Expression of the congenital heart disease 5/tryptophan rich basic protein homologue gene during heart development in Medaka fish,Oryzias latipes

The congenital heart disease 5 (CHD5)/tryptophan rich basic protein (WRB) is a protein containing a tryptophan‐rich carboxy‐terminal region, which was discovered in the human fetal heart. In humans, this CHD5/WRB is located between the markers ACTL5‐D21S268 within the Down syndrome (DS) Region‐2 at chromosome 21. Congenital heart disease is commonly linked to DS patients. The functions of this gene product are unknown. To identify the functions of CHD5/WRB in heart formation during embryogenesis, the medaka CHD5 cDNA (mCHD5) was isolated and its gene expression pattern and the localization of its gene product were investigated. The obtained mCHD5 belongs to the CHD5 superfamily, whose members include coiled‐coil proteins. The mCHD5 gene was found to be expressed in the developing heart after stage 28 at which the chamber (ventricle and atrium) differentiation in the heart tube is initiated in the embryo. Its gene product was also detected in the developing heart at embryonic stage 28 and 35. Knocking‐down of mCHD5 function caused severe cardiac disorder, including abnormal chamber differentiation, abnormal looping and ocular abnormality such as Cyclops. Our results provide the mCHD5 gene expression pattern as well as its physiological role during heart formation in a vertebrate model system.     

基于表达谱芯片和下一代测序技术筛选先天性心脏病胎儿心肌组织差异表达的miRNA

目的 联合采用表达谱芯片和下一代测序技术同时高通量筛选先天性心脏病胎儿心肌组织表达差异的miRNA.方法 实验组为孕中期先天性畸形胎儿,对照组为同胎龄无心脏畸形的难免流产的胎儿,取胎儿心室心肌组织,联合采用Agilent Human 2.0 microRNAs表达谱芯片和SOLiD下一代测序技术同时观察心肌组织microRNA的表达变化,数据采用生物信息学方法进行分析,并用实时PCR方法验证芯片结果.结果 通过差异miRNA筛选,发现先天性心脏畸形组在表达谱芯片和下一代测序中共同差异的24个miRNA,生物信息学预测到1 606个靶基因,靶基因Gene Ontology分析表明其中与细胞进程、代谢过程、生物调控相关的靶基因为主,Pathway显著性分析表明,部分靶基因为生物信号通路中的关键因子;随机挑选共同表达差异的4个miRNA进行验证,结果表明定量PCR检测结果与芯片与下一代测序共同筛选结果基本相符.结论 这些在先天性心脏病中异常表达的miRNA为研究先天性心脏病分子水平上的发病机制提供了重要的线索,将有可能为心脏相关疾病的诊断和治疗提供新的靶点和研发新的药物.     

Transvenous pacing in complex post-operative congenital heart disease guided by angiography: A case report

Transvenous pacing in patients with postoperative complex congenital heart disease (CHD) can be challenging and pose technical challenges to lead placement because of the complex anatomy, distortions produced by the surgical procedures, and the altered relationship of cardiac chambers. We describe the utility of angiography for transvenous dual chamber pacemaker implantation in a post-operative complex congenital heart disease.     

The anti-angiogenic factor PEDF is present in the human heart and is regulated by anoxia in cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts

Cardiac diseases such as myocardial infarction and heart failure are among the leading causes of death in western societies. Therapeutic angiogenesis has been suggested as a concept to combat these diseases. The biology of angiogenic factors expressed in the heart such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is well studied, whereas data on anti-angiogenic mediators in the heart are scarce. Here we study the expression of the anti-angiogenic factor pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) in the human heart and in human cardiac cells. PEDF expression could be detected in human cardiac tissue on the protein and mRNA levels. PEDF mRNA levels were significantly lower in explanted human ischemic hearts as compared to healthy hearts. Our in vitro experiments showed that human adult cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts constitutively secrete PEDF. In addition to anoxic conditions, cobalt chloride, 2,2'dipyridyl and dimethoxally glycine, which stabilize hypoxia inducible factor-α decreased PEDF expression. Furthermore we show that PEDF inhibits VEGF-induced sprouting. We have identified PEDF in healthy and ischemic human hearts and we show that PEDF expression is down-regulated by low oxygen levels. Therefore, we suggest a role for PEDF in the regulation of angiogenesis in the heart and propose PEDF as a possible therapeutic target in heart disease.     

冠心病易感基因的筛选

作为一种多基因疾病 ,冠心病是由遗传和环境因素共同作用的结果 ,在许多国家是主要的死因之一。由于目前冠心病的发病机制尚不十分清楚 ,阻碍了其易感基因的定位分离研究。冠心病遗传因素的确定 ,显然将有助于其易感基因定位分离研究。迄今除发现了个别的相关基因外 ,绝大部分的遗传易感性相关基因尚未被发现 ,其研究仍然存在许多问题。为此 ,本文就其易感基因可能的研究策略和方法作一综述。这些方法同样也适用于诸如中风、外周血管阻塞、高血压、心力衰竭等心血管疾病以及其它多基因疾病     

Epidemiology of adult congenital heart disease: demographic variations worldwide

The population of adults with a congenital heart defect (CHD) is increasing, due to improved survival after cardiac surgery. To accommodate the specialised care for these patients, a profound interest in the epidemiology of CHD is required. The exact size of the current population of adults with CHD is unknown, but the best available evidence suggests that currently overall prevalence of CHD in the adult population is about 3000 per million. Regional differences in CHD prevalence have been described, due to both variations in incidence and in mortality. Knowledge of demographic variations of CHD may lead to new aetiological insights and may be useful for preventive therapies. Socioeconomic status, education, urbanisation, climatological factors, ethnicity and patient-related factors, such as comorbidity, lifestyle and healthcare-seeking behaviour, may play a role in CHD incidence and mortality. The higher risk of several major cardiac outcomes in males with CHD might well explain at least partly the increased mortality rate in men. Regional differences in quality of life among CHD patients have been reported and although methodological differences may play a role, sociocultural differences warrant further attention. Socioeconomic outcomes in CHD patients, such as lower education, more unemployment and less relationships, might have a different impact on quality of life in different cultures. To gain more insight into demographic differences around the world large international multicentre studies on the epidemiology of CHD are needed.     

线粒体LncRNA

长链非编码RNA（long noncoding RNAs,lncRNAs）是一类长度大于200个核苷酸的非蛋白质编码RNA。绝大多数lncRNA来源于核基因组。但近年研究发现,一些lncRNA是由线粒体基因组编码、转录而成,或定位于线粒体。本文将从线粒体lncRNA的发现与主要种类、线粒体lncRNA的加工和结构,以及它们的功能和应用等几个方面,对线粒体lncRNA进行阐述。线粒体lncRNA可能成为心血管疾病或肿瘤诊断的生物标志物,或在调控线粒体基因表达等方面发挥重要功能。     

Long non‐coding RNA cardiac hypertrophy‐associated regulator governs cardiac hypertrophy via regulating miR‐20b and the downstream PTEN/AKT pathway

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy (CH) is a key factor leading to heart failure and ultimately sudden death. Long non‐coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are emerging as a new player in gene regulation relevant to a wide spectrum of human disease including cardiac disorders. Here, we characterize the role of a specific lncRNA named cardiac hypertrophy‐associated regulator (CHAR) in CH and delineate the underlying signalling pathway. CHAR was found markedly down‐regulated in both in vivo mouse model of cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload and in vitro cellular model of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy induced by angiotensin II (AngII) insult. CHAR down‐regulation alone was sufficient to induce hypertrophic phenotypes in healthy mice and neonatal rat ventricular cells (NRVCs). Overexpression of CHAR reduced the hypertrophic responses. CHAR was found to act as a competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to down‐regulate miR‐20b that we established as a pro‐hypertrophic miRNA. We experimentally established phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), an anti‐hypertrophic signalling molecule, as a target gene for miR‐20b. We found that miR‐20b induced CH by directly repressing PTEN expression and indirectly increasing AKT activity. Moreover, CHAR overexpression mitigated the repression of PTEN and activation of AKT by miR‐20b, and as such, it abrogated the deleterious effects of miR‐20b on CH. Collectively, this study characterized a new lncRNA CHAR and unravelled a new pro‐hypertrophic signalling pathway: lncRNA‐CHAR/miR‐20b/PTEN/AKT. The findings therefore should improve our understanding of the cellular functionality and pathophysiological role of lncRNAs in the heart.