Is aortic wall degeneration related to bicuspid aortic valve anatomy in patients with valvular disease?

ObjectivePatients with bicuspid aortic valve are at increased risk for aortic complications.MethodsA total of 115 consecutive patients with bicuspid aortic valve disease underwent surgery of the ascending aorta. We classified the cusp configuration by 3 types: fusion of left coronary and right coronary cusps (type A), fusion of right coronary and noncoronary cusps (type B), and fusion of left coronary and noncoronary cusps (type C). Histopathologic changes in the ascending aortic wall were graded (aortic wall score).ResultsWe observed type A fusion in 85 patients (73.9%), type B fusion in 28 patients (24.3%), and type C fusion in 2 patients (1.8%). Patients with type A fusion were younger at operation than patients with type B fusion (51.3 ± 15.5 years vs 58.7 ± 7.6 years, respectively; P = .034). The mean ascending aorta diameter was 48.9 ± 5.0 mm and 48.7 ± 5.7 mm in type A and type B fusion groups, respectively (P = .34). The mean aortic root diameter was significantly larger in type A fusion (4.9 ± 6.7 mm vs 32.7 ± 2.8 mm; P < .0001). The aortic wall score was significantly higher in type A fusion than in type B fusion (P = .02). The prevalence of aortic wall histopathologic changes was significantly higher in type A fusion. Moreover, there were no statistically significant differences between type A and type B fusion in terms of prevalence of bicuspid aortic valve stenosis, regurgitation, or mixed disease.ConclusionIn diseased bicuspid aortic valves, there was a statistically significant association between type A valve anatomy and a more severe degree of wall degeneration in the ascending aorta and dilatation of the aortic root at younger age compared with type B valve anatomy

An evaluation of the Diamat HPLC analyser for simultaneous determination of haemoglobins A2 and F

The authors describe a modification of the instrumental parameters of the Diamat fully automated HPLC system for Hb A2 assay (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Milan, Italy) in order to obtain simultaneous determination of Hb A2 and Hb F

Role of sialidase Neu3 and ganglioside GM3 in cardiac fibroblasts activation.

Cardiac fibrosis is a key physiological response to cardiac tissue injury to protect the heart from wall rupture. However, its progression increases heart stiffness, eventually causing a decrease in heart contractility. Unfortunately, to date, no efficient antifibrotic therapies are available to the clinic. This is primarily due to the complexity of the process, which involves several cell types and signaling pathways. For instance, the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway has been recognized to be vital for myofibroblasts activation and fibrosis progression. In this context, complex sphingolipids, such as ganglioside GM3, have been shown to be directly involved in TGF-β receptor 1 (TGF-R1) activation. In this work, we report that an induced up-regulation of sialidase Neu3, a glycohydrolytic enzyme involved in ganglioside cell homeostasis, can significantly reduce cardiac fibrosis in primary cultures of human cardiac fibroblasts by inhibiting the TGF-β signaling pathway, ultimately decreasing collagen I deposition. These results support the notion that modulating ganglioside GM3 cell content could represent a novel therapeutic approach for cardiac fibrosis, warranting for further investigations

Biology of mitral valve prolapse: from general mechanisms to advanced molecular patterns—a narrative review

Mitral valve prolapse (MVP) represents the most frequent cause of primary mitral regurgitation. For several years, biological mechanisms underlying this condition attracted the attention of investigators, trying to identify the pathways responsible for such a peculiar condition. In the last ten years, cardiovascular research has moved from general biological mechanisms to altered molecular pathways activation. Overexpression of TGF-β signaling, for instance, was shown to play a key role in MVP, while angiotensin-II receptor blockade was found to limit MVP progression by acting on the same signaling pathway. Concerning extracellular matrix organization, the increased valvular interstitial cells density and dysregulated production of catalytic enzymes (matrix metalloproteinases above all) altering the homeostasis between collagen, elastin and proteoglycan components, have been shown to possibly provide a mechanistic basis contributing to the myxomatous MVP phenotype. Moreover, it has been observed that high levels of osteoprotegerin may contribute to the pathogenesis of MVP by increasing collagen deposition in degenerated mitral leaflets. Although MVP is believed to represent the result of multiple genetic pathways alterations, it is important to distinguish between syndromic and non-syndromic conditions. In the first case, such as in Marfan syndrome, the role of specific genes has been clearly identified, while in the latter a progressively increasing number of genetic loci have been thoroughly investigated. Moreover, genomics is gaining more interest as potential disease-causing genes and loci possibly associated with MVP progression and severity have been identified. Animal models could be of help in better understanding the molecular basis of MVP, possibly providing sufficient information to tackle specific mechanisms aimed at slowing down MVP progression, therefore developing non-surgical therapies impacting on the natural history of this condition. Although continuous progress has been made in this field, further translational studies are advocated to improve our knowledge of biological mechanisms underlying MVP development and progression

GIARPS/GRAVITY Survey: Broad-Band 0.44-2.4 Micron High-Resolution Spectra of T-Tauri and Herbig AeBe Stars - Combining High Spatial and High Spectral Resolution Data to Unveil the Inner Disc Physics

The GIARPS/GRAVITY survey aims to obtain a set of high spatial and spectral resolution data for a sample of T-Tauri and Herbig AeBe stars (∼100 objects) selected from the VLTI/GRAVITY GTO sample of Young Stellar Objects (YSOs). GIARPS is a broad-band spectrometer combining HARPS-N and GIANO which allows high-resolution spectra from 0.44 μm (R ∼ 115, 000) to 2.44 μm (R ∼ 50, 000) in one observation. By combining this high spectral resolution with the high spatial resolution (∼1 mas) of GRAVITY, a view of unprecedented detail can be obtained of the innermost regions of circumstellar discs in YSOs spanning a wide range of masses (0.1–5 M⊙) and ages (105–107 yr). The ultimate goal is to model the accretion and ejection mechanisms, and study how they evolve as a function of YSO mass and age, using the spatially and spectrally resolved atomic and molecular lines from the inner gaseous regions

Indagini multiscalari per la ricostruzione paleoambientale e insediativa del sito preromano di San Basilio di Ariano nel Polesine (RO)

The paper exposes the results of the preliminary investigations set up by the University of Padua in San Basilio of Ariano nel Polesine (RO). This area revealed a palimpsest of traces left by a long-term human occupation, from a pre-roman (VI-V century BC) multi-ethnic port of trade where Etruscans, Greeks and Venetians coexisted, to a Roman age villa/mansio, and finally in Early Middle Ages.The environmental system that characterizes the settlement, located by the ancient coastline near the branch of the Po di Ariano (today Po di Goro), determined, together with the action of man, an overlap of landscape traces. This study focuses on the different scales adopted by the team of University of Padua in the field investigation. First of all, data from remote sensing were analyzed in order to recognize traces left by different natural and human agents in the past. The second step involved the surface, through survey and geophysics, while the third scale investigated the stratigraphy with cores. With the integration of three different lenses of observation, the team managed to get geomorphological and environmental data which were fundamental for setting excavation tests in 2019 and 2021