Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Maurits A. Sikking, Sophie L. V. M. Stroeks, Michiel T. H. M. Henkens, Max F. G. H. M. Venner, Xiaofei Li, Stephane R. B. Heymans, Mark R. Hazebroek, Job A. J. Verdonschot
Summary: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) has a genetic cause in up to 40% of cases, and the presence of cardiac inflammation is associated with a younger disease onset in genetic DCM patients. However, cardiac inflammation does not increase the risk of mortality, heart failure hospitalization, or life-threatening arrhythmias. This suggests that myocarditis may be an exogeneous trigger for DCM in patients with a genetic susceptibility or that cardiac inflammation represents an early phase of the disease.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Jan M. Griffin, Jessica Chasler, Alison L. Wand, David R. Okada, J. Nikolhaus Smith, Elie Saad, Hari Tandri, Jonathan Chrispin, Michelle Sharp, Edward K. Kasper, Edward S. Chen, Nisha A. Gilotra
Summary: This study compared the efficacy of prednisone monotherapy and prednisone in combination with mycophenolate mofetil in 77 patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. The combination therapy group showed lower prednisone exposure and reduced cardiac inflammation, with most patients experiencing improvement or complete resolution in cardiac uptake. Mycophenolate mofetil was well tolerated, suggesting that this combination therapy may be a promising treatment option for cardiac sarcoidosis.
JOURNAL OF CARDIAC FAILURE
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kyoko Imanaka-Yoshida
Summary: Tenascin-C is a large ECM glycoprotein transiently expressed in the heart during embryonic development, but rarely detected in normal adults, with its expression strongly up-regulated in inflammation. TNC appears to worsen adverse ventricular remodeling by aggravating inflammation/fibrosis, and high levels predict poor prognosis in patients with various heart diseases, making it a potential biomarker for disease stratification and therapy selection.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kazuko Tajiri, Kyoko Imanaka-Yoshida, Yusuke Tsujimura, Kazuhiro Matsuo, Michiaki Hiroe, Kazutaka Aonuma, Masaki Ieda, Yasuhiro Yasutomi
Summary: The study introduces a novel mouse model of chronic myocarditis induced by rBCG-MyHC alpha, which resulted in similar symptoms to human DCM. This model may help identify the central pathophysiological and immunological processes involved in the progression to DCM.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Kazuko Tajiri, Saori Yonebayashi, Siqi Li, Masaki Ieda
Summary: Accumulating evidence indicates that the breakdown of immune tolerance may lead to the development of myocarditis, with TN-C playing a crucial role as a local regulator of inflammation.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Jian-Kui Du, Qing Yu, Yu-Jian Liu, Shu-Fang Du, Li-Yang Huang, Dan-Hong Xu, Xin Ni, Xiao-Yan Zhu
Summary: The study reveals the role of KLK8 in diabetic cardiomyopathy, with KLK8 deficiency attenuating cardiac fibrosis while KLK8 overexpression inducing EndMT. This provides a new direction for therapeutic strategies for diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ana-Maria Vacaru, Madalina Dumitrescu, Andrei Mircea Vacaru, Ioana Madalina Fenyo, Radu Ionita, Anca Violeta Gafencu, Maya Simionescu
Summary: The study aimed to improve the immunomodulatory activity of MSC by inducing FasL overexpression, showing enhanced immunosuppressive properties in FasL-overexpressing MSC. These findings suggest that FasL-overexpressing MSC are promising candidates for therapeutic intervention in autoimmune disorders.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ieva Rinkunaite, Egidijus Simoliunas, Milda Alksne, Gabriele Bartkute, Siegfried Labeit, Virginija Bukelskiene, Julius Bogomolovas
Summary: Myocarditis is an inflammatory disease that can lead to sudden death and chronic heart failure. The molecular mechanisms during the post-myocarditis phase are not well understood. This study suggests that ANKRD1, a stress-responsive protein, may play a role in cardiac remodeling after myocarditis.
Review
Immunology
Chun-yan Cheng, Gang-Yi Cheng, Zhong-Gui Shan, Anna Baritussio, Giulia Lorenzoni, Agata Tyminska, Krzysztof Ozieranski, Sabino Iliceto, Renzo Marcolongo, Dario Gregori, Alida L. P. Caforio
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of immunosuppression/immunomodulation on myocarditis, finding that early immunosuppression may help reduce mortality and improve left ventricular ejection fraction. Therefore, tailored immunosuppression may be a consideration for treatment in patients with myocarditis.
AUTOIMMUNITY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Pediatrics
Samuel Brown, Oscar Nolan, Esther Poole, Justine Kidd, Jane Cassidy, Phil Botha, Milind Chaudhari
Summary: The aim of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of long-term milrinone therapy in children with acute decompensated heart failure due to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). A retrospective study was conducted on 47 children who received continuous long-term milrinone therapy. The study found that long-term intravenous milrinone is safe and effective in pediatric acute decompensated DCM, and it can act as a bridge to recovery, potentially reducing the need for mechanical support or heart transplantation.
Article
Immunology
Usman Saeedullah, Anas M. Abbas, Caitlin Ward, Maha Bayya, Jenish Bhandari, Araf M. Abbas, Joshua DeLeon, Allison B. Reiss
Summary: This article presents a case of a middle-aged female patient who developed severe multisystem symptoms, including COVID-19-associated myocarditis and encephalitis, despite receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Timely treatment for myocarditis and encephalopathy is crucial to prevent permanent and potentially fatal damage.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qing Kong, Jinping Gu, Ruohan Lu, Caihua Huang, Lili Chen, Weifeng Wu, Donghai Lin
Summary: In this study, metabolomic analysis of cardiac tissues was conducted to investigate the metabolic changes in different pathological stages of viral myocarditis. The results revealed distinct metabolic differences between the pathological groups and normal controls, and identified impaired metabolic pathways and potential cardiac biomarkers associated with these pathological stages.
Article
Pediatrics
Ferran Gran, Andrea Fidalgo, Paola Dolader, Marta Garrido, Alexandra Navarro, Jaume Izquierdo-Blasco, Joan Balcells, Marta Codina-Sola, Paula Fernandez-Alvarez, Anna Sabate-Rotes, Pedro Betrian, Joaquin Fernandez-Doblas, Raul Abella, Ferran Roses-Noguer
Summary: Distinguishing between acute myocarditis and genetic cardiomyopathy in pediatric patients can be challenging, with differences in clinical presentation that may be effectively differentiated through invasive and non-invasive measures. Some patients with genetic cardiomyopathy can also fulfill the diagnostic criteria of inflammatory cardiomyopathy, highlighting the importance of further research to develop predictive models for differentiation.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PEDIATRICS
(2022)
Retraction
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Chen-Jun Zhang, Yu Huang, Ji-De Lu, Jie Lin, Zhi-Ru Ge, Hui Huang
Summary: The study was retracted due to the publication of several image elements of experimental data in a different scientific context, invalidating the conclusions of the article.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Piotr Lewandowski, Marcin Golawski, Maciej Baron, Edyta Reichman-Warmusz, Romuald Wojnicz
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of microRNAs and circulating free DNA as biomarkers of myocardial inflammation. The results identified three miRNAs (miR-Chr8:96, miR-155, and miR-206) as the best candidates for myocardial inflammation liquid biopsy panel.