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To date, there is no periadventitial drug delivery method available in the clinic to prevent restenotic failure of open vascular reconstructions. Resveratrol is a promising anti-restenotic natural drug but subject to low bioavailability when systemically administered. In order to reconcile these two prominent issues, we tested effects of periadventitial delivery of resveratrol on all three major pro-restenotic pathologies including intimal hyperplasia (IH), endothelium impairment, and vessel shrinkage. In a rat carotid injury model, periadventitial delivery of resveratrol either via Pluronic gel (2-week), or polymer sheath (3-month), effectively reduced IH without causing endothelium impairment and vessel shrinkage. In an in vitro model, primary smooth muscle cells (SMCs) were stimulated with elevated transforming growth factor (TGFβ) and its signaling protein Smad3, known contributors to IH. TGFβ/Smad3 up-regulated Kruppel-like factor (KLF5) protein, and SMC de-differentiation which was reversed by KLF5 siRNA. Furthermore, TGFβ/Smad3-stimulated KLF5 production and SMC de-differentiation were blocked by resveratrol via its inhibition of the Akt-mTOR pathway. Concordantly, resveratrol attenuated Akt phosphorylation in injured arteries. Taken together, periadventitial delivery of resveratrol produces durable inhibition of all three pro-restenotic pathologies — a rare feat among existing anti-restenotic methods. Our study suggests a potential anti-restenotic modality of resveratrol application suitable for open surgery.

Coronary artery disease (or coronary heart disease), is the leading cause of mortality in many of the developing as well as the developed countries of the world. Cholesterol-enriched plaques in the heart's blood vessels combined with inflammation lead to the lesion expansion, narrowing of blood vessels, reduced blood flow, and may subsequently cause lesion rupture and a heart attack. Even though several environmental risk factors have been established, such as high LDL-cholesterol, diabetes, and high blood pressure, the underlying genetic composition may substantially modify the disease risk; hence, genome composition and gene-environment interactions may be critical for disease progression. Ongoing scientific efforts have seen substantial advancements related to the fields of genetics and genomics, with the major breakthroughs yet to come. As genomics is the most rapidly advancing field in the life sciences, it is important to present a comprehensive overview of current efforts. Here, we present a summary of various genetic and genomics assays and approaches applied to coronary artery disease research.

Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is one of the most lethal cancers owing to a number of characteristics including difficulty in establishing early diagnosis and the absence of effective therapeutic regimens. A large number of genetic alterations have been ascribed to PDAC with mutations in the KRAS2 proto-oncogene thought to be an early event in the progression of disease. Recent lineage-tracing studies have shown that acinar cells expressing mutant Kras(G12D) are induced to transdifferentiate, generating duct-like cells through a process known as acinar-ductal metaplasia (ADM). ADM lesions then convert to precancerous pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) that progresses to PDAC over time. Thus, understanding the earliest events involved in ADM/PanIN formation would provide much needed information on the molecular pathways that are instrumental in initiating this disease. As studying the transition of acinar cells to metaplastic ductal cells in vivo is complicated by analysis of the entire organ, an in vitro three dimensional (3D) culture system was used to model ADM outside the animal. Kras(G12D)-expressing acinar cells rapidly underwent ADM in 3D culture, forming ductal cysts that silenced acinar genes and activated duct genes, characteristics associated with in vivo ADM/PanIN lesions. Analysis of downstream KRAS signaling events established a critical importance for the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway in ADM induction. In addition, forced expression of the acinar-restricted transcription factor Mist1, which is critical to acinar cell organization, significantly attenuated Kras(G12D)-induced ADM/PanIN formation. These results suggest that maintaining MIST1 activity in Kras(G12D)-expressing acinar cells can partially mitigate the transformation activity of oncogenic KRAS. Future therapeutics that target both the MAPK pathway and Mist1 transcriptional networks may show promising efficacy in combating this deadly disease.