Consensus guidelines for the use and interpretation of angiogenesis assays

The formation of new blood vessels, or angiogenesis, is a complex process that plays important roles in growth and development, tissue and organ regeneration, as well as numerous pathological conditions. Angiogenesis undergoes multiple discrete steps that can be individually evaluated and quantified by a large number of bioassays. These independent assessments hold advantages but also have limitations. This article describes in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro bioassays that are available for the evaluation of angiogenesis and highlights critical aspects that are relevant for their execution and proper interpretation. As such, this collaborative work is the first edition of consensus guidelines on angiogenesis bioassays to serve for current and future reference

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

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First delivery and ovariectomy affect biomechanical and structural properties of the vagina in the ovine model

peer reviewedINTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Animal models are useful for investigating the genesis of pelvic floor dysfunction and for developing novel therapies for its treatment. There is a need for an alternative large-animal model to the nonhuman primate. Therefore we studied the effects of the first vaginal delivery, ovariectomy and systemic hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) on the biomechanical and structural properties of the ovine vagina. METHODS: We examined the gross anatomical properties of nulliparous, primiparous, ovariectomized multiparous, and ovariectomized hormone-replaced multiparous sheep (six animals per group). We also harvested mid-vaginal and distal vaginal tissue to determine smooth muscle contractility and passive biomechanical properties, for morphometric assessment of the vaginal wall layers, to determine collagen and elastin content, and for immunostaining for alpha-smooth muscle actin and estrogen receptor-alpha. RESULTS: There were no regional differences in the nulliparous vagina. One year after the first vaginal delivery, stiffness and contractility of the distal vagina were decreased, whereas the elastin content increased. The mid-vagina of ovariectomized sheep was stiff, and its epithelium was thin and lacked glycogen. HRT decreased the stiffness of the mid-vagina by 45% but had no measurable effect on contractility or elastin content, and increased epithelial thickness and glycogen content. HRT also increased the epithelial thickness and glycogen content of the distal vagina. At this location, there were no changes in morphology or stiffness. CONCLUSION: In sheep, life events including delivery and ovariectomy affect the biomechanical properties of the vagina in a region-specific way. Vaginal delivery mainly affects the distal region by decreasing stiffness and contractility. HRT can reverse the increase in stiffness of the mid-vagina observed after surgical induction of menopause. These observations are in line with scanty biomechanical measurements in comparable clinical specimens