Genetic Mapping and Functional Studies of a Natural Inhibitor of the Insulin Receptor Tyrosine Kinase: The Mouse Ortholog of Human α2-HS Glycoprotein

Fetuin/α2-HS glycoprotein (α2-HSG) homologs have been identified in several species including rat, sheep, pig, rabbit, guinea pig, cattle, mouse and human. Multiple physiological roles for these homologs have been suggested, including ability to bind to hydroxyapatite crystals and to specifically inhibit the tyrosine kinase (TK) activity of the insulin receptor (IR). In this study we report the identification, cloning, and characterization of the mouse Ahsg gene and its function as an IR-TK inhibitor. Genomic clones derived from a mouse Svj 129 genomic library were sequenced in order to characterize the intron–exon organization of the mouse Ahsg gene, including an 875 bp subclone containing 154 bp upstream from the transcription start site, the first exon, and part of the first intron. A second genomic subclone harboring a 3.45 kb Bgl II fragment contained exons 2, 3 and 4 in addition to two adjacent elements within the first intron-a repetitive element of the B1 family (92 bp) and a 271 bp tract of (T,C)n * (A,G)n. We have mapped mouse Ahsg at 16 cM adjacent to the Diacylglycerol kinase 3 (Dagk3) gene on chromosome 16 by genotyping interspecific backcross panels between C57BL/6J and Mus spretus. The position is syntenic with human chromosome 3q27, where the human AHSG gene resides. Using recombinant mouse α2-HSG expressed from a recombinant baculovirus, we demonstrate that mouse α2-HSG inhibits insulin–stimulated IR autophosphorylation and IR-TKA in vitro. In addition, mouse α2-HSG (25μg/ml) completely abolishes insulin-induced DNA synthesis in H-35 rat hepatoma cells. Based on the sequence data and functional analysis, we conclude that the mouse Ahsg gene is the true ortholog of the human AHSG gene

Potential Impact and Study Considerations of Metabolomics in Cardiovascular Health and Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.

Through the measure of thousands of small-molecule metabolites in diverse biological systems, metabolomics now offers the potential for new insights into the factors that contribute to complex human diseases such as cardiovascular disease. Targeted metabolomics methods have already identified new molecular markers and metabolomic signatures of cardiovascular disease risk (including branched-chain amino acids, select unsaturated lipid species, and trimethylamine-N-oxide), thus in effect linking diverse exposures such as those from dietary intake and the microbiota with cardiometabolic traits. As technologies for metabolomics continue to evolve, the depth and breadth of small-molecule metabolite profiling in complex systems continue to advance rapidly, along with prospects for ongoing discovery. Current challenges facing the field of metabolomics include scaling throughput and technical capacity for metabolomics approaches, bioinformatic and chemoinformatic tools for handling large-scale metabolomics data, methods for elucidating the biochemical structure and function of novel metabolites, and strategies for determining the true clinical relevance of metabolites observed in association with cardiovascular disease outcomes. Progress made in addressing these challenges will allow metabolomics the potential to substantially affect diagnostics and therapeutics in cardiovascular medicine

Troponin T and N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide: A Biomarker Approach to Predict Heart Failure Risk--The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

Among the various cardiovascular diseases, heart failure (HF) is projected to have the largest increases in incidence over the coming decades; therefore, improving HF prediction is of significant value. We evaluated whether cardiac troponin T (cTnT) measured with a high-sensitivity assay and N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), biomarkers strongly associated with incident HF, improve HF risk prediction in the Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities (ARIC) study

Detection of high-risk atherosclerotic plaque: report of the NHLBI Working Group on current status and future directions.

International audienceThe leading cause of major morbidity and mortality in most countries around the world is atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, most commonly caused by thrombotic occlusion of a high-risk coronary plaque resulting in myocardial infarction or cardiac death, or embolization from a high-risk carotid plaque resulting in stroke. The lesions prone to result in such clinical events are termed vulnerable or high-risk plaques, and their identification may lead to the development of pharmacological and mechanical intervention strategies to prevent such events. Autopsy studies from patients dying of acute myocardial infarction or sudden death have shown that such events typically arise from specific types of atherosclerotic plaques, most commonly the thin-cap fibroatheroma. However, the search in human beings for vulnerable plaques before their becoming symptomatic has been elusive. Recently, the PROSPECT (Providing Regional Observations to Study Predictors of Events in the Coronary Tree) study demonstrated that coronary plaques that are likely to cause future cardiac events, regardless of angiographic severity, are characterized by large plaque burden and small lumen area and/or are thin-cap fibroatheromas verified by radiofrequency intravascular ultrasound imaging. This study opened the door to identifying additional invasive and noninvasive imaging modalities that may improve detection of high-risk atherosclerotic lesions and patients. Beyond classic risk factors, novel biomarkers and genetic profiling may identify those patients in whom noninvasive imaging for vulnerable plaque screening, followed by invasive imaging for risk confirmation is warranted, and in whom future pharmacological and/or device-based focal or regional therapies may be applied to improve long-term prognosis