The changes in various hydroxyproline fractions in aortic tissue of rabbits are closely related to the progression of atherosclerosis

A systematic comprehensive longitudinal evaluation of dietary factors associated with acute myocardial infarction and fatal coronary heart disease

Environmental factors, and in particular diet, are known to play a key role in the development of Coronary Heart Disease. Many of these factors were unveiled by detailed nutritional epidemiology studies, focusing on the role of a single nutrient or food at a time. Here, we apply an Environment-Wide Association Study approach to Nurses' Health Study data to explore comprehensively and agnostically the association of 257 nutrients and 117 foods with coronary heart disease risk (acute myocardial infarction and fatal coronary heart disease). After accounting for multiple testing, we identify 16 food items and 37 nutrients that show statistically significant association - while adjusting for potential confounding and control variables such as physical activity, smoking, calorie intake, and medication use - among which 38 associations were validated in Nurses' Health Study II. Our implementation of Environment-Wide Association Study successfully reproduces prior knowledge of diet-coronary heart disease associations in the epidemiological literature, and helps us detect new associations that were only marginally studied, opening potential avenues for further extensive experimental validation. We also show that Environment-Wide Association Study allows us to identify a bipartite food-nutrient network, highlighting which foods drive the associations of specific nutrients with coronary heart disease risk.

Correlation of Cerebral White Matter Lesions with Carotid Intraplaque Neovascularization assessed by Contrast-enhanced Ultrasound

PURPOSE

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque is closely associated with cerebral white matter lesions (WMLs), while intraplaque neovascularization (IPN) contributes significantly to arterial remodeling and plaque vulnerability. In this study, we aim to evaluate the correlation of carotid IPN with cerebral WMLs.

METHODS

The presence of IPN and WMLs were assessed by contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) and MRI respectively. IPN was evaluated utilizing semi-quantification visual grading scale and WMLs was divided according to Fazekas grading scale. We investigated the baseline data, Fazekas grades, and IPN grades among 269 participants. We explored the influences of each variable on Fazekas grades using ordinal logistic regression and evaluated the relationship between IPN grades and WMLs Fazekas grades.

RESULTS

Increased age (OR: 1.06, P<0.001), hypertension (OR: 2.17, P=0.002), cerebral infarction (OR: 1.74, P=0.046), and elevated carotid IPN grading were significantly associated with aggravated Fazekas grades (grade 2 or 3). To be specific, people having grade 3, 2, and 1 carotid IPN were 25.84 (P<0.001), 10.64 (P<0.001), and 5.96 (P=0.010) times as likely to have elevated Fazekas grades compared with those who having grade 0 carotid IPN.

CONCLUSION

Increased carotid IPN is independently correlated with aggravated cerebral WMLs.

Resveratrol-mediated reduction of collagen by inhibiting proliferation and producing apoptosis in human hypertrophic scar fibroblasts

Hypertrophic scar (HS) is a dermal fibroproliferative disorder characterized by excessive deposition of extracellular matrix. Here, to investigate the regulative effects of resveratrol, a natural antioxidant compound, on fibroblasts from human skin HS tissue, a 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of resveratrol on cells. Cellcycle progression and apoptosis were measured by flow cytometry and Hoechst 33258 staining respectively. The hydroxyproline content and mRNA expression levels of type I and III procollagen were measured separately by ELISA and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results indicated that resveratrol significantly inhibited cell growth, arresting the cell cycle at the G1 phase and inducing apoptosis in the fibroblasts, decreasing hydroxyproline (or collagen) levels, and downregulating the expression levels of type I and III procollagen mRNA. Taken together, these data indicate that resveratrol-mediated reduction of collagen in fibroblasts is at least partially effected by causing inhibitory cell growth, cellcycle arrest, and apoptosis, and they suggest that resveratrol is a potential agent for HS treatment.

The impact of atherosclerosis and vascular collagen on energy-based vessel sealing

BACKGROUND

Bipolar energy ligation of vessels in surgery is common. Although rare, serious failures occur. Atherosclerosis may contribute to seal failures by altering vascular compressibility and collagen content; however, no data exist.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Femoral and iliac arteries of six Yucatan swine with an identified genetic locus predisposing them to atherosclerosis were denuded with a Fogarty catheter. Animals were fed a high-fat diet for 28 wk. A Yorkshire pig was used as a normal control and fed a standard diet. At 28 wk, arteries were measured for their diameters, sealed, and divided in vivo with LigaSure. The sealed artery sections were excised and subjected to burst pressure testing. Half of the seal distal to the aorta was kept intact for histology and collagen and elastin quantification. A multiple linear regression model was used to assess variables contributing to burst pressure. Covariates included were vessel diameter, degree of atherosclerosis, and collagen content.

RESULTS

Experimental animals were hypercholesterolemic. Atherosclerosis occurred in 90% of seals in induced animals, with severe atherosclerosis in 62% of seals. There was site-selective deposition of atherosclerotic plaques in larger diameter iliac vessels. A model including collagen and size best predicted burst pressure. Every 10-U increase in collagen resulted in 15% increase in burst pressure (95% confidence interval = 0.2%-32%, P = 0.047, R(2) = 0.36). Atherosclerosis was unrelated to burst pressure controlling for collagen and size.

CONCLUSIONS

Collagen and size provide the best model fit for predicting burst pressure. Quantitative research in human vasculature is warranted to better understand the influence of atherosclerosis and collagen content on seal failures.