Recent findings have suggested glycosylated apolipoprotein J (ApoJ-Glyc) levels to be a marker for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia. Analysis of this marker was performed in a cohort of patients with chest pain suggestive of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) (N=404). ApoJ-Glyc serum levels were analyzed with a novel ELISA assay that targets a specific glycosylated variant of ApoJ (ApoJ-GlycA6). It was found that 291 patients were diagnosed as having a nonischemic event, while 113 were classified as having an ischemic event, 33 as STEMI, 48 as non-STEMI, 27 as unstable angina pectoris and 5 as unclassifiable ACS patients.
Increased expression and elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 play a role in impaired cardiac function. These MMPs make for essential targets in the treatment of heart failure, specifically heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is involved in the regulation of calcium and its hyperactivation can lead to cardiac issues, particularly with rhythm and contraction.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment reduced levels of estrogen and important heart-protective proteins, researchers reported in the Nov. 2, 2022, online edition of Science Translational Medicine. Hormone therapies could target this endocrine-cardiac-immune pathway and mitigate myocarditis risk without affecting treatment responses.
Investigators from 35Pharma Inc. carried out in vivo testing of HS-135, an activin-receptor-based fusion protein (ActRIIB ligand trap), focusing on target engagement, effect on body composition and efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
As they matured from prenatal to adult, heart cells reduced the number of nuclear pores by more than 60%. That decrease protected them from the consequences of stress, but also impaired their ability to regenerate. “These findings are an important advance in fundamental understanding of how the heart develops with age and how it has evolved to cope with stress,” senior author Bernhard Kühn, professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Institute for Heart Regeneration and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a press release. Kühn and his colleagues published those findings in the Oct. 24, 2022, issue of Developmental Cell.
Vivasc Therapeutics Inc. has initiated work under a second National Institutes of Health (NIH) phase I STTR research grant, in conjunction with Georgetown University.
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