Bioinformatics analysis and identification of potential key genes and pathways in the pathogenesis of nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NICM) is a major cause of advanced heart failure, and the morbidity and mortality associated with NICM are serious medical problems. However, the etiology of NICM is complex and the related mechanisms involved in its pathogenesis remain unclear. The microarray datasets GSE1869 and GSE9128 retrieved from the Gene Expression Omnibus database were used to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between NICM and normal samples. The co-expressed genes were identified using Venn diagrams. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analyses and gene ontology enrichment were used to clarify biological functions and signaling pathways. Analysis of protein-protein interaction networks using Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes/Proteins online to define the hub genes associated with NICM pathogenesis. A total of 297 DEGs were identified from GSE1869, 261 of which were upregulated genes and 36 were downregulated genes. A total of 360 DEGs were identified from GSE9128, 243 of which were upregulated genes and 117 were downregulated genes. In the 2 datasets, the screening identified 36 co-expressed DEGs. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway and gene ontology analysis showed that DEGs were mainly enriched in pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, beta-alanine metabolism, kinetochore, G-protein beta/gamma-subunit complex, and other related pathways. The PPI network analysis revealed that DUSP6, EGR1, ZEB2, and XPO1 are the 4 hub genes of interest in the 2 datasets. Bioinformatics analysis of hub genes and key signaling pathways is an effective way to elucidate the mechanisms involved in the development of NICM. The results will facilitate further studies on the pathogenesis and therapeutic targets of NICM.

The Plasma Concentration of Ticagrelor and Aspirin as a Predictor of Bleeding Complications in Chinese Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients With Dual Antiplatelet Therapy: A Prospective Observational Study.

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the association among the plasma concentration of ticagrelor, ARC124910XX, aspirin, and salicylic acid with the risk of recent bleeding in patients with the acute coronary syndrome. To this end, we developed an accurate model to predict bleeding. METHODS: A total of 84 patients included in this study cohort between May 2021 and November 2021. The risk factors were identified by univariate and multivariate analyses, and statistically significant risk factors identified in the multivariate analysis were included in the nomogram. We used the calibration curve and the receiver operating characteristic curve to verify the accuracy of the prediction model. RESULTS: Multivariable logistic analysis showed that ticagrelor concentration (odds ratio [OR]: 2.47, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.51-4.75, P = 0.002), ST-segment elevation acute myocardial infarction (OR: 32.2, 95% CI, 2.37-780, P = 0.016), and lipid-lowering drugs (OR: 11.52, 95% CI, 1.91-110, P = 0.015) were positively correlated with bleeding. However, angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor/angiotensin II receptor blocker (OR: 0.04, 95% CI, 0.004-0.213, P < 0.001) was negatively correlated with bleeding. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that ticagrelor concentration and these factors together predict the occurrence of bleeding (area under receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.945, 95% CI, 0.896-0.994) and that ticagrelor concentration >694.90 ng/mL is the threshold of bleeding concentration (area under receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.696, 95% CI, 0.558-0.834). CONCLUSION: In patients with acute coronary syndrome treated with dual antiplatelet therapy, ticagrelor concentration >694.90 ng/mL was an independent risk factor for bleeding (OR: 2.47, 95% CI, 1.51-4.75, P = 0.002), but ARC124910XX and salicylic acid concentration did not affect bleeding risk ( P > 0.05).

Deciphering a Novel Necroptosis-Related miRNA Signature for Predicting the Prognosis of Clear Cell Renal Carcinoma.

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common histological and devastating subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Necroptosis is a form of programmed cell death that causes prominent inflammatory responses. miRNAs play a significant role in cancer progression through necroptosis. However, the prognostic value of necroptosis-related miRNAs remains ambiguous. In this study, 39 necroptosis-related miRNAs (NRMs) were extracted and 17 differentially expressed NRMs between normal and tumor samples were identified using data form The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA). After applying univariate Cox proportional hazard regression analysis and LASSO Cox regression model, six necroptosis-related miRNA signatures were identified in the training cohort and their expression levels were verified by qRT-PCR. Using the expression levels of these miRNAs, all patients were divided into the high- and low-risk groups. Patients in the high-risk group showed poor overall survival (P < 0.0001). Time-dependent ROC curves confirmed the good performance of our signature. The results were verified in the testing cohort and the entire TCGA cohort. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression models demonstrated that the risk score was an independent prognostic factor. Additionally, a predictive nomogram with good performance was constructed to enhance the implementation of the constructed signature in a clinical setting. We then employed miRBD, miRTarBase, and TargetScan to predict the target genes of six necroptosis-related miRNAs. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses indicated that 392 potential target genes were enriched in cell proliferation-related biological processes. Six miRNAs and 59 differentially expressed target genes were used to construct an miRNA-mRNA interaction network, and 11 hub genes were selected for survival and tumor infiltration analysis. Drug sensitivity analysis revealed potential drugs that may contribute to cancer management. Hence, necroptosis-related genes play an important role in cancer biology. We developed, for the first time, a necroptosis-related miRNA signature to predict ccRCC prognosis.

Detection and genetic characterization of kobuvirus in cats: The first molecular evidence from Northeast China.

Feline kobuvirus (FeKoV), a novel picornavirus of the genus kobuvirus, was initially identified in the feces of cats with diarrhea in South Korea in 2013. To date, there is only one report of the circulation of kobuvirus in cats in southern China. To investigate the presence and genetic variability of FeKoV in northeast China, 197 fecal samples were collected from 105 cats with obvious diarrhea and 92 asymptomatic cats in Shenyang, Jinzhou, Changchun, Jilin and Harbin regions, Northeast China, and viruses were detected by RT-PCR with universal primers targeting all kobuviruses. Kobuvirus was identified in 28 fecal samples with an overall prevalence of 14.2% (28/197) of which 20 samples were co-infected with feline parvovirus (FPV) and/or feline bocavirus (FBoV). Diarrhoeic cats had a higher kobuvirus prevalence (19.1%, 20/105) than asymptomatic cats (8.7%, 8/92). By genetic analysis based on partial 3D gene, all kobuvirus-positive samples were more closely related to previous FeKoV strains with high identities of 90.5%-97.8% and 96.6%-100% at the nucleotide and amino acid levels. Additionally, phylogenetic analysis based on the complete VP1 gene indicated that all FeKoV strains identified in this study were placed into a cluster, which separated from other reference strains previously reported, and three identical amino acid substitutions were present at the C-terminal of the VP1 protein for these FeKoV strains. Furthermore, two complete FeKoV polyprotein genomes were successfully obtained from two positive samples and designated 16JZ0605 and 17CC0811, respectively. The two strains shared 92.9%-94.9% nucleotide identities and 96.8%-98.4% amino acid identities to FeKoV prototype strains. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that FeKoVs were clustered according to their geographical regions, albeit with limited sequences support. This study provides the first molecular evidence that FeKoV circulates in cats in northeast China, and these FeKoVs exhibit genetic diversity and unique evolutionary trend.

Compound danshen dripping pill pretreatment to prevent contrast-induced nephropathy in patients with acute coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background. Contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) limits the outcome of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Objective. To investigate whether pretreatment with Compound Danshen Dripping Pills (CDDP) will decrease the incidence of CIN after PCI. Methods. A total of 229 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing PCI were divided into the control group (n = 114) and the CDDP (containing salvia miltiorrhiza and sanqi) group (n = 115; given 20 CDDP pills, three times daily before PCI). Serum creatinine, creatinine clearance (CrCl), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), P-selectin, and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were measured at admission and 24 and 48 h after PCI. Results. CrCl decreased after PCI but recovered after 48 h. In the CDDP group, CrCl recovered more rapidly (P < 0.05). The procedure increased the hsCRP, P-selectin, and ICAM-1 levels, but these levels were less in the CDDP group (P < 0.05). Conclusions. Pretreatment with CDDP can decrease the occurrence of CIN in patients undergoing PCI, suggesting that the early use of CDDP is an appropriate adjuvant pharmacological therapy before PCI.

Nicotine-induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 expression in mouse cardiac vascular endothelial cell via p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the link between cigarette smoking and thromboembolic events and to investigate cigarette smoking as a major risk factor in the etiology of atherosclerosis. STUDY DESIGN: We determined the effect of nicotine on the expression of adhesion molecules, intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), and vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) in mouse cardiac vascular endothelial cells and the involvement of important known intermediaries, namely p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway. RESULTS: Our results indicate that nicotine can enhance the expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 on mouse cardiac vascular endothelial cell via p38 MAPK signaling pathway, resulting in increased expression of the cellular adhesion molecules ICAM-1 and VCAM-1. CONCLUSION: We demonstrate that 10(-6) M nicotine maximally enhances mouse cardiac vascular endothelial cell expression of ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 at 8 hours. Our results provide a putative mechanism by which nicotine stimulates expression of these adhesion molecules via p38 MAPK signaling pathway.

Involvement of RhoA/ROCK in myocardial fibrosis in a rat model of type 2 diabetes.

AIM: To investigate whether activation of RhoA/Rho kinase (ROCK) is involved in myocardial fibrosis in diabetic hearts. METHODS: A rat model of type 2 diabetes was established using high fat diet combined with streptozotocin (30 mg/kg, ip). Animals were randomly divided into 3 groups: control rats, untreated diabetic rats that received vehicle and treated diabetic rats that received Rho-kinase inhibitor fasudil hydrochloride hydrate (10 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), ip, for 14 weeks). Cardiac contractile function was evaluated in vivo. The morphological features of cardiac fibrosis were observed using immunohistochemistry and TEM. The mRNA expression of JNK, TGFß1, type-I, and type-III procollagen was assessed with RT-PCR. The phosphorylation of MYPT1, JNK and Smad2/3, as well as the protein levels of TGFß1 and c-Jun, were evaluated using Western blotting. RESULTS: In untreated diabetic rats, myocardial fibrosis was developed and the heart contractility was significantly reduced as compared to the control rats. In the hearts of untreated diabetic rats, the mRNA expression level and activity of JNK were upregulated; the expression of TGFß1 and phosphorylation of Smad2/3 were increased. In the hearts of treated diabetic rat, activation of JNK and TGFß/Smad was significantly decreased, myocardial fibrosis was reduced, and cardiac contractile function improved. CONCLUSION: The data suggest that fasudil hydrochloride hydrate ameliorates myocardial fibrosis in rats with type 2 diabetes at least in part through inhibiting the JNK and TGFß/Smad pathways. Inhibition of RhoA/ROCK may be a novel therapeutic target for prevention of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Fasudil hydrochloride hydrate, a Rho-kinase inhibitor, suppresses high glucose-induced proliferation and collagen synthesis in rat cardiac fibroblasts.

1. Hyperglycaemia promotes the proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and collagen synthesis in CFs. The objectives of the present study were to determine the effects of fasudil hydrochloride hydrate, a Rho-kinase (ROCK) inhibitor, on high glucose (HG)-induced proliferation of CFs and collagen production in rat CFs and to investigate the molecular mechanism of action of fasudil. 2. Rat CFs were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium, supplemented with 5.5 or 25 mmol/L d-glucose or 5.5 mmol/L d-glucose + 19.5 mmol/L mannose, in the presence of absence of fasudil (50 or 100 µmol/L). Proliferation was measured by the 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2 thiazoyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H-tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay, whereas the production of Type I collagen was evaluated using ELISA and the expression of ROCK1, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and Type I procollagen mRNA was determined by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Intracellular Type I procollagen protein levels were evaluated using immunocytochemistry. Western blot analysis was used to evaluate the phosphorylation of myosin phosphatase target subunit 1 (MYPT1), JNK and Smad2/3, as well as c-jun protein levels. 3. Both concentrations of fasudil effectively inhibited HG (25 mmol/L d-glucose)-induced increases in the proliferation of CFs and collagen synthesis, concomitant with suppression of HG-induced upregulation of ROCK1 and JNK mRNA expression and c-jun protein levels, as well as the phosphorylation of MYPT1, JNK and Smad2/3. 4. These data suggest that ROCK activation is essential for the proliferation of CFs and collagen synthesis induced by HG. Fasudil suppressed HG-induced increases in the proliferation of CFs and collagen synthesis, which may be associated with inhibition of the JNK and transforming growth factor ß/Smad pathways. The results of the present study indicate that inhibition of ROCK may be a novel therapeutic target for the prevention of diabetic cardiac fibrosis.

Telmisartan attenuates isoproterenol-induced cardiac remodeling in rats via regulation of cardiac adiponectin expression.

AIM: To investigate whether telmisartan (Telm) pretreatment attenuates isoproterenol (Iso)-induced postinfarction remodeling (PIR) in rats, and whether the effect of Telm is associated with cardiac expression of adiponectin. METHODS: PIR was induced in male Wistar rats with two consecutive injections of Iso (80 mg/kg, sc) at an interval of 24 h. Primary culture of ventricular myocytes from neonatal rats was prepared. Iso-induced cardiomyocyte injury was assessed based on cell growth and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. Cardiac adiponectin expression was measured using qRT-PCR and immunoblot analysis. RESULTS: In the rats with PIR, Telm (10 mg·kg(-1)·d(-1), po for 65 d) suppressed Iso-induced increases in gravimetric parameters, cardiomyocyte diameter and collagen volume fraction, but had no effect on Iso-induced myocardial hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis. The protective effect of Telm was associated with enhanced protein expression of cardiac adiponectin. In cultured cardiomyocytes, Telm (5-20 µmol/L) inhibited the cell death and LDH release induced by Iso (10 µmol/L), and reversed Iso-induced reduction in adiponectin protein expression. In cardiomyocytes exposed to Iso (20 µmol/L), GW9662 (30 µmol/L), a selective antagonist of PPAR-γ, blocked the effects of Telm pretreatment on adiponectin protein expression, as well as the protective effects of Telm on Iso-induced cell injury. CONCLUSION: Telm attenuates Iso-induced cardiac remodeling and cell injury, which is associated with induction of cardiac adiponectin expression.