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SummaryPersistent left superior vena cava (PLSVC) is the most common congenital malformation of thoracic venous return and is present in 0.3 to 0.5% of individuals in the general population. This heart specimen was dissected from a 35-yearold male cadaver whose cause of death was determined as non-cardiac. The heart was examined and we found a PLSVC draining into the coronary sinus. The right superior vena cava was present with a small-diameter ostium. An anomalous pulmonary vein pattern was observed; there was a common trunk to the left superior and left inferior pulmonary veins (diameter 17.8 mm) and an additional middle right pulmonary vein (diameter 2.7 mm) with two classic right pulmonary veins. The PLSVC draining into the coronary sinus had led to its enlargement, which could have altered the cardiac haemodynamics by significantly reducing the size of the left atrium and impeding its outflow via the mitral valve.

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Arsenic compounds are human carcinogens. The ingested inorganic arsenic is metabolized to methylated derivatives, which are considered to be more toxic than the inorganic species. Interactions of trivalent arsenicals with thiol groups of proteins are believed to be important for arsenic carcinogenesis, but inorganic arsenite appears to bind to thiol groups more strongly than the methylated As (III) species. Inhibition of the nucleotide excision repair pathway of DNA repair (NER) is likely to be of primary importance in arsenic carcinogenesis. Previously, we demonstrated that methylated As (III) compounds are more efficient than arsenite in releasing zinc from ZnXPAzf, the zinc finger of XPA, a crucial member of the NER complex [Schwerdtle, T., Walter, I., and Hartwig, A. (2003) Arsenite and its biomethylated metabolites interfere with the formation and repair of stable BPDE-induced DNA adducts in human cells and impair XPAzf and Fpg. DNA Repair (Amsterdam) 2, 1449-1463]. In this work, we used ESI-MS to compare aerobic reactivities of arsenite and monomethylarsonous acid (MMA (III)) toward ZnXPAzf on the molecular level. We demonstrated that equimolar MMA (III) released Zn (II) from ZnXPAzf easily, forming mono- and diarsenical derivatives of XPAzf. This reaction was accompanied by oxidation of unprotected thiol groups of the monomethylarsinated peptide to intramolecular disulfides. The estimated affinity of MMA (III) to XPAzf is 30-fold higher than that established previously for arsenite binding to the thiol groups. No binding of arsenite to the thiol groups of XPAzf was observed under our experimental conditions, and a 10-fold excess of arsenite was required to partially oxidize ZnXPAzf. These results indicate a particular susceptibility of tetrathiolate zinc fingers to MMA (III), thereby providing a novel molecular pathway in arsenic carcinogenesis.

The aim of this study was to provide useful information about the cavotricuspid isthmus (CTI) and surrounding areas morphology, which may help to plan CTI radio-frequency ablation. We examined 140 autopsied human hearts from Caucasian individuals of both sexes (29.3% females) with a mean age of 49.1±17.2 years. We macroscopically investigated the lower part of the right atrium, the CTI, the inferior vena cava ostium and the terminal crest. The paraseptal isthmus (18.5±4.0 mm) was significantly shorter than the central isthmus (p<0.0001), and the central isthmus (24.0±4.2 mm) was significantly shorter than the inferolateral isthmus (29.3±4.9 mm) (p<0.0001). Heart weight was positively correlated with all isthmus diameters. Three different sectors of CTI were distinguished: anterior, middle and posterior. The middle sector of the CTI presented a different morphology: trabeculae (N = 87; 62.1%), intertrabecular recesses (N = 35; 25.0%) and trabecular bridges (N = 18; 12.9%). A single sub-Eustachian recess was present in 48.6% of hearts (N = 68), and a double recess was present in 2.9% of hearts (N = 4) with mean depth = 5.6±1.8mm and diameter = 7.1±3.4mm. The morphology of the distal terminal crest was varied; 10 patterns of the distal terminal crest ramifications were noted. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the investigated CTI parameters between groups with different types of terminal crest ramifications. The presence of intertrabecular recesses (25.0%), trabecular bridges (12.9%) and sub-Eustachian recesses (48.6%) within the CTI can make ablation more difficult. We have presented the macroscopic patterns of final ramifications of the terminal crest within the quadrilateral CTI area.

Recent extensive progress in invasive cardiac procedures has triggered a wave of dozens of heart morphometric anatomical studies that are carried out largely using autopsied samples fixed in formaldehyde solution prior to observations and measurements. In reality, very little is known about changes in heart tissue dimensions during fixation. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate how fixation affects the dimensions of cardiac tissue, and if different types and concentrations of reagents affect this phenomenon. A total of 40 pig heart samples were investigated, and seven different measuring sites were permanently marked in every heart prior to fixation. Four study groups (n = 10 each) were assembled that differed only in concentration and the type of fixative: (i) 2% formaldehyde solution; (ii) 4% formaldehyde solution (formalin); (iii) 10% formaldehyde solution; (iv) alcoholic formalin. The samples were measured before and after fixation at the following time points: 24 h, 72 h and 168 h. It was found that different fixatives significantly affected different parameters. Almost all of the heart dimensions that were measured stabilized after 24 h; later changes were statistically insignificant in the point-to-point comparison. Change in the length of the interatrial septum surface was not altered significantly in any of the fixatives after 24 h of preservation. It was found that 10% formaldehyde increased the thickness of muscular tissue only after 24 h; this thickening was reduced after 72 h and was insignificant at 168 h. Other heart parameters in this group do not present significant changes over the entire fixation time duration. In conclusion, the 10% formaldehyde phosphate-buffered solution appeared to be the best fixative among the fixatives that were studied for cardiac morphometric purposes; this solution caused the smallest changes in tissue dimensions. Measurements should be obtained at least after 1 week of preservation when most parameters exhibit the smallest changes compared with the non-preserved samples.

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White blood cell counts (WBC), lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), and monocyte-to-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio (MHR) are used as chronic inflammation markers. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a constellation of systemic inflammation linked to central obesity (CO), hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, and metabolic syndrome. The waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) constitutes a highest-concordance anthropometric CO measure. This study aims to access WBC, LMR, and MHR in PCOS and healthy subjects, with or without CO. Establishing relationships between complete blood count parameters, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), and hormonal, lipid and glucose metabolism in PCOS. To do this, WBC, LMR, MHR, hsCRP, anthropometric, metabolic, and hormonal data were analyzed from 395 women of reproductive age, with and without, PCOS. Correlations between MHR, and dysmetabolism, hyperandrogenism, and inflammation variables were examined. No differences were found in WBC, LMR, MHR, and hsCRP between PCOS and controls (p > 0.05). PCOS subjects with CO had higher hsCRP, MHR, and WBC, and lower LMR vs. those without CO (p < 0.05). WBC and MHR were also higher in controls with CO vs. without CO (p < 0.001). MHR correlated with anthropometric, metabolic, and endocrine parameters in PCOS. WHtR appeared to strongly predict MHR in PCOS. We conclude that PCOS does not independently influence WBC or MHR when matched for CO. CO and dysmetabolism may modify MHR in PCOS and control groups.