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Background: Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is thought to be a state of inflammation caused by hypoxic stress. Whether adaptive servo ventilation (ASV) attenuates the inflammatory response and improves the cardiac function of patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) accompanied by SDB was not been investigated. Methods and Results:Seventeen inpatients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) II or III underwent polysomnography. There was a positive correlation between the apnea hypopnea index and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) level (r=0.753, P=0.016). The patients were divided into ASV (n=10) and non-ASV groups (n=7), and CHF-parameters were measured before and after ASV treatment. Improvement was noted for the NYHA class in the ASV group but not in the non-ASV group. In contrast to the non-ASV group, the level of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), ejection fraction, and hs-CRP levels in the ASV group significantly improved (BNP, Conclusions: Anti-inflammatory effects of ASV are important contributors for improving cardiac function in patients with CHF accompanied by SDB. (Circ J 2010; 74: 2118 - 2124

Background:The involvement of autophagy in heart disease has been reported. Transgenic mice expressing GFP-LC3 have been a useful tool in detecting autophagosomes systemically. It is difficult to differentiate increased formation of autophagosomes from decreased clearance of autophagosomes in the heart using GFP-LC3 mice. Methods and Results:We generated transgenic mice expressing mCherry-LC3 under αMyHC promoter and crossed the mice with transgenic mice expressing GFP-LC3. The deference of resistance to acidic conditions between GFP and mCherry overcame the limitation. Conclusions:This method is an innovative approach to examine the role of autophagy and to analyze autophagosome maturation in cardiomyocytes. (Circ J 2010; 74: 203 - 206)

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