Inhibition of Scarb1 on Endothelial Cells Attenuates Pressure Overload-induced Heart Failure Progression.

Inappropriate endothelial cell (EC) interactions contribute to heart failure; however, their precise mechanisms remain poorly understood. This study investigated EC-fibroblast interactions mediated by Scarb1 using single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis in a mouse heart failure model. ECs exhibited inflammatory and fibrotic gene expression, with Scarb1-mediated fibroblast-EC interactions driving disease progression.

Refractory Vasospastic Angina Complicated by Bronchial Asthma with Eosinophilia.

A 48-year-old woman with a history of bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis presented with cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation and was resuscitated by defibrillation. Coronary angiography revealed coronary vasospasm. Various antispastic agents were unable to control recurrent coronary spasms.

A deep learning-based automated diagnosis system for SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging.

Images obtained from single-photon emission computed tomography for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI SPECT) contain noises and artifacts, making cardiovascular disease diagnosis difficult. We developed a deep learning-based diagnosis support system using MPI SPECT images. Single-center datasets of MPI SPECT images (n = 5443) were obtained and labeled as healthy or coronary artery disease based on diagnosis reports.

Development of non-bias phenotypic drug screening for cardiomyocyte hypertrophy by image segmentation using deep learning.

The number of patients with heart failure and related deaths is rapidly increasing worldwide, making it a major problem. Cardiac hypertrophy is a crucial preliminary step in heart failure, but its treatment has not yet been fully successful. In this study, we established a system to evaluate cardiomyocyte hypertrophy using a deep learning-based high-throughput screening system and identified drugs that inhibit it.

The complement C3-complement factor D-C3a receptor signalling axis regulates cardiac remodelling in right ventricular failure.

Failure of the right ventricle plays a critical role in any type of heart failure. However, the mechanism remains unclear, and there is no specific therapy. Here, we show that the right ventricle predominantly expresses alternative complement pathway-related genes, including Cfd and C3aR1.

Impact of tacrolimus versus cyclosporin A on renal function during the first year after heart transplant.

Aims: Nephrotoxicity of calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) is associated with adverse events in patients undergoing heart transplant (HTx), although studies directly comparing tacrolimus (TAC) versus cyclosporin A (CsA), especially in combination with everolimus and low-dose CNIs approach, are limited. Thus, we sought to investigate the associations of TAC and CsA with clinical outcomes in HTx recipients, with specific focus on renal function.

Methods And Results: From August 2007 to February 2017, 72 consecutive patients (39 treated with TAC vs.

Benefit and harm of intravenous vasodilators across the clinical profile spectrum in acute cardiogenic pulmonary oedema patients.

Background: The absence of high quality, large-scale data that indicates definitive mortality benefits does not allow for firm conclusions on the role of intravenous vasodilators in acute heart failure. We aimed to investigate the associations between intravenous vasodilators and clinical outcomes in acute heart failure patients, with a specific focus on patient profiles and type of vasodilators.

Methods: Data of 26,212 consecutive patients urgently hospitalised for a primary diagnosis of acute heart failure between 2009 and 2015 were extracted from a government-funded multicentre data registration system.

Association of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors with long-term outcomes in patients with systolic heart failure and moderate-to-severe kidney function impairment.

Purpose: Although guidelines recommend that patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) should be treated with renin-angiotensin system (RAS) inhibitors, the long-term efficacy of RAS inhibitors in HFrEF patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear.

Methods: The present study included consecutive patients hospitalized for acute heart failure across five Japanese teaching hospitals. The impact of RAS inhibitors on 2-year all-cause mortality was evaluated in patients with an ejection fraction ≤40% and CKD, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) <45 mL/min/1.

Increasing mixed venous oxygen saturation is a predictor of improved renal function after balloon pulmonary angioplasty in patients with chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

Balloon pulmonary angioplasty (BPA) has emerged as an effective treatment for patients with inoperable chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH). Renal function has been identified as a prognostic marker in patients with pulmonary hypertension in previous studies. We, therefore, aimed to investigate the clinical parameters associated with improvements in renal function in patients with CTEPH.

Effects of body habitus on contrast-induced acute kidney injury after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Background: Limiting the contrast volume to creatinine clearance (V/CrCl) ratio is crucial for preventing contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, the incidence of CI-AKI and the distribution of V/CrCl ratios may vary according to patient body habitus.

Objective: We aimed to identify the clinical factors predicting CI-AKI in patients with different body mass indexes (BMIs).

Automated Deep Learning-Based System to Identify Endothelial Cells Derived from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.

Deep learning technology is rapidly advancing and is now used to solve complex problems. Here, we used deep learning in convolutional neural networks to establish an automated method to identify endothelial cells derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), without the need for immunostaining or lineage tracing. Networks were trained to predict whether phase-contrast images contain endothelial cells based on morphology only.