Adverse cardiac remodeling leads to impaired ventricular function and heart failure, remaining a major cause of mortality and morbidity in patients with acute myocardial infarction. It have been shown that, even if all the recommended therapies for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction are performed, one third of patients undergoes progressive cardiac remodeling that represents morphological basis for following heart failure. The need to extend our knowledge about factors leading to different clinical scenarios of myocardial infarction and following complications has resulted in a research of immuno-inflammatory pathways and molecular activities as the basis for post-infarction remodeling. Recently, macrophages (cells of the innate immune system) have become a subject of scientific interest under both normal and pathological conditions. Macrophages, besides their role in host protection and tissue homeostasis, play an important role in pathophysiological processes induced by myocardial infarction. In this article we summarize data about the function of monocytes and macrophages plasticity in myocardial infarction and outline potential role of these cells as effective targets to control processes of inflammation, cardiac remodeling and healing following acute coronary event.
The effects of hypoxic, hyperoxic, and hypoxic-hyperoxic preconditioning were examined in the prospective study on narcotized and artificially ventilated rabbits. Under artificial circulation, acute myocardial ischemia was modeled by ligation of anterior descending coronary artery, which was followed by reperfusion. The degree of ventricular arrhythmias was assessed, and the ischemic area was evaluated in percent of the area at risk. Microscopic characterization of the myocardium was employed to assess the cardioprotective effect of hypoxic and/or hyperoxic preconditioning. According to Kruskal-Wallis test, the greatest resistance of the myocardium to ischemic and reperfusion injury was observed after hypoxic-hyperoxic preconditioning (H=42.459; p=0.009). The rabbits subjected to this type of preconditioning demonstrated the least damaged myocardium in comparison with nonconditioned controls.
Atherosclerosis, a systematic degenerative disease related to the buildup of plaques in human vessels, remains the major cause of morbidity in the field of cardiovascular health problems, which are the number one cause of death globally. Novel atheroprotective HDL-mimicking chemically modified carbon-coated iron nanoparticles (Fe@C NPs) were produced by gas-phase synthesis and modified with organic functional groups of a lipophilic nature. Modified and non-modified Fe@C NPs, immobilized with polycaprolactone on stainless steel, showed high cytocompatibility in human endothelial cell culture. Furthermore, after ex vivo treatment of native atherosclerotic plaques obtained during open carotid endarterectomy surgery, Fe@C NPs penetrated the inner structures and caused structural changes of atherosclerotic plaques, depending on the period of implantation in Wistar rats, serving as a natural bioreactor. The high biocompatibility of the Fe@C NPs shows great potential in the treatment of atherosclerosis disease as an active substance of stent coatings to prevent restenosis and the formation of atherosclerotic plaques.
Objectives. This work aimed to study the efficacy of hybrid 99mTc-Pyrophosphate SPECT/CT for diagnosis of latent inflammatory processes in the myocardium of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods. The study comprised 34 patients aged 44 ± 9 years with AF of unknown etiology referred for radiofrequency ablation. The data were acquired using hybrid 99mTc-Pyrophosphate SPECT/CT. To evaluate and interpret the results of hybrid study and to determine localization of radiopharmaceutical accumulation, scintigraphic and CT images were fused. SPECT/CT results were compared with data of endomyocardial biopsy. Results. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of 99mTc-Pyrophosphate SPECT/CT in diagnosing myocarditis were 91%, 100%, and 94%, respectively. Proposed diagnostic criteria for myocarditis comprised intensity of the radiopharmaceutical accumulation in the myocardium and the ratios of focus/lung, focus/vertebral column, and focus/LV pool. Minimum cutoff values for the histologically verified myocarditis were >1.47 for focus/lung index, >0.11 for focus/vertebral column ratio, and >1.26 for focus/lung index. Conclusions. SPECT/CT-based quantitative assessment of 99mTc-Pyrophosphate accumulation in the myocardium is a highly informative noninvasive method for diagnosis of inflammatory process in the heart in patients with AF of undefined etiology.
We studied medical records and endomyocardial biopsies of patients with morphological confirmed lymphocytic myocarditis. The patients were divided into two groups: 1 - patients with arrhythmias; group 2 - patients with predominance syndrome heart failure. Morphological verification of myocarditis was based on World Heart Federation Consensus definition of Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy, 1997. Immunohistological study was performed to identify antigens of cardiotrophic viruses. We revealed some features in topic and character of morphological changes in depending on clinical scenario of myocarditis. In patients with chronic heart failure due to myocarditis revealed a high incidence of expression of LMP-antigen Epstein-Barr virus, the lack of expression of adenovirus antigens. Arrhythmic presentation of myocarditis was characterized by a high frequency of expression of enteroviral VP-1 antigen and the type 1 antigen herpes virus. We were not detected expression of the VP-2 antigen parvovirus B19. As a result the most severe inflammatory changes and interstitial fibrosis of intraventricular septum, widespread damage of myocytes the severe myocardial remodeling was found in patients with presentation of myocarditis by chronic heart failure. Interstitial fibrosis of the outflow tracts of the right ventricle, the low activity of inflammation and mild fibrotic changes were feature of arrhythmic scenario of myocarditis.
We studied the possibility of seeding bone marrow-derived stromal cells onto polylactic acid-based scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning and solution blow spinning technologies. The cells were applied to the scaffolds by dynamic seeding and scaffolds were then cultured in Petri dishes in culture medium for 3 days. Cell migration to the Petri dish surface was noted only for scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning technology, but DAPI staining confirmed the presence of cells in both scaffolds. The mean number of cells in scaffolds fabricated by electrospinning and solution blow spinning was 56±9 and 81±6, respectively. The scaffold fabricated by solution blow spinning was more effectively (p<0.05) colonized by cells due to its more optimal spatial structure.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.