocardial injury whereas others develop dilated cardiomyopathy is unclear. The relative roles of the pathogen, host genomics and environmental factors in disease progression and healing are still under discussion, including which viruses are active inducers and which are only bystanders. As a consequence, treatment strategies are not well established. In this Review, we summarize and evaluate the available evidence on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of myocarditis and inflammatory cardiomyopathy, with a special focus on virus-induced and virus-associated myocarditis. Furthermore, we identify knowledge gaps, appraise the available experimental models and propose future directions for the field. The current knowledge and open questions regarding the cardiovascular effects associated with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection are also discussed. This Review is the result of scientific cooperation of members of the Heart Failure Association of the ESC, the Heart Failure Society of America and the Japanese Heart Failure Society.

Exosomes derived from cardiac progenitor cells attenuate CVB3-induced apoptosis via abrogating the proliferation of CVB3 and modulating the mTOR signaling pathways.

Viral myocarditis is potentially fatal and lacking a specific treatment. Exosomes secreted by cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) have emerged as a promising tool for cardioprotection and repair. In this study, we investigated whether CPCs-derived exosomes (CPCs-Ex) could utilize the mTOR signal pathway to reduce the apoptosis in viral myocarditis. In vitro, exosomes were, respectively, added to H9C2 cells after CVB3 infection to detect the anti-apoptosis effect of CPCs-Ex. Compared with the controls, the apoptosis rate was reduced, accompanied with the depressed expression of viral capsid protein 1 (VP1) and pro-apoptosis factors of Bim/caspase families. Meanwhile, the phosphorylation of Akt, mTOR, and p70S6K were promoted, but that of 4EBP1 was suppressed. In vivo, the results of apoptosis, expression of CVB3 and pro-apoptosis factors, and phosphorylation of Akt/mTOR factors of CVB3-infected cardiomyocytes were consistent with that of vitro. Following that, we use Rapamycin and MK-2206 to inhibit the Akt/mTOR signaling pathway, meanwhile, Rattus 4EBP1, p70S6K, Akt1 and Akt2 were transfected to H9C2 cells to establish the stably transfected cell lines. In the group with Rapamycin or MK-2206 pretreatment, CPCs-Ex also could decrease the apoptosis of H9C2 cells and expression of CVB3 mRNA, followed by decreased expression of apoptosis factors. In Akt2, p70S6K and 4EBP1 overexpression groups, CPCs-Ex promoted CVB3-induced apoptosis, VP1 expression and cleavage of caspase-3. Our results therefore identify CPCs-Ex exerts an anti-apoptosis effect in CVB3-infected cells by abrogating the proliferation of CVB3 and modulating the mTOR signaling pathways as well as the expression of Bcl-2 and caspase families. Viral myocarditis, mainly caused by CVB3 infection, is lacking a specific treatment. Our study identified an anti-apoptosis role of CPCs-Ex in CVB3-infected cells and rats, which shown that CPCs-Ex may be an effective tool to treat viral myocarditis. We believe that with more in-depth research on the functionality of CPCs-Ex, there will be a breakthrough in the treatment of viral myocarditis.

Brainstem encephalitis caused by Coxsackie A16 virus in a rituximab-immunosuppressed patient.

Rituximab and other B cell depleting agents are increasingly used for haematological, immunological and neurological diseases. In a small minority, immunosuppression leads to increased virulence of normally mild infections. Brainstem encephalitis has been described occurring after infection from enteroviruses, more commonly in the paediatric population, but also in immunosuppressed adults. In this paper, we describe an enteroviral brainstem encephalitis in a rituximab-immunosuppressed patient. The enterovirus identified was Coxsackie A16, which has never yet been reported to cause brainstem encephalitis in an adult.

Clinical characteristics and managements of severe hand, foot and mouth disease caused by enterovirus A71 and coxsackievirus A16 in Shanghai, China.

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a transmissible infectious disease caused by human enteroviruses (EV). Here, we described features of children with severe HFMD caused by EV-A71 or coxsackievirus A16 (CV-A16) in Shanghai, China. METHODS: Severe EV-A71 or CV-A16 caused HFMD children admitted to the Xinhua Hospital from January 2014 and December 2016, were recruited retrospectively to the study. Symptoms and findings at the time of hospitalization, laboratory tests, treatments, length of stay and residual findings at discharge were systematically recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: Of 19,995 children visited clinic service with probable HFMD, 574 children (2.87%) were admitted, 234 children (40.76%) were confirmed with EV-A71 (90/574) or CV-A16 (144/574) disease. Most (91.02%) of the patients were under 5 years. Initial clinical symptoms of EV-A71 and CV-A16 cases were: fever > 39 °C in 81 (90%) and 119 (82.63%), vomiting in 31 (34.44%) and 28 (19.44%), myoclonic twitching in 19 (21.11%) and 11(7.64%), startle in 21 (23.33%) and 20 (13.69%), respectively. Serum levels of interleukin-1ß (IL-1ß), IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, interferon-γ (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were significantly upregulated in severe HFMD subjects. Forty-seven children (20.08%) treated with intravenous gamma globulin (IVIG) showed decreased duration of illness episodes. All children were discharged without complications. CONCLUSIONS: EV-A71 and CV-A16 accounted 40.76% of admitted HFMD during 2014 to 2016 in Xinhua Hospital. IVIG appeared to be beneficial in shortening the duration of illness episodes of severe HFMD.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound attenuates cardiac inflammation of CVB3-induced viral myocarditis via regulation of caveolin-1 and MAPK pathways.

The aggressive immunological activity elicited by acute viral myocarditis contributes to a large amount of cardiomyocytes loss and poor prognosis of patients in clinic. Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS), which is an effective treatment modality for osteoarthropathy, has been recently illustrated regulating the overactive inflammatory response in various diseases. Here, we aimed to investigate whether LIPUS could attenuate coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection-induced injury by coordinating the inflammatory response. Male BALB/c mice were inoculated intraperitoneally with CVB3 to establish the model of acute viral myocarditis. LIPUS treatment was given on Day 1, Day 1, 3 and Day 1, 3, 5 post-inoculation, respectively. All mice were followed up for 14 days. Day 1, 3, 5 LIPUS treatment significantly improved the survival rate, attenuated the ventricular dysfunction and ameliorated the cardiac histopathological injury of CVB3-infected mice. Western blotting analysis showed Day 1, 3, 5 LIPUS treatment decreased pro-inflammatory cytokines, increased the activation of caveolin-1 and suppressed p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signallings in heart tissue. RAW264.7 cells were treated with lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to simulate the augmented inflammatory response in vivo. LIPUS treatment on RAW264.7 inhibited the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, activated caveolin-1 and suppressed p38 MAPK and ERK signallings. Transfecting RAW264.7 with caveolin-1 siRNA blunted the suppression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and MAPK signallings by LIPUS treatment. Taken together, we demonstrated for the first time that LIPUS treatment attenuated the aggressive inflammatory response during acute viral myocarditis. The underlying mechanism may be activating caveolin-1 and suppressing MAPK signallings.

Chinese guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hand, foot and mouth disease (2018 edition).

BACKGROUND: Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common infectious disease in childhood caused by an enterovirus (EV), and which is principally seen in children under 5 years of age. To promote diagnostic awareness and effective treatments, to further standardize and strengthen the clinical management and to reduce the mortality of HFMD, the guidelines for diagnosis and treatment have been developed. METHODS: National Health Commission of China assembled an expert committee for a revision of the guidelines. The committee included 33 members who are specialized in diagnosis and treatment of HFMD. RESULTS: Early recognition of severe cases is utmost important in diagnosis and treatment of patients with HFMD. The key to diagnosis and treatment of severe cases lies in the timely and accurate recognition of stages 2 and 3 of HFMD, in order to stop progression to stage 4. Clinicians should particularly pay attention to those EV-A71 cases in children aged less than 3 years, and those with disease duration less than 3 days. The following indicators should alert the clinician of possible deterioration and impending critical disease: (1) persistent hyperthermia; (2) involvement of nervous system; (3) worsening respiratory rate and rhythm; (4) circulatory dysfunction; (5) elevated peripheral WBC count; (6) elevated blood glucose and (7) elevated blood lactic acid. For treatment, most mild cases can be treated as outpatients. Patients should be isolated to avoid cross-infection. Intense treatment modalities should be given for those severe cases. CONCLUSION: The guidelines can provide systematic guidance on the diagnosis and management of HFMD.

A neonatal mouse model for the evaluation of antibodies and vaccines against coxsackievirus A6.

Coxsackievirus A6 (CA6) can induce atypical hand, foot, and mouth disease, which is characterized by severe rash, onychomadesis and a higher rate of infection in adults. Increasing epidemiological data indicated that outbreaks of CA6-associated hand, foot, and mouth disease have markedly increased worldwide in recent years. However, the current body of knowledge on the infection, pathogenic mechanism, and immunogenicity of CA6 is still very limited. In this study, we established the first neonatal mouse model for the evaluation of antibodies and vaccines against CA6. The CA6 strain CA6/141 could infect a one-day-old BALB/c mouse through intraperitoneal and intracerebral routes. The infected mice developed clinical symptoms, such as inactivity, wasting, hind-limb paralysis and even death. Pathological examination indicated that CA6 showed special tropism to skeletal muscles and skin, but not to nervous system or cardiac muscles. Infections with CA6 could induce vesicles in the dermis without a rash in mice, and the CA6 antigen was mainly localized in hair follicles. The strong tropism of CA6 to the skin may be related to its severe clinical features in infants. This mouse model was further applied to evaluate the efficacy of a therapeutic antibody and an experimental vaccine against CA6. A potential mAb 1D5 could fully protect mice from a lethal CA6 infection and also showed good therapeutic effects in the CA6-infected mice. In addition, an inactivated CA6 vaccine was evaluated through maternal immunization and showed 100% protection of neonatal mice from lethal CA6 challenge. Collectively, these results indicate that this infection model will be a useful tool in future studies on vaccines and antiviral reagents against CA6.

Eccema coxsackium y otra presentación atípica de la enfermedad de mano-pie-boca / Eczema coxsackium and another atypical presentation of hand, foot and mouth disease

La enfermedad de mano-pie-boca (EMPB) es una de las enfermedades exantemáticas más frecuentes en niños menores de cinco años, generalmente producida por los virus Coxsackie A16 y enterovirus 71. En los últimos años se están observando manifestaciones dérmicas diferentes a la habitual causadas por serotipos menos frecuentes como el Coxsackievirus A6. Los pacientes con la EMPB por Coxsakievirus A6 presentan fiebre y síntomas sistémicos como la EMPB típica, pero tienen una manifestación cutánea más grave, pudiendo simular un cuadro Gianotti Crosti-like, o, incluso, un eccema herpeticum. En estos casos, recomendamos analizar el serotipo de enterovirus para prevenir pruebas diagnósticas innecesarias o tratamientos antivirales inapropiados. Presentamos dos casos en niños menores de cinco años, de presentación atípica de EMPB, atendidos en nuestro Servicio de Urgencias. Ambos referían como antecedente padecer dermatitis atópica (AU)

Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is one of the most frequent exanthematic disease in children younger than five years. It is usually caused by Coxsackievirus A16 and enterovirus 71. Last years, other different skin presentations are observed and they are produced by less common serotypes of enterovirus such as Coxsackievirus A6. Patients with Coxsackievirus A6 HFMD present with fever and systemic symptoms as in typical HFMD, but usually have a more severe cutaneous involvement, being able to pretend a Giannotti Crosti-like symptoms, or even, an eczema herpeticum. In this cases, we recommend to analyze coxsackievirus A6 HFMD to prevent unnecessary diagnostic tests and inappropriate antiviral treatment. We report two cases of atypical hand, foot and mouth disease in children younger of five years. Both of them referred atopic dermatitis as precedent (AU)

Enteroviruses in the early 21st century: new manifestations and challenges.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Enteroviruses cause a wide variety of diseases with neurologic, respiratory, skin, and gastrointestinal findings. The purpose of this review is to clarify changes in the classification of enteroviruses, provide information about recent disease outbreaks, and to summarize progress toward the treatment and prevention of these infections. RECENT FINDINGS: Enteroviruses are now classified into four distinct species. New variants of coxsackievirus B1, enterovirus-A71, and enterovirus-D68 (EV-D68) have emerged as causes of recent outbreaks in the United States and other countries, including more severe disease manifestations than previously described. EV-D68 now commonly circulates in the United States, and has been linked to severe respiratory disease and associated with acute flaccid myelitis (AFM). Overcoming enormous political and logistical challenges, fewer than 100 cases of polio have been reported in 2015, and the initiation of 'endgame' strategies appears imminent. Unfortunately, treatment for enterovirus infections remains supportive, although the recently completed pleconaril trial in newborns suggests that antiviral therapy may reduce mortality in neonatal disease. SUMMARY: Clinicians should be aware of the respiratory and neurological manifestations associated with EV-D68 and the potential for severe disease seen with other recently described enterovirus variants. Healthcare professionals should recognize the utility of rapid diagnostic methods and progress toward prevention and treatment of enterovirus infections.

AIM2 co-immunization favors specific multifunctional CD8(+) T cell induction and ameliorates coxsackievirus B3-induced chronic myocarditis.

Coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) infection can cause acute myocarditis and chronic myocarditis, leading to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) with no effective therapeutic strategy. Therefore, we investigated the potential of absent in melanoma 2 (AIM2) to enhance the therapeutic efficacy of DNA vaccine against CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis. Mice were infected with CVB3 and then intranasally immunized with chitosan-pcDNA3.1 (mock), chitosan-pAIM2 (CS-pAIM2), chitosan-pVP1 (CS-pVP1), or chitosan-pAIM2 plus chitosan-pVP1 (CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1) at 7, 21, and 35d. Therapeutic efficacies of various vaccines were evaluated at day 56d. Compared with CS-pVP1 immunization, CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization significantly increased survival rate, improved cardiac function, as well as decreased myocardial injury and fibrosis, this result indicated that CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis was alleviated. CVB3-specific T lymphocyte proliferation and cytotoxic T lymphocyte responses of the CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization group were also increased. More interestingly, CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 co-immunization could facilitate CVB3-specific multifunctional CD8(+) T cell induction in the intestinal mucosa, and this induction was closely correlated with myocardial scores, this result indicated that CS-pAIM2/CS-pVP1 vaccine exhibits therapeutic efficacy by enhancing multifunctional CD8(+) T cells. This study may represent a novel therapy for CVB3-induced chronic myocarditis.

Wnt11 gene therapy with adeno-associated virus 9 improves the survival of mice with myocarditis induced by coxsackievirus B3 through the suppression of the inflammatory reaction.

The wnt signaling pathway plays important roles in development and in many diseases. Recently several reports suggest that non-canonical Wnt proteins contribute to the inflammatory response in adult animals. However, the effects of Wnt proteins on virus-induced myocarditis have not been explored. Here, we investigated the effect of Wnt11 protein in a model of myocarditis induced by coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) using recombinant adeno-associated virus 9 (rAAV9). The effect of Wnt11 gene therapy on a CVB3-induced myocarditis model was examined using male BALB/c mice. Mice received a single intravenous injection of either rAAV9-Wnt11 or rAAV9-LacZ 2 weeks before intraperitoneal administration of CVB3. Intravenous injection of the rAAV9 vector resulted in efficient, durable, and relatively cardiac-specific transgene expression. Survival was significantly greater among rAAV9-Wnt11 treated mice than among mice treated with rAAV9-LacZ (87.5% vs. 54.1%, P < 0.05). Wnt11 expression also reduced the infiltration of inflammatory cells, necrosis of the myocardium, and suppressed the mRNA expression of inflammatory cytokines. This is the first report to show that Wnt11 expression improves the survival of mice with CVB3-induced myocarditis. AAV9-mediated Wnt11 gene therapy produces beneficial effects on cardiac function and increases the survival of mice with CVB3-induced myocarditis through the suppression of both infiltration of inflammatory cells and gene expression of inflammatory cytokines.

Nucleotide differences of coxsackievirus B3 and chronic myocarditis.

The in vivo mechanisms in chronic myocarditis remain unclear. The aim of the current study was to clarify the genomic difference of amyocarditic (CB3O) and myocarditic (CB3M) coxsackievirus B3 (CB3) and the pathogenesis of in vivo mechanisms in chronic myocarditis. We examined the histopathology of CB3-inoculated wild-type (WT) and severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice with and without adoptive transfer of lymphocytes. There were no differences in viral growth between CB3O and CB3M. There were four to six nucleotide differences in the sequence of CB3O in comparison with the known CB3M. The difference in virus sequence between CB3O and CB3M was very minimal. The changes were located in 1A, 1C, and 1D regions, which encode the structural capsid proteins. Definite myocarditis developed in WT C3H (H-2(k)) inoculated with CB3M. On the contrary, trivial or mild myocarditis occurred in WT C3H mice inoculated with CB3O. In SCID C3H and SCID C57BL/6 (H-2(b)) mice, definite myocarditis developed by inoculation with both CB3O and CB3M. Myocardial lesion was less severe in the mice infected with CB3O than in those with CB3M. After anti-CD8 antibody treatment, myocarditis was easily induced in mice originally showing resistance to infection. In addition, chronic myocarditis developed in CB3O-infected SCID C3H mice reconstituted with CB3M-sensitized splenocytes of WT C3H mice. The development of chronic myocarditis primarily depends on the presence or absence of the virus genome, and secondarily on the complex interaction between virus virulence and immunological background of the host. CB3 infection may cause chronic myocarditis with ongoing inflammation with or without viral persistence.

Protective effects of Wusen Erlian granules in experimental model of viral myocarditis.

We wished to study the protective effects of Wusen Erlian granules, a therapy from traditional Chinese medicine, in experimental viral myocarditis (VMC). Sixty mice were divided into six groups: control group, infection group, ribavirin group, and three Wusen Erlian groups, treated with low, intermediate, or high doses (4, 12, or 20 mg/kg) of Wusen Erlian. Control animals were intraperitoneally injected with culture medium, while animals in other groups received intraperinoneal injections of CoxB3 virus. The Wusen Erlian granules were intragastrically administered on days 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 after virus inoculation. The experiment was terminated 2 h after the final drug administration. The mice were weighed, and specimens were collected for detection of myocardial enzymes, measurement of organ index, and natural killer (NK) cell activity. The levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme, troponin, and myoglobin were significantly increased in infected animals (all p < 0.05). Compared with infection group, the levels of creatine kinase isoenzyme and troponin were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in animals that received ribavirin, and in animals that received high or intermediate dose of Wusen Erlian. Furthermore, the spleen and thymus indexes were increased in animals treated with ribavirin, or high/intermediate doses of Wusen Erlian, suggesting immunoregulating functions of these drugs. The NK cell activity was also markedly increased in the above three groups. Wusen Erlian alleviates the CoxB3-induced myocardial injury and exhibits immunoregulating features, leading to protective effects toward myocardial cells in experimental VMC.

Intricacies of cardiac damage in coxsackievirus B3 infection: implications for therapy.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in humans, and myocarditis is one predominant cause of heart failure in young adults. Patients affected with myocarditis can develop dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), a common reason for heart transplantation, which to date is the only viable option for combatting DCM. Myocarditis/DCM patients show antibodies to coxsackievirus B (CVB)3 and cardiac antigens, suggesting a role for CVB-mediated autoimmunity in the disease pathogenesis; however, a direct causal link remains to be determined clinically. Experimentally, myocarditis can be induced in susceptible strains of mice using the human isolates of CVB3, and the disease pathogenesis of postinfectious myocarditis resembles that of human disease, making the observations made in animals relevant to humans. In this review, we discuss the complex nature of CVB3-induced myocarditis as it relates to the damage caused by both the virus and the host's response to infection. Based on recent data we obtained in the mouse model of CVB3 infection, we provide evidence to suggest that CVB3 infection accompanies the generation of cardiac myosin-specific CD4 T cells that can transfer the disease to naïve recipients. The therapeutic implications of these observations are also discussed.

Advances in monoclonal antibody application in myocarditis.

Monoclonal antibodies have become a part of daily preparation technologies in many laboratories. Attempts have been made to apply monoclonal antibodies to open a new train of thought for clinical treatments of autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, cancer, and other immune-associated diseases. This paper is a prospective review to anticipate that monoclonal antibody application in the treatment of myocarditis, an inflammatory disease of the heart, could be a novel approach in the future. In order to better understand the current state of the art in monoclonal antibody techniques and advance applications in myocarditis, we, through a significant amount of literature research both domestic and abroad, developed a systematic elaboration of monoclonal antibodies, pathogenesis of myocarditis, and application of monoclonal antibodies in myocarditis. This paper presents review of the literature of some therapeutic aspects of monoclonal antibodies in myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy to demonstrate the advance of monoclonal antibody application in myocarditis and a strong anticipation that monoclonal antibody application may supply an effective therapeutic approach to relieve the severity of myocarditis in the future. Under conventional therapy, myocarditis is typically associated with congestive heart failure as a progressive outcome, indicating the need for alternative therapeutic strategies to improve long-term results. Reviewing some therapeutic aspects of monoclonal antibodies in myocarditis, we recently found that monoclonal antibodies with high purity and strong specificity can accurately act on target and achieve definite progress in the treatment of viral myocarditis in rat model and may meet the need above. However, several issues remain. The technology on how to make a higher homologous and weak immunogenic humanized or human source antibody and the treatment mechanism of monoclonal antibodies may provide solutions for these open issues. If we are to further stimulate progress in the area of clinical decision support, we must continue to develop and refine our understanding and use of monoclonal antibodies in myocarditis.