Spatial metabolomics identifies localized chemical changes in heart tissue during chronic cardiac Chagas Disease

Chagas disease (CD), caused by the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is one of nineteen neglected tropical diseases. CD is a vector-borne disease transmitted by triatomines, but CD can also be transmitted through blood transfusions, organ transplants, T. cruzi-contaminated food and drinks, and congenital transmission. While endemic to the Americas, T. cruzi infects 7–8 million people worldwide and can induce severe cardiac symptoms including apical aneurysms, thromboembolisms and arrhythmias during the chronic stage of CD. However, these cardiac clinical manifestations and CD pathogenesis are not fully understood. Using spatial metabolomics (chemical cartography), we sought to understand the localized impact of chronic CD on the cardiac metabolome of mice infected with two divergent T. cruzi strains. Our data showed chemical differences in localized cardiac regions upon chronic T. cruzi infection, indicating that parasite infection changes the host metabolome at specific sites in chronic CD. These sites were distinct from the sites of highest parasite burden. In addition, we identified acylcarnitines and glycerophosphocholines as discriminatory chemical families within each heart region, comparing infected and uninfected samples. Overall, our study indicated global and positional metabolic differences common to infection with different T. cruzi strains and identified select infection-modulated pathways. These results provide further insight into CD pathogenesis and demonstrate the advantage of a systematic spatial perspective to understand infectious disease tropism.

Positive Feedback Regulation of fzd7 Expression Robustly Shapes Wnt Signaling Range in Early Heart Development

Secreted molecules called morphogens govern tissue patterning in a concentration-dependent manner. However, it is still unclear how reproducible patterning can be achieved with diffusing molecules, especially when patterning differentiation of a thin region. Wnt is a morphogen that organizes cardiac development; especially Wnt6 patterns the cardiogenic mesoderm to induce differentiation of a thin pericardium in Xenopus. It is, however, unclear how Wnt6 can pattern such a thin tissue. In this study, we reveal that a Wnt receptor, frizzled7, is expressed in a Wnt-dependent manner in the prospective heart region, and that this receptor-feedback is essential for shaping a steep gradient of Wnt. In addition, the feedback imparts robustness against fluctuations of Wnt ligand production and allows the system to reach a steady state quickly. We also found a Wnt antagonist sFRP1, which is expressed at the opposite side of Wnt source, accumulates on a novel type of heparan sulfate (HS), N-acetyl-rich HS, which is highly presented in the outer of cardiogenic mesoderm, achieving local inhibition of Wnt signaling by restricting sFRP1 spreading. These two intricate regulatory systems restrict Wnt signaling and ensure reproducible patterning of a thin pericardium tissue.

Memo for a patient with ischemic heart disease

Angina pectoris is not an independent disease, but a syndrome that is a manifestation of ischemic heart disease (IHD). Ischemic artery disease occurs due to insufficient blood supply to the heart muscle and is an acute or chronic heart dysfunction resulting from a relative or absolute decrease in the supply of the myocardium with arterial blood. In more than 90% of cases, the anatomical basis of ischemic heart disease is the lesion of the coronary arteries of the heart. Angina pectoris is a kind of heart signal about oxygen deficiency. The signal is felt in the form of attacks of short-term sudden acute compressive, pressing, burning pains in the heart region. In some patients, the pain is accompanied by a state of general discomfort, a feeling of lack of air, and interruptions in the work of the heart.

Asymptomatic systolic dysfunction on contemporary echocardiography in anthracycline-treated long-term childhood cancer survivors: a systematic review

Purpose Echocardiographic surveillance for asymptomatic left ventricular systolic dysfunction (ALVSD) is advised in childhood cancer survivors (CCS), because of their risk of heart failure after anthracycline treatment. ALVSD can be assessed with different echocardiographic parameters. We systematically reviewed the prevalence and risk factors of late ALVSD, as defined by contemporary and more traditional echocardiographic parameters. Methods We searched databases from 2001 to 2020 for studies on ≥ 100 asymptomatic 5-year CCS treated with anthracyclines, with or without radiotherapy involving the heart region. Outcomes of interest were prevalence of ALVSD—measured with volumetric methods (ejection fraction; LVEF), myocardial strain, or linear methods (fractional shortening; FS)—and its risk factors from multivariable analyses. Results Eleven included studies represented 3840 CCS. All studies had methodological limitations. An LVEF < 50% was observed in three studies in 1–6% of CCS, and reduced global longitudinal strain (GLS) was reported in three studies in 9–30% of CCS, both after a median follow-up of 9 to 23 years. GLS was abnormal in 20–28% of subjects with normal LVEF. Abnormal FS was reported in six studies in 0.3–30% of CCS, defined with various cut-off values (< 25 to < 30%), at a median follow-up of 10 to 18 years. Across echocardiographic parameters, reported risk factors were cumulative anthracycline dose and radiotherapy involving the heart region, with no ‘safe’ dose for ALVSD. Conclusions GLS identifies higher prevalence of ALVSD in anthracycline-treated CCS, than LVEF. Implications for Cancer Survivors The diagnostic and prognostic value of GLS should be evaluated within large cohorts. Protocol registration PROSPERO CRD42019126588

Model for Elimination of Mixed Noise from MRI Heart Images

A method for the preliminary processing of MRI images of the heart that allows for the elimination of fluctuation and impulse noise from useful signals is proposed. These types of noise are due to the regular geometric structure of the photoelectric elements of the MRI scanner matrix and the structure of the signal transmission channel. The aim of this work is to develop a comprehensive mathematical model for eliminating noise in the signal of an MRI scanner. In this work, mathematical models of linear and median filtering of impulse noise, fluctuation, and geometric noise are implemented. The mathematical models consist of the combined use of linear and median filters for recording MRI images of the heart. In the experiments, real MRI images of the heart from six patients with different diseases were used after noise was added to them. We were able to eliminate the impulse noise, geometric noise, and fluctuation noise in the MRI images by applying our filtering techniques. The filtering technique not only removed the noise, but also increased the contrast of the cancerous volumetric heterogeneous formations in the heart region.

Case study. Contusion of heart as a cause of death when fired from not a short distance by fractional gunshot

The severity of fractional gunshot wound when fired from not a short distance depends on complex factors, including lesion localization (in this case the heart region - vitally important body that is sensitive to concussion (contusion), and the total kinetic energy of the elements of the charge (fraction). If shots from not a short distance fraction in terms of getting it in a sufficiently large number and proximity to vital organs sensitive to contusion (heart) may cause fatal lesions. The cause damage of heart in the form of contusion except varieties of blunt trauma may be fractional gunshot wound when fired from not a short distance.