Molecular imaging of angiogenesis with SPECT

Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and position emission tomography (PET) are the two main imaging modalities in nuclear medicine. SPECT imaging is more widely available than PET imaging and the radionuclides used for SPECT are easier to prepare and usually have a longer half-life than those used for PET. In addition, SPECT is a less expensive technique than PET. Commonly used gamma emitters are: 99mTc (Emax 141 keV, T1/2 6.02 h), 123I (Emax 529 keV, T1/2 13.0 h) and 111In (Emax 245 keV, T1/2 67.2 h). Compared to clinical SPECT, PET has a higher spatial resolution and the possibility to more accurately estimate the in vivo concentration of a tracer. In preclinical imaging, the situation is quite different. The resolution of microSPECT cameras (<0.5 mm) is higher than that of microPET cameras (>1.5 mm). In this report, studies on new radiolabelled tracers for SPECT imaging of angiogenesis in tumours are reviewed

PR interval genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 50 loci associated with atrial and atrioventricular electrical activity

Electrocardiographic PR interval measures atrio-ventricular depolarization and conduction, and abnormal PR interval is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation and heart block. Our genomewide association study of over 92,000 European-descent individuals identifies 44 PR interval loci (34 novel). Examination of these loci reveals known and previously not-yet-reported biological processes involved in cardiac atrial electrical activity. Genes in these loci are overrepresented in cardiac disease processes including heart block and atrial fibrillation. Variants in over half of the 44 loci were associated with atrial or blood transcript expression levels, or were in high linkage disequilibrium with missense variants. Six additional loci were identified either by meta-analysis of similar to 105,000 African and European-descent individuals and/or by pleiotropic analyses combining PR interval with heart rate, QRS interval, and atrial fibrillation. These findings implicate developmental pathways, and identify transcription factors, ionchannel genes, and cell-junction/cell-signaling proteins in atrio-ventricular conduction, identifying potential targets for drug development

Mammalian gamma 2 AMPK regulates intrinsic heart rate

This work was supported by a BHF Intermediate Clinical Fellowship (FS/15/8/ 31155 to N.H.); BHF Senior Basic Science Research Fellowship (FS/11/50/29038 to J.E. S.); MRC/EPSRC Grant (G0600829, H.M. and M.L.M.); the Federal Ministry of Education and Research Germany (FKZ 0312138A and FKZ 316159), the State MecklenburgWestern Pomerania with EU Structural Funds (ESF/IV-WM-B34-0030/10 and ESF/IVBM-B35-0010/12), the DFG (DA 1296-1), the German Heart Foundation (F/01/12), the FORUN Program of Rostock University Medical Centre (889001), the EU funded CaSyM project (Grant Agreement #305033), the DAMP Foundation and the BMBF (VIP+ 00240) (to J.J.J., C.Ri., M.W., O.W., and R.D.); Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca (PRIN 2010BWY8E9) and the EU (LSHM-CT-2006-018676 NORMACOR) (D.D.); Fondazione Cariplo (CLARIFY, 2014-0822, M.B., and ACROSS, 2014-0728, D. D.); Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Aging (E.G.L); the Wellcome Trust (Research Training Fellowship, 086632/Z/08/Z), the Academy of Medical Sciences (Clinical Lecturer Starter Grant), and the National Institute for Health Research in the form of an Academic Clinical Lectureship (A.Y.). A.Y. (RE/08/004), H.W., and H.A. acknowledge support from the BHF Centre of Research Excellence, Oxford. Author contributio