Developmental patterning and tissue formation are regulated through complex gene regulatory networks (GRNs) driven through the action of transcription factors (TFs) converging on enhancer elements. Here, as a point of entry to dissect the poorly defined GRN underlying cardiomyocyte differentiation, we apply an integrated approach to identify active enhancers and TFs involved in Drosophila heart...

Infective endocarditis (IE) pathogenesis has changed in the last decades and there is an increasing number of patients without predisposing heart condition. The aim of this study is to asses the clinical features of these non-drug addict patients affected with IE without underlying heart disease and to identify the potential risk factors. From 196 cases of IE, 49 (25% of the series) occurred in...

emergency department with palpitations associated with uneasiness and nausea. She was a nonsmoker. She reported having one previous episode of palpitations, without precipitating factors, which had lasted for about 15 minutes and resolved spontaneously. Examination showed a regular heart rate of 185 beats/min with a blood pressure of 138/72 mm Hg. Very prominent regular jugular venous pulsation...

BACKGROUND Diabetes is a risk factor for heart failure, and both conditions are increasing. Identifying treatments that prevent both conditions will be clinically important. We previously reported that candesartan (an angiotensin receptor blocker) reduces cardiovascular mortality and heart failure hospitalizations in heart failure patients (CHARM: Candesartan in Heart Failure-Assessment of Redu...

INTRODUCTION Right-sided infective endocarditis is rare. It accounts about 5 to 10% of all infective endocarditis cases and is prevalent in patients with congenital heart disease, intravascular devices and drug addiction. Our study aimed to describe the epidemiological, clinical and echocardiographic characteristics of right-sided endocarditis and evaluate the prognosis after treatment. METHO...

A twenty year follow up of a selected, community population with complete right and left bundle branch block is reviewed by comparative mortality analysis. In this population, where cases and controls were free of hypertension and heart disease at entry, the presence of complete right bundle branch block does not have excess mortality. Complete left bundle branch block exhibits excess total and...

The membrane-associated carboxypeptidase angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is an essential regulator of heart function. Now, Li at al. identify and characterize an unexpected second function of ACE2 as a partner of the SARS-CoV spike glycoprotein in mediating virus entry and cell fusion.

The recent interest in the role of the intestine in the cardiovascular stability of uremic patients, specifically on dialysis, but potentially also in chronic kidney disease, must be seen against the background of the recent great interest in the role of the gut in chronic heart failure [Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2008;11:632-639]. There has been a long-standing interest in the role of the ...

Cx43, a major cardiac connexin, forms precursor hemichannels that accrue at the intercalated disc to assemble as gap junctions. While junctions are crucial for electrical conduction in heart, little is known about potential roles of hemichannels. Recent evidence suggests inhibiting Cx43 hemichannel opening with Gap19 has antiarrhythmic effects. Here, we used multiple electrophysiology, imaging,...

CaMKII is a newly discovered resident of mitochondria in the heart. Mitochondrial CaMKII promotes poor outcomes after heart injury from a number of pathological conditions, including myocardial infarction (MI), ischemia reperfusion (IR), and stress from catecholamine stimulation. A study using the inhibitor of CaMKII, CaMKIIN, with expression delimited to myocardial mitochondria, indicates that...