Mir-96 and miR-183 differentially regulate neonatal and adult post-infarct neovascularisation

Following myocardial infarction (MI), the adult heart has minimal regenerative potential. Conversely, the neonatal heart can undergo extensive regeneration, and neovascularisation capacity was hypothesised to contribute to this difference. Here, we demonstrate the higher angiogenic potential of neonatal compared to adult mouse cardiac endothelial cells (MCECs) in vitro and use this difference to identify candidate microRNAs (miRs) regulating cardiac angiogenesis after MI. MiR expression profiling revealed miR-96 and miR-183 upregulation in adult compared to neonatal MCECs. Their overexpression decreased the angiogenic potential of neonatal MCECs in vitro and prevented scar resolution and neovascularisation in neonatal mice after MI. Inversely, their inhibition improved the angiogenic potential of adult MCECs, and miR-96/miR-183 knock-out mice had increased peri-infarct neovascularisation. In silico analyses identified anillin (ANLN) as a direct target of miR-96 and miR-183. In agreement, Anln expression declined following their overexpression and increased after their inhibition in vitro. Moreover, ANLN expression inversely correlated with miR-96 expression and age in cardiac ECs of cardiovascular patients. In vivo, ANLN-positive vessels were enriched in the peri-infarct area of miR-96/miR-183 knock-out mice. These findings identify miR-96 and miR-183 as regulators of neovascularisation following MI and miR-regulated genes such as anillin as potential therapeutic targets for cardiovascular disease

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

Quality of life and therapeutic management of axial spondyloarthritis patients in Italy: a 12-month prospective observational study

Objectives: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), disease activity, treatment adherence, and work ability in the real-world setting in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). Methods: QUASAR was a prospective 12-month, observational study involving 23 rheumatology centres across Italy, including adult patients with axSpA according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria. Patients were followed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months for disease activity and health-related QoL (HRQoL), treatment adherence and work ability. Regression analysis was used to assess the association between treatment and outcome variables. Results: 413 (80.7%) out of axSpA 512 patients were diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 99 (19.3%) with non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Nr-axSpA and AS patients had similar baseline disease activity and HRQoL. Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) were the most frequent medication (n=426, 83.2%). Over the 1-year follow-up, disease activity measures (joint pain and swelling, CRP, global assessment, BASDAI, ASDAS), HRQoL and work ability significantly improved, while few differences emerged between nr-axSpA and AS patients. Treatment satisfaction and adherence questionnaires improved over the 12 months. Patients treated with bDMARDs showed improved outcomes for disease activity measures and HRQoL variables, greater benefit observed in patients with AS. Conclusions: We found clinical and HRQoL improvement over 1 year in a large, real-world population of nr-axSpA and AS patients treated with bDMARDs or conventional synthetic DMARD

Management of psoriatic arthritis: a consensus opinion by expert rheumatologists

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory musculoskeletal disease involving several articular and extra-articular structures. Despite the important progresses recently made in all of the aspects of this disease, its management is still burdened by unresolved issues. The aim of this exercise was to provide a set of statements that may be helpful for the management of PsA. Methods: A group of 38 Italian rheumatologists with recognized expertise in PsA selected and addressed the following four topics: "early PsA," "axial-PsA," "extra-articular manifestations and comorbidities," "therapeutic goals." Relevant articles from the literature (2016-2022) were selected by the experts based on a PubMed search. A number of statements for each topic were elaborated. Results: Ninety-four articles were selected and evaluated, 68 out of the 1,114 yielded by the literature search and 26 added by the Authors. Each of the four topic was subdivided in themes as follows: transition from psoriasis to PsA, imaging vs. CASPAR criteria in early diagnosis, early treatment for "early PsA"; axial-PsA vs. axialspondyloarthritis, diagnosis, clinical evaluation, treatment, standard radiography vs. magnetic resonance imaging for "axial PsA"; influence of inflammatory bowel disease on the therapeutic choice, cardiovascular comorbidity, bone damage, risk of infection for "comorbidities and extra-articular manifestations"; target and tools, treat-to-target strategy, role of imaging for "therapeutic goals." The final document consisted of 49 statements. Discussion: The final product of this exercise is a set of statements concerning the main issues of PsA management offering an expert opinion for some unmet needs of this complex disease