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Endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction plays a crucial role for arterial obstructive disease. This study tested the therapeutic role of autologous endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs)/rosuvastatin-(Rosu)/valsartan-(Val) on repair of injured carotid ECs. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 60) were categorized into five groups [sham-control (SC), left common carotid artery injury induced by balloon denudation (LCA(BD)), LCA(BD) + Rosu (10 mg/kg/day), LCA(BD) + Val (20 mg/kg/day), and LCA(BD) + EPC (1.2 × 10(6))]. By day 5, the LCA was harvested from each rat (n = 6/each time interval in group) after the procedure. Carotid-ring angiogenesis was significantly lower in LCA(BD) than the other groups (all P < 0.001). Compared with LCA(BD), the number of EC was significantly higher in LCA(BD) treated with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) and more significantly higher in LCA(BD) treated with EPCs (all P < 0.001). Gene expression of EC (CD31/vWF), EPC (SDF-1α/CXCR4) and angiogenesis (VEGF/VEGF-receptor/angiopoietin/eNOS) and EC intercellular junction (VE-cadherin) biomarkers were significantly lower in LCA(BD) than in groups LCA(BD) + Rosu to LCA(BD) + EPC (all P < 0.001). Conversely, the gene expression of inflammatory (VCAM-1/MMP-9/TNF-α), oxidative-stress (NOX-1/NOX-2), apoptosis (cleaved caspase-3/PARP) and thrombin cofactor (thrombomodulin) biomarkers were significantly higher in LCA(BD) than in other groups (all P < 0.001). By day 14, the neointimal-layer area and cellular expressions of (CD40+/CD68+) were highest in LCA(BD), lowest in SC, significantly higher in LCA(BD) + Val than in LCA(BD) + Rosu and LCA(BD) + EPC (all P < 0.001). In conclusion, EPCs were comparable to rosuvastatin and valsartan in upregulation of angiogenesis and repair of injured carotid ECs.

This study tested the hypothesis that entresto therapy effectively protected heart and lung against cardiopulmonary syndrome (CPS) caused by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in rat. Adult-Male SD rats (n = 36) were equally categorized into group 1 [sham-operated control (SC)], group 2 [SC + enalapril (7 mg/kg/day) since day-28 after TAC induction], group 3 [SC + entresto (30 mg/kg/day) since day-14 after TAC induction], group 4 (TAC only), group 5 (TAC + enalapril) and group 6 (TAC + entresto) and euthanized at day 60 after TAC induction. By day 60, the left-ventricular (LV) ejection fraction was significantly lower in group 4 than in other groups and significantly lower in groups 5 and 6 than in groups 1 to 3, whereas the ratios of heart and lung weights to tibial-length as well as the right-ventricular-systolic blood pressure exhibited an opposite pattern among the groups (all P

This study tested the hypothesis that SS31 therapy could effectively protect the heart against transverse aortic constriction (TAC)-induced hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) damage. Adult-male B6 mice (n=36) were equally divided into sham-operated control (group 1), TAC only (group 2) and TAC+SS31 (group) (2.0 mg/kg/day by intra-peritoneal administration from day 28 after TAC induction) and euthanized by day 60. In vitro results showed that SS31 markedly suppressed angiotensin-II induced protein expressions of BNP/β-MHC, ATM, p-P38 and P53 and ATP damage in H9C2 cells, and protein expression of pro-collagen-I/CTGF in fibroblasts (all P

This study tested the hypothesis that circulating microparticles (MPs) exacerbated vascular wall (VW) remodeling after endothelial denudation by 0.014 wire in a rat model. Adult male Sprague Dawley rats (n = 40) were equally categorized into group 1 [sham-control (SC); 3.0 mL saline intravenous injection], group 2 [SC + intravenous MPs (1.0 × 107) derived from patients with carotid artery stenosis (CAS)], group 3 [femoral arterial endothelial denudation (FAED)], group 4 (FAED + MPs derived from healthy subjects), and group 5 (FAED + CAS-derived MPs). Animals were euthanized by day 28 after FAED procedure. The results demonstrated that neointimal area (NIA) (mm2), medial area, and number of infiltrated cells in medial layer were highest in group 5 and lowest in groups 1 and 2, and significantly higher in group 4 than those in group 3 (all P

Inhibition of dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-4) enzyme activity has been revealed to protect myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion through enhancing the endogenous glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) level. However, whether exogenous supply of exendin-4, an analogue of GLP-1, would still offer benefit for protecting myocardial damage from trans-aortic constriction (TAC)-induced hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in preexistence of DPP-4 deficiency (DPP-4(D)) remained unclear. Male-adult (DPP-4(D)) rats (n = 32) were randomized into group 1 [sham control (SC)], group 2 (DPP-4(D) + TAC), group 3 [DPP-4(D) + TAC + exendin-4 10 µg/day], and group 4 [DPP-4(D) + TAC + exendin-4 10 µg + exendin-9-39 10 µg/day]. The rats were sacrificed by day 60 after last echocardiographic examination. By day 60 after TAC, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (%) was highest in group 1 and lowest in group 2, and significantly lower in group 4 than that in group 3 (all p0.001). The protein expressions of oxidative stress (oxidized protein, NOX-1, NOX-2), inflammatory (MMP-9, TNF-α, NF-κB), apoptotic (Bax, cleaved caspase 3 and PARP), fibrotic (TGF-β, Smad3), heart failure (BNP, β-MHC), DNA damaged (γ-H2AX) and ischemic stress (p-P38, p-Akt, p53, ATM) biomarkers showed an opposite pattern of LVEF among the four groups (all p0.03). Fibrotic area (by Masson's trichrome, Sirius red), and cellular expressions of DNA-damaged markers (Ki-67+, γ-H2AX+, CD90+/53BP1+) displayed an identical pattern, whereas cellular expressions of angiogenesis (CD31+, α-SMA+) and sarcomere length exhibited an opposite pattern compared to that of oxidative stress among the four groups (all p0.001). Take altogether, Exendin-4 effectively suppressed TAC-induced pathological cardiac hypertrophy in DPP-4(D) rat.

Objective: This study aim to investigate whether early mitochondrial administration would be effective and whether high-dose mitochondria (15000 μg/rat) would be more effective than low-dose mitochondria (1500 μg/rat) for attenuating the monocrotaline (MCT/65 mg/kg/rat)-induced pulmonary artery hypertension (PAH) in rat. Method and results: Male-adult SD rats (n = 32) were randomized categorized into groups 1 (sham-control), 2 (PAH), 3 (PAH + low-dose mitochondria), and 4 (PAH + high-dose mitochondria). Mitochondria were admitted at day 5 and rats were sacrificed at day 35 post-MCT treatment. By day 35, oxygen saturation (saO2) was highest in group 1 and lowest in group 2, and significantly higher in group 3 than in group 4 (P

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADMSCs) embedded in platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) can significant promote myocardial regeneration and repair after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Summary background: With avoiding the needle-related complications, PRF-embedded autologous ADMSCs graft provides a new effective stem cell-based therapeutic strategy for myocardial repair. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided (n = 8 per group) into group 1 (sham-operated), group 2 (AMI by ligating left coronary artery), group 3 (AMI+ PRF), and group 4 (AMI+PRF-embedded autologous ADMSCs). RPF with or without ADMSCs was patched on infarct area 1h after AMI induction. All animals were sacrificed on day 42 after echocardiography. Results: Left ventricular (LV) dimension and infarct/fibrotic areas were lowest in group 1, highest in group 2, in group 3 higher than in group 4, whereas LV performance and wall thickness exhibited a reversed pattern in all groups (all p < 0.001). Protein expressions of inflammatory (MMP-9, IL-1β), oxidative, apoptotic (Bax, cleaved PARP), fibrotic (Smad 3, TFG-β), hypertrophic (β-MHC), and heart failure (BNP) biomarkers displayed an identical pattern in infarct/fibrotic areas, whereas the protein expressions of anti-inflammatory (IL-10), anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2), anti-fibrotic (Smad1/5, BMP-2) biomarkers and α-MHC showed an opposite pattern (all p < 0.01). Angiogenic activities (c-Kit+, Sca-1+, CD31+, SDF-1α+, CXCR4+ cells; protein expressions of SDF-1α, CXCR4, VEGF) were highest in group 4 and lowest in group 1 (all p < 0.001). Conclusion: ADMSCs embedded in PRF offered significant benefit in preserving LV function and limiting LV remodeling after AMI.