Talin mechanotransduction in disease.

Talin protein (Talin 1/2) is a mechanosensitive cytoskeleton protein. The unique structure of the Talin plays a vital role in transmitting mechanical forces. Talin proteins connect the extracellular matrix to the cytoskeleton by linking to integrins and actin, thereby mediating the conversion of mechanical signals into biochemical signals and influencing disease progression as potential diagnostic indicators, therapeutic targets, and prognostic indicators of various diseases. Most studies in recent years have confirmed that mechanical forces also have a crucial role in the development of disease, and Talin has been found to play a role in several diseases. Still, more studies need to be done on how Talin is involved in mechanical signaling in disease. This review focuses on the mechanical signaling of Talin in disease, aiming to summarize the mechanisms by which Talin plays a role in disease and to provide references for further studies.

Postoperative delirium prediction after cardiac surgery using machine learning models.

OBJECTIVE: Postoperative delirium (POD) is a common postoperative complication in elderly patients, especially those undergoing cardiac surgery, which seriously affects the short- and long-term prognosis of patients. Early identification of risk factors for the development of POD can help improve the perioperative management of surgical patients. In the present study, five machine learning models were developed to predict patients at high risk of delirium after cardiac surgery and their performance was compared. METHODS: A total of 367 patients who underwent cardiac surgery were retrospectively included in this study. Using single-factor analysis, 21 risk factors for POD were selected for inclusion in machine learning. The dataset was divided using 10-fold cross-validation for model training and testing. Five machine learning models (random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), radial based kernel neural network (RBFNN), K-nearest neighbour (KNN), and Kernel ridge regression (KRR)) were compared using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC), accuracy (ACC), sensitivity (SN), specificity (SPE), and Matthews coefficient (MCC). RESULTS: Among 367 patients, 105 patients developed POD, the incidence of delirium was 28.6 %. Among the five ML models, RF had the best performance in ACC (87.99 %), SN (69.27 %), SPE (95.38 %), MCC (70.00 %) and AUC (0.9202), which was far superior to the other four models. CONCLUSION: Delirium is common in patients after cardiac surgery. This analysis confirms the importance of the computational ML models in predicting the occurrence of delirium after cardiac surgery, especially the outstanding performance of the RF model, which has practical clinical applications for early identification of patients at risk of developing POD.

Promising remedies for cardiovascular disease: Natural polyphenol ellagic acid and its metabolite urolithins.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a significant worldwide factor contributing to human fatality and morbidity. With the increase of incidence rates, it is of concern that there is a lack of current therapeutic alternatives because of multiple side effects. Ellagic acid (EA), the natural polyphenol (C14H6O8), is abundant in pomegranates, berries, and nuts. EA and its intestinal microflora metabolite, urolithins, have recently attracted much attention as a potential novel "medicine" because of their wide pharmacological properties. PURPOSE: This study aimed to critically analyze available literature to summarize the beneficial effects of EA and urolithins, and highlights their druggability and therapeutic potential in various CVDs. METHODS: We systematically studied research and review articles between 1984 and 2022 available on various databases to obtain the data on EA and urolithins with no language restriction. Their cardiovascular protective activities, underlying mechanism, and druggability were highlighted and discussed comprehensively. RESULTS: We found that EA and urolithins may exert preventive and curative effects on CVD with negligible side effects and possibly regulate lipid metabolism imbalance, pro-inflammatory factor production, vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, cardiomyocyte apoptosis, endothelial cell dysfunction, and Ca2+ intake and release. Potentially, this may lead to the prevention and amelioration of atherosclerosis, hypertension, myocardial infarction, cardiac fibrosis, cardiomyopathy, cardiac arrhythmias, and cardiotoxicities in vivo. Several molecules and signaling pathways are associated with their therapeutic actions, including phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B, mitogen-activated protein kinase, NF-κB, nuclear factor erythroid-2 related factor 2, sirtuin1, miRNA, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2. CONCLUSION: In vitro and in vivo studies shows that EA and urolithins could be used as valid candidates for early prevention and effective therapeutic strategies for various CVDs.

The role of 14-3-3 in the progression of vascular inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the role of 14-3-3 protein and the Hippo and yes-associated protein 1 (YAP) signaling pathway in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced vascular inflammation. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and C57B6 mice were treated with LPS to establish cell and animal models of vascular inflammation. Lentiviral transfection, Western blot, qPCR, immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, co-immunoprecipitation, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays were used to measure inflammatory factors and expression of 14-3-3 protein and phosphorylation of YAP at S127. HUVECs and C57B6 mice were pretreated with a YAP inhibitor, Verteporfin, to observe changes in YAP expression and downstream vascular inflammation. RESULTS: LPS induced acute and chronic inflammatory responses in HUVECs and mice and upregulated the expression of several inflammatory factors. LPS also induced expression of 14-3-3 protein and phosphorylation of YAP at S127 in response to acute vascular inflammation and downregulated these markers in response to chronic vascular inflammation. Verteporfin reduced these LPS-induced effects on vascular inflammation. CONCLUSION: In chronic vascular inflammation, 14-3-3 protein is downregulated, which promotes inflammation by increasing Hippo/YAP nuclear translocation.

Low shear stress induces inflammatory response via CX3CR1/NF-κB signal pathway in human umbilical vein endothelial cells.

Low shear stress (LSS) has been reported to induce atherosclerosis. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation induced by LSS are still poorly understood. The objective of our study is the comprehensive identification of molecular circuitry involved in low shear stress-induced inflammation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) through protein profiling and cell function experiment. In this study, Western blotting analyses revealed a significant increase in the expression of CX3CR1, nucleusP65, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and Interleukin-6 (IL-6), while the expression of cytosolic P65 and IκB has significantly decreased in HUVECs treated with low shear stress. CX3CR1 Sh-RNA was use to reveal its effect on LSS-induced inflammation. Further, specific NF-κB P65 inhibitors pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) were used to reveal the downstream NF-κB P65 exclusively involved in LSS-induced inflammation in HUVECs, this effect can be abrogated by CX3CR1 sh-RNA and NF-κB inhibitors. Monocyte adhesion assay and scratch test revealed low shear stress to promotes adhesion of monocytes and migration of cells, this effect can be abrogated by CX3CR1 sh-RNA and NF-κB inhibitors. LSS was involved in the expression of adhesion molecules and chemokines, which are important for the initiation of endothelial inflammation-related atherosclerosis. Therefore, the cell signaling pathways activated by LSS in endothelial cells may represent therapeutic targets of atherosclerosis.

Emerging Piezo1 signaling in inflammation and atherosclerosis; a potential therapeutic target.

Purpose of Review: Atherosclerosis is the principal cause of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) which are the major cause of death worldwide. Mechanical force plays an essential role in cardiovascular health and disease. To bring the awareness of mechanosensitive Piezo1 role in atherosclerosis and its therapeutic potentials we review recent literature to highlight its involvement in various mechanisms of the disease. Recent Findings: Recent studies reported Piezo1 channel as a sensor, and transducer of various mechanical forces into biochemical signals, which affect various cellular activities such as proliferation, migration, apoptosis and vascular remodeling including immune/inflammatory mechanisms fundamental phenomenon in atherogenesis. Summary: Numerous evidences suggest Piezo1 as a player in different mechanisms of cell biology, including immune/inflammatory and other cellular mechanisms correlated with atherosclerosis. This review discusses mechanistic insight about this matter and highlights the drugability and therapeutic potentials consistent with emerging functions Piezo1 in various mechanisms of atherosclerosis. Based on the recent works, we suggest Piezo1 as potential therapeutic target and a valid candidate for future research. Therefore, a deeper exploration of Piezo1 biology and translation towards the clinic will be a novel strategy for treating atherosclerosis and other CVDs.

Mechanosensitive Piezo1 Channel Evoked-Mechanical Signals in Atherosclerosis.

Recently, more and more works have focused and used extensive resources on atherosclerosis research, which is one of the major causes of death globally. Alongside traditional risk factors, such as hyperlipidemia, smoking, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes, mechanical forces, including shear stress, pressure and stretches exerted on endothelial cells by flow, is proved to be crucial in atherosclerosis development. Studies have recognized the mechanosensitive Piezo1 channel as a special sensor and transducer of various mechanical forces into biochemical signals, and recent studies report its role in atherosclerosis through different mechanical forces in pressure, stretching and turbulent shear stress. Based on our expertise in this field and considering the recent advancement of atherosclerosis research, we will be focusing on the function of Piezo1 and its involvement in various cellular mechanisms and consequent involvement in the development of atherosclerosis in this review. Also, we will discuss various functions of Piezo1 involvement in atherosclerosis and come up with new mechanistic insight for future research. Based on the recent findings, we suggest Piezo1 as a valid candidate for novel therapeutic innovations, in which deep exploration and translating its findings into the clinic will be a new therapeutic strategy for cardiovascular diseases, particularly atherosclerosis.

Diverticulum of mitral valve.

Diverticulum arising from the heart is an uncommon finding. They are incidentally detected by echocardiography as masses arising from the cardiac valves. We present a case of an incidental finding of a diverticulum arising from the mitral valve. This was initially detected by Transthoracic echocardiography and later confirmed by transesophageal echocardiography and pathologic appearance.

Single-cell analysis reveals the purification and maturation effects of glucose starvation in hiPSC-CMs.

Human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) play a critical role in most translational and clinical applications. Although glucose starvation (GS) has been evaluated during cellular purification, there has been no comprehensive evaluation of the transcriptional heterogeneity of these cells. Here, we applied GS for 3 days starting at day 10 of differentiation, and then, harvested hiPSC-CMs at day 20 for single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq). We found that GS dramatically reduced the proportion of non-cardiomyocytes cells and increased the number of late-stage cardiomyocytes. We also recorded an increase in the expression of MYH6, MYH7, ACTN2, TNNT2, and several other genes associated with the structural and functional maturation of cardiomyocytes. Further analysis indicated that these changes were focused on the signaling pathways involved in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, cardiac muscle development, and cardiac muscle contraction. Finally, pseudotime analysis revealed that GS hiPSC-CMs developed in a more mature direction. Together, these results suggest that GS treatment improves the purity and maturation of hiPSC-CMs, which should increase the feasibility of hiPSC-CMs applications.

LncRNA-MYL2-2 and miR-124-3p Are Associated with Perioperative Neurocognitive Disorders in Patients after Cardiac Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) resulting from cardiac surgery is a complication with high morbidity and mortality. However, the pathogenesis is unknown. METHODS: For the sake of investigating the risk factors and mechanism of PND, we collected the characteristics and neurological scores of patients undergoing cardiac surgery in the Affiliated Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital of Southwest Medical University and Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University from Jan 1, 2016 to Dec 11, 2018. RESULTS: We found that age and left atrial thrombus are independent risk factors for PND after cardiac surgery. Furthermore, the serum of 29 patients was collected on the 7th day after cardiac surgery for detecting the expression of lncRNA-MYL2-2 and miR-124-3p. Increased lncRNA-MYL2-2 and decreased miR-124-3p in serum were associated with the decline of patients' cognition. CONCLUSIONS: LncRNA-MYL2-2 and miRNA-124-3p may jointly participate in the occurrence and development of PND after cardiac surgery. These important findings are advantaged to further understand the pathogenesis of PND and prevent it, provide new biomarkers for the diagnosis and monitoring of PND.

Low Shear Stress Upregulates CX3CR1 Expression by Inducing VCAM-1 via the NF-κB Pathway in Vascular Endothelial Cells.

Atherosclerosis is a significant cause of mortality and morbidity. Studies suggest that the chemokine receptor CX3CR1 plays a critical role in atherogenesis. Shear stress is an important mechanical force that affects blood vessel function. In this study, we investigated the effect of shear stress on CX3CR1 expression in vascular endothelial cells (VECs). First, cells were exposed to different shear stress and then CX3CR1 mRNA and protein were measured by quantitative RT-PCR and western blot analysis, respectively. CX3CR1 gene silencing was used to analyze the molecular mechanisms underlying shear stress-mediated effects on CX3CR1 expression. CX3CR1 mRNA and protein expression were significantly increased with 4.14 dyne/cm2 of shear stress compared with other tested levels of shear stress. We observed a significant increase in CX3CR1 mRNA levels at 2 h and CX3CR1 protein expression at 4 h. CX3CR1-induced VCAM-1 expression in response to low shear stress by activating NF-κB signaling pathway in VECs. Our findings demonstrate that low shear stress increases CX3CR1 expression, which increases VCAM-1 expression due to elevated NF-κB activation. The current study provides evidence of the correlation between shear stress and atherosclerosis mediated by CX3CR1.

Inhibitory Effects of Dronedarone on Small Conductance Calcium Activated Potassium Channels in Patients with Chronic Atrial Fibrillation: Comparison to Amiodarone.

BACKGROUND Dysfunction of small conductance calcium activated potassium (SK) channels plays a vital role in atrial arrhythmogenesis. Amiodarone and dronedarone are the most effective class III antiarrhythmic drugs. It is unclear whether the antiarrhythmic effect of amiodarone and dronedarone is related to SK channel inhibition. MATERIAL AND METHODS Tissue samples were obtained from the right atria of 46 patients with normal sinus rhythm and 39 patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. Isolated atrial myocytes were obtained by enzymatic dissociation. KCNN2 (SK2) channels were transiently expressed in human embryonic kidney (HEK)-293 cells. SK currents were recorded using whole-cell conventional patch clamp techniques. RESULTS Amiodarone and dronedarone showed a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on SK currents (IKAS) in atrial myocytes from normal sinus rhythm patients and chronic atrial fibrillation patients. The suppressed efficacy of dronedarone and amiodarone on IKAS was greater in atrial myocytes from chronic atrial fibrillation patients than that from normal sinus rhythm patients. Furthermore, in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, the IC50 value was 2.42 µM with dronedarone and 8.03 µM with amiodarone. In HEK-293 cells with transiently transfected SK2 channels, both dronedarone and amiodarone had a dose-dependent inhibitory effect on IKAS. The IC50 value was 1.7 µM with dronedarone and 7.2 µM with amiodarone in cells from patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. Compared to amiodarone, dronedarone is more efficacy to inhibit IKAS and could be a potential intervention for patients with chronic atrial fibrillation. CONCLUSIONS Dronedarone provides a great degree of IKAS inhibition in atrial myocytes from chronic atrial fibrillation than amiodarone. IKAS might be a potential target of amiodarone and dronedarone for the management of chronic atrial fibrillation.