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Background: In this study we used Mendelian randomization (MR) to investigate the potential causal association of lipoprotein (a) [Lp(a)] levels with pulse wave velocity (PWV).
Methods: Genetic variants associated with Lp(a) were retrieved from the UK Biobank GWAS (N = 290,497). A non- overlapping GWAS based on a European cohort (N = 7,000) was used to obtain genetic associations with PWV (outcome) and utilized two different measures for the same trait, brachial-ankle (baPWV) and carotid-femoral (cfPWV) PWV. We applied a two-sample MR using the inverse variance weighting method (IVW) and a series of sensitivity analyses for 170 SNPs that were selected as instrumental variables (IVs).
Results: Our analyses do not support a causal association between Lp(a) and PWV for neither measurement [β(baPWV) = -.0005, p = .8 and β(cfPWV) = -.006, p = .16]. The above findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses including weighted median, mode-based estimation, MR-Egger regression and MR-PRESSO.
Conclusion: We did not find evidence indicating that Lp(a) is causally associated with PWV, the gold standard marker of arterial stiffness.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/eci.14168 | DOI Listing |
Trends Immunol
September 2025
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; Department of Cardiometabolic Health, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia. Electronic address:
Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, or NETosis, is a key innate immune response that contributes to cardiovascular diseases, including vascular inflammation, atherosclerosis, and thrombosis. In the cardiovascular system, neutrophils encounter mechanical cues such as shear stress, matrix stiffness, and cyclic stretch that influence their activation and NET release. This review examines emerging evidence linking altered mechanotransduction to dysregulated NETosis in vascular aging and cardiovascular pathology.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Nutr
September 2025
Health and Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA; Department of Medicine, Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA; Division of Nutritional Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL; Personalized Nutrition Initia
Background: Arterial stiffness, assessed via carotid femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV), is a marker of vascular aging that may contribute to cognitive decline. Serum carotenoids, with antioxidant properties, may mitigate these effects, but their role in moderating neurovascular-cognitive relationships remains unclear.
Objective: This study examined: (1) associations between cfPWV and executive function, (2) the contribution of serum carotenoids in predicting cfPWV, and (3) whether carotenoids moderate the relationship between cfPWV and executive function.
ACS Nano
September 2025
Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon 000000, Hong Kong.
Arterial stiffening is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, particularly affecting organs with low vascular resistance, such as the brain and kidneys. Pulse wave velocity (PWV) is the clinical gold standard for arterial stiffness assessment; however, conventional equipment requires complex setups and trained operators, limiting real-world and point-of-care monitoring. Here, we introduce a tactile-transparent wearable (TTW) sensor that preserves physicians' tactile pulse palpation abilities while providing quantitative cardiovascular risk assessment by integrating flexible Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) electrodes and ultrathin graphene oxide dielectric films.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIEEE J Biomed Health Inform
September 2025
Imaging photoplethysmography (iPPG) is an emerging optical technique that allows for the contactless acquisition of arterial Blood Volume Pulse (BVP) signals from video recordings of the human skin. While iPPG offers a non-contact and convenient means for physiological monitoring, the accuracy of the extracted BVP signals remains limited. This limitation hinders its potential for advanced cardiovascular assessments, such as evaluations of arterial stiffness and cardiac function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioessays
September 2025
Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)-web-like DNA structures extruded by neutrophils in response to various stimuli, including pathogens, sterile inflammation, and mechanical stress-play a dual role in immunity and disease. While NETs serve to trap and neutralize pathogens during host defense, excessive or dysregulated NET formation, known as NETosis, can amplify inflammation and contribute to thrombotic complications such as atherosclerosis and valve disease. Increasing evidence supports that NETosis is a regulated, signaling-driven process, and that mechanical forces-including shear stress, tensile force, and matrix stiffness-can act as noncanonical danger signals capable of inducing NETosis.
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