ABSTRACT
Aortic valve stenosis is a serious disease with increasing prevalence in developed countries. Research aimed at uncovering the molecular mechanisms behind its main cause, aortic valve calcification, is thus crucial for the development of future therapies. It is frequently difficult to measure the extent of mineralisation in soft tissues and some methods require the destruction of the sample. Micro-computed tomography (µCT), a non-destructive technique, was used to quantify the density and volume of calcium deposits on cusps from 57 explanted aortic valves. Conventional and immunostaining techniques were used to characterise valve tissue degeneration and the inflammatory and osteogenic stage with several markers. Although most of the analysed cusps came from severe stenosis patients, the µCT parameter bone volume/tissue volume ratio distinguished several degrees of mineralisation that correlated with the degree of structural change in the tissue and the amount of macrophage infiltration as determined by CD68 immunohistochemistry. Interestingly, exosomal markers CD63 and Alix co-localised with macrophage infiltration surrounding calcium deposits, suggesting that those vesicles could be produced at least in part by these immune cells. In conclusion, we have shown that the ex vivo assessment of aortic valve mineralisation with µCT reflects the molecular and cellular changes in pathological valves during progression towards stenosis. Thus, our results give additional validity to quantitative µCT as a convenient laboratory tool for basic research on this type of cardiovascular calcification.
Subject(s)
Coronary Occlusion/therapy , Heart Atria/diagnostic imaging , Hematoma/diagnostic imaging , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/adverse effects , Aged , Chronic Disease , Coronary Angiography , Coronary Occlusion/diagnostic imaging , Drainage , Echocardiography , Embolization, Therapeutic , Heart Atria/surgery , Hematoma/etiology , Hematoma/therapy , Humans , Predictive Value of Tests , Treatment OutcomeABSTRACT
Leaflet escape in contemporary mechanical valves is an extremely rare and potentially lethal condition. We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented with embolization of a leaflet from an On-X mitral valve (CryoLife, Kennesaw, GA) with Conform-X Sewing Ring prosthesis (CryoLife) after exercise. The patient recovered completely 6 months after surgery, and he is currently asymptomatic.
