重大心血管疾病:遗传和环境的影响及防控策略

心血管疾病在全球死亡病因和疾病负担中位列首位,冠心病、脑卒中等重大心血管疾病在我国造成巨大疾病负担和社会经济负担.心血管疾病的发生,受遗传和环境因素共同影响.国内外基因组学研究已经鉴定了心血管疾病及血压和血脂等表型的遗传特征谱,为多组学大数据整合、精准医疗及个性化防治奠定了基础.通过长期、大规模队列和人群防治研究,明确了影响心血管疾病发生的主要危险因素,创建了适于国人的心血管疾病风险评估模型.当今,国家高度重视并实施健康战略,我国重大心血管疾病的病因探索和防控迎来前所未有的机遇.政策引领、"互联网+"健康产业的发展、创新性研究与人群防治,都将助力心血管疾病防控,促进国人健康水平的提升.     

Hippo信号通路与心血管发育及疾病调控

心血管疾病已成为中国乃至全球首位死亡原因,探索心血管系统发育及调控异常的原因及相关机制可以为心血管疾病的预防和治疗提供重要的科学依据。Hippo信号通路是新近发现的在调节器官大小、细胞增殖及凋亡、干细胞命运等方面具有重要功能的一条信号通路。Hippo信号通路的不同成分参与心脏血管的发育和心血管细胞增殖、分化等功能调控,影响损伤后修复及再生等过程,该通路调节异常可引起心血管疾病,如心梗、心肌肥大、血管内膜增生、动脉硬化等。本文综述了Hippo信号通路对心血管系统发育和疾病调控的相关研究及最新进展,以期为Hippo通路在心血管疾病的发病机制及临床转化研究提供潜在的理论基础。     

铁死亡及其在心脑血管疾病中的研究进展

铁死亡是一种程序性细胞死亡方式,其发生伴随铁依赖性脂质活性氧的积累和质膜多不饱和脂肪酸的消耗,涉及脂质代谢、氨基酸代谢和铁代谢三个过程。心脑血管疾病严重危害人类健康,是心脏血管和脑血管疾病的综合,铁死亡在其发病过程中发挥了至关重要的作用。现主要围绕铁死亡的机制及其在心脏血管和脑血管疾病中的影响等相关问题进行综述,从而为相关疾病的防治提供参考。     

研发动态

“973”计划在人口与健康领域的重点支持方向在“973”计划2006年度项目申报指南中获重要支持的人口与健康领域,有六大方向的研究:1、重大慢性非传染性疾病发病机理、诊断、治疗与预防的基础研究:主要包括重大血管性疾病发病机制和防治的基础研究及2型糖尿病发病机理研究两大课     

内质网应激与心脏疾病

内质网是细胞内蛋白质合成折叠、Ca2+储存和脂质合成的重要部位.内质网稳态的破坏将导致大量错误或者未折叠蛋白质在内质网中的聚集,通过相应的信号通路,引起一系列的细胞反应,即内质网应激.内质网应激参与心脏的发育和多种心脏疾病的发生发展,包括心肌缺血和再灌注损伤、心肌病、心力衰竭等.内质网应激可能是研究心血管疾病发病机制和防治措施的新靶点.     

编者按

<正>器官正常发育是器官行使正常生理功能的基础,组织器官发育异常会导致出生缺陷、器质性疾病甚至胚胎期死亡,心脑血管疾病、代谢性疾病、免疫相关疾病等与器官发育异常也有密切关系。因此,深入研究和解析器官发育的细胞和分子基础意义重大,是生命科学的研究热点,对于保障人类健康具有重要意义。     

血管紧张素受体AT1相关受体蛋白新的配体 ——Elabela的生物学效应及与心血管疾病的关系

Elabela是一种新型血管紧张素受体1相关受体蛋白的配体,与另一个配体apelin一样,参与胚胎心脏和血管发育以及很多心血管疾病的病生理过程,包括先兆子痫、高血压、肺动脉高压、冠心病和心力衰竭等.Elabela可能通过调节液体稳态、舒张血管、增加心肌收缩力等机制发挥心血管保护作用,是一个潜在的新的心血管疾病治疗靶点.     

microRNA:心血管发育及疾病中的重要调控因子

心脏是哺乳动物在胚胎发育时期最早形成的器官,心血管系统的正常发育及功能维持受到精确的调控。近年来,心血管疾病已成为危害人类生命的首要杀手之一,因此,对心血管的发育及疾病发生的机制研究一直是生命科学研究的热点问题。microRNA(miRNA)是一类长约18～25nt的单链非编码小RNA,主要通过结合于靶基因的3'非翻译区抑制靶基因的翻译或导致mRNA降解,从而抑制靶基因的表达。miRNA在许多生物学过程中发挥重要的调控作用,如细胞增殖、分化、凋亡、癌症发生等。最近研究表明,miRNA也参与调控心血管系统的发育和疾病发生过程。在此,该文对miRNA在心血管系统发育和疾病中的作用做一综述。     

“973”计划在人口与健康领域的重点支持方向

在“973”计划2006年度项目申报指南中获重要支持的人口与健康领域,有六大方向的研究：1、重大慢性非传染性疾病发病机理、诊断、治疗与预防的基础研究：主要包括重大血管性疾病发病机制和防治的基础研究及2型糖尿病发病机理研究两大课题。2、人口安全、计划生育与生殖健康的基础研究：从精、卵发生与成熟,受精以及胚胎着床入手,开展人类生育调节与生殖控制分子机理以及生殖相关重要疾病的基础研究。3、环境有害因素对健康影响的理论研究与生物安全：低氧、严寒等环境因素损伤机理与干预措施。研究细胞对恶劣环境因素的感知及其损伤信号在细胞内的转导,阐述损伤与适应的机制,     

成纤维细胞生长因子5的研究进展 *

成纤维细胞生长因子5(fibroblast growth factor 5,FGF5)是成纤维细胞生长因子家族(FGFs)的成员之一,在哺乳动物毛囊,神经系统,睾丸等多个部位及胚胎发育过程中均有表达.研究发现,FGF5具有广泛的生物学活性,如作为毛发生长重要的调节因子其编码基因突变将导致毛发异常生长,作为丝裂原在干细胞增殖,血管生成和肢体肌发育等方面发挥重要作用,以及在高血压,肿瘤等方面具有重要的生物学功能.目前,FGF5在多种疾病中的功能和作用机制尚需进一步深入研究,但其在毛发生长,干细胞增殖及在心血管疾病等方面的生物学作用具有重大的意义和临床应用价值.总结了近些年FGF5的研究进展,系统阐述了FGF5在毛发生长,干细胞增殖分化,心血管疾病及癌症等方面的相关作用机制,为进一步深入研究FGF5在疾病治疗中的作用和开发利用提供参考.     

Growth plasticity of the embryonic and fetal heart

The developing mammalian heart responds to a variety of conditions, including changes in nutrient availability, blood oxygenation, hemodynamics, or tissue homeostasis, with impressive growth plasticity. This ensures the formation of a functional and normal sized organ by birth. During embryonic and fetal development the heart is exposed to various physiological and potentially pathological changes in the intrauterine environment which dramatically impact on normal cardiac function, tissue composition, and morphology. This paper summarizes the mechanisms employed by the embryonic and fetal heart to adapt to various intrauterine challenges to prevent or minimize postnatal consequences of impaired cardiac development. Future investigations of this growth plasticity might lead to new therapeutic strategies for the prevention of cardiac disease in postnatal life.     

Cilia and coordination of signaling networks during heart development

Primary cilia are unique sensory organelles that coordinate a wide variety of different signaling pathways to control cellular processes during development and in tissue homeostasis. Defects in function or assembly of these antenna-like structures are therefore associated with a broad range of developmental disorders and diseases called ciliopathies. Recent studies have indicated a major role of different populations of cilia, including nodal and cardiac primary cilia, in coordinating heart development, and defects in these cilia are associated with congenital heart disease. Here, we present an overview of the role of nodal and cardiac primary cilia in heart development.     

Cilia and coordination of signaling networks during heart development

Primary cilia are unique sensory organelles that coordinate a wide variety of different signaling pathways to control cellular processes during development and in tissue homeostasis. Defects in function or assembly of these antenna-like structures are therefore associated with a broad range of developmental disorders and diseases called ciliopathies. Recent studies have indicated a major role of different populations of cilia, including nodal and cardiac primary cilia, in coordinating heart development, and defects in these cilia are associated with congenital heart disease. Here, we present an overview of the role of nodal and cardiac primary cilia in heart development.     

自由基、天然抗氧化剂与神经退行性疾病

神经退行性疾病,老年痴呆症(Alzheimer's disease,AD)、帕金森症(Parkinson'sDisease,PD)和中风(脑卒中)严重危害老年人的身体健康和生活质量。这些疾病的发病机制目前尚不完全清楚,也无有效治疗方法。目前的研究发现,氧化应激产生的活性氧和NO自由基在诱导细胞的凋亡和导致神经退行性疾病AD、PD和中风方面发挥了重要作用。该文章综述了神经退行性疾病的自由基机理和天然抗氧化剂对这些疾病的预防和治疗作用机理。天然抗氧化剂,如茶多酚,能够防止6-羟多巴胺(6-hydroxydopamine,6-OHDA)诱导的细胞凋亡,保护线粒体功能从而预防6-OHDP诱导大鼠的PD症状;大豆异黄酮和尼古丁作为抗氧化剂可以防止Amyloid-β(Aβ)诱导的海马细胞凋亡和转基因小鼠脑中Aβ的沉积,抑制6-OHDA诱导细胞凋亡过程线粒体细胞色素C释放。在转基因鼠海马CA1区的Aβ斑中,铜、铁浓度比周围神经明显增高,用尼古丁处理明显减少海马CA1区Aβ斑及其周围神经中铜和铁的浓度,尼古丁可以抑制分裂原活化蛋白激酶(mitogen-activated protein kinase,MAPK)的激活,核因子...     

Cardiomyocyte proliferation,a target for cardiac regeneration

Cardiac diseases, characterized by cardiomyocyte loss, lead to dramatic impairment of cardiac function and ultimately to congestive heart failure. Despite significant advances, conventional treatments do not correct the defects in cardiac muscle cell numbers and the prognosis of congestive heart failure remains poor. The existence, in adult mammalian heart, of low but detectable cardiomyocyte proliferative capacities has shifted the target of regenerative therapy toward new therapeutical strategy. Indeed, the stimulation of terminally differentiated cardiomyocyte proliferation represents the main therapeutic approach for heart regeneration. Increasing evidence demonstrating that the loss of mammalian cardiomyocyte renewal potential shortly after birth causes the loss of regenerative capacities, strongly support the hypothesis that a detailed understanding of the molecular mechanisms controlling fetal and postnatal cardiomyocyte proliferation is essential to identify targets for cardiac regeneration. Here, we will review major developmental mechanisms regulating fetal cardiomyocyte proliferation and will describe the impact of the developmental switch, operating at birth and driving postnatal heart maturation, on the regulation of adult cardiomyocyte proliferation, all these mechanisms representing potential targets for cardiac repair and regeneration.     

Cardiovascular abnormalities in Folr1 knockout mice and folate rescue

BACKGROUND: Periconceptional folic acid supplementation is widely believed to aid in the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs), orofacial clefts, and congenital heart defects. Folate-binding proteins or receptors serve to bind folic acid and 5-methyltetrahydrofolate, representing one of the two major mechanisms of cellular folate uptake. METHODS: We herein describe abnormal cardiovascular development in mouse fetuses lacking a functional folate-binding protein gene (Folr1). We also performed a dose-response study with folinic acid and determined the impact of maternal folate supplementation on Folr1 nullizygous cardiac development. RESULTS: Partially rescued preterm Folr1(-/-) (formerly referred to as Folbp1) fetuses were found to have outflow tract defects, aortic arch artery abnormalities, and isolated dextracardia. Maternal supplementation with folinic acid rescued the embryonic lethality and the observed cardiovascular phenotypes in a dose-dependant manner. Maternal genotype exhibited significant impact on the rescue efficiency, suggesting an important role of in utero folate status in embryonic development. Abnormal heart looping was observed during early development of Folr1(-/-) embryos partially rescued by maternal folinic acid supplementation. Migration pattern of cardiac neural crest cells, genetic signals in pharyngeal arches, and the secondary heart field were also found to be affected in the mutant embryos. CONCLUSIONS: Our observations suggest that the beneficial effect of folic acid for congenital heart defects might be mediated via its impact on neural crest cells and by gene regulation of signaling pathways involved in the development of the pharyngeal arches and the secondary heart field.     

Genitourinary functions of Hoxa13 and Hoxd13

In the United States, Japan, United Kingdom, and Sweden, birth defects affecting the growth and development of the genitourinary (GU) regions are becoming increasingly prevalent, with incidences ranging as high as 1 in 125 live births. To understand the basis for these malformations, scientists have begun to examine the function of developmental genes in GU tissues. At the forefront of these investigations are studies examining the role of the 5' HOX proteins during the formation of the GU region. In this report we discuss what is known about HOXA13 and HOXD13 function during GU development, highlighting some of the cellular and molecular mechanisms controlled by these proteins during the GU formation. Finally, the translational benefits of identifying HOX target genes are discussed; first to explain the prevalence of some GU defects as well as a mechanism to facilitate their prevention in the birth population.