1 5437 196 REMOTE HIND-LIMB ISCHEMIA MECHANISM OF PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION DURING HEART FAILURE. DURING ACUTE HEART FAILURE (HF), REMOTE ISCHEMIC CONDITIONING (RIC) HAS PROVEN TO BE BENEFICIAL; HOWEVER, IT IS CURRENTLY UNCLEAR WHETHER IT ALSO EXTENDS BENEFITS FROM CHRONIC CONGESTIVE, CARDIOPULMONARY HEART FAILURE (CHF). PREVIOUS STUDIES FROM OUR LABORATORY HAVE SHOWN THREE PHASES DESCRIBING CHF VIZ. (1) HF WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF), (2) HF WITH REDUCED EF (HFREF), AND (3) HF WITH REVERSED EF. ALTHOUGH RECIPROCAL ORGAN INTERACTION, ABLATION OF SYMPATHETIC, AND CALCIUM SIGNALING GENES ARE ASSOCIATED WITH HFPEF TO HFREF, THE MECHANISM IS UNCLEAR. THE HFREF ENSUES, IN PART, DUE TO REDUCED ANGIOGENESIS, CORONARY RESERVE, AND LEAKAGE OF ENDOCARDIAL ENDOTHELIAL (EE) AND FINALLY BREAKDOWN OF THE BLOOD-HEART BARRIER (BHB) INTEGRITY. IN FACT, OUR HYPOTHESIS STATES THAT A CHANGE IN PHENOTYPE FROM COMPENSATORY HFPEF TO DECOMPENSATORY HFREF IS DETERMINED BY A POTENTIAL DECREASE IN REGENERATIVE, PROANGIOGENIC FACTORS ALONG WITH A CONCOMITANT INCREASE IN EPIGENETIC MEMORY, INFLAMMATION THAT COMBINEDLY CAUSES OXIDATIVE, AND PROTEOLYTIC STRESS RESPONSE. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE CREATED CHF BY AORTA-VENA-CAVA (AV) FISTULA IN A GROUP OF MICE THAT WERE SUBSEQUENTLY TREATED WITH THAT OF HIND-LIMB RIC. HFPEF VS. HFREF TRANSITION WAS DETERMINED BY SERIAL/LONGITUDINAL ECHO MEASUREMENTS. RESULTS REVEALED AN INCREASE IN SKELETAL MUSCLE MUSCLIN CONTENTS, BONE-MARROW (CD71), AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION (BETA2-AR) BY RIC. WE ALSO OBSERVED A DECREASE IN VASCULAR DENSITY AND ATTENUATION OF EE-BHB FUNCTION DUE TO A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN THE ACTIVITY OF MMP-2, VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR (VEGF), CASPASE, AND CALPAIN. THIS DECREASE WAS SUCCESSFULLY MITIGATED BY RIC-RELEASED SKELETAL MUSCLE EXOSOMES THAT CONTAIN MUSCLIN, THE MYOKINE ALONG WITH BONE MARROW, AND SYMPATHETIC ACTIVATION. IN SHORT, BASED ON PROTEOME (OMICS) ANALYSIS, APPROXIMATELY 20 PROTEINS THAT APPEAR TO BE INVOLVED IN SIGNALING PATHWAYS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SYNTHESIS, CONTRACTION, AND RELAXATION OF CARDIAC MUSCLE WERE FOUND TO BE THE DOMINANT FEATURES. THUS, OUR RESULTS SUPPORT THAT THE CHF PHENOTYPE CAUSES DYSFUNCTION OF CARDIAC METABOLISM, ITS CONTRACTION, AND RELAXATION. INTERESTINGLY, RIC WAS ABLE TO MITIGATE MANY OF THE DELETERIOUS CHANGES, AS REVEALED BY OUR MULTI-OMICS FINDINGS. 2021 2 3882 28 KETONE BODIES AS METABOLITES AND SIGNALLING MOLECULES AT THE CROSSROAD BETWEEN INFLAMMATION AND EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF CARDIOMETABOLIC DISORDERS. FOR MANY YEARS, IT HAS BEEN CLEAR THAT A WESTERN DIET RICH IN SATURATED FATS AND SUGARS PROMOTES AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT PREDISPOSING A PERSON TO CHRONIC CARDIOMETABOLIC DISEASES. IN PARALLEL, THE EMERGENCE OF KETOGENIC DIETS, DEPRIVED OF CARBOHYDRATES AND PROMOTING THE SYNTHESIS OF KETONE BODIES IMITATING THE METABOLIC EFFECTS OF FASTING, HAS BEEN SHOWN TO PROVIDE A POSSIBLE NUTRITIONAL SOLUTION TO ALLEVIATING DISEASES TRIGGERED BY AN INFLAMMATORY ENVIRONMENT. THE MAIN KETONE BODY, BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE (BHB), ACTS AS AN ALTERNATIVE FUEL, AND ALSO AS A SUBSTRATE FOR A NOVEL HISTONE POST-TRANSLATIONAL MODIFICATION, BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRYLATION. BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRYLATION INFLUENCES THE STATE OF CHROMATIN ARCHITECTURE AND PROMOTES THE TRANSCRIPTION OF MULTIPLE GENES. BHB HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN TO MODULATE INFLAMMATION IN CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS, IN THE PATHOLOGICAL CONTEXT OF CARDIOVASCULAR RISKS, THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF HOW KETONE BODIES, OR A KETOGENIC DIET, ARE ABLE TO MODULATE, TRIGGER, OR INHIBIT INFLAMMATION AND HOW THE EPIGENOME AND CHROMATIN REMODELING MAY BE A KEY CONTRIBUTOR. 2022 3 2537 28 EPIGENETICS IN HEART FAILURE PHENOTYPES. CHRONIC HEART FAILURE (HF) IS A LEADING CLINICAL AND PUBLIC PROBLEM POSING A HIGHER RISK OF MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY IN DIFFERENT POPULATIONS. HF APPEARS TO BE IN BOTH PHENOTYPIC FORMS: HF WITH REDUCED LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION (HFREF) AND HF WITH PRESERVED LEFT VENTRICULAR EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF). ALTHOUGH BOTH HF PHENOTYPES CAN BE DISTINGUISHED THROUGH CLINICAL FEATURES, CO-MORBIDITY STATUS, PREDICTION SCORE, AND TREATMENT, THE CLINICAL OUTCOMES IN PATIENTS WITH HFREF AND HFPEF ARE SIMILAR. IN THIS CONTEXT, INVESTIGATION OF VARIOUS MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR MECHANISMS LEADING TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF BOTH HF PHENOTYPES IS VERY IMPORTANT. THERE IS EMERGING EVIDENCE THAT EPIGENETIC REGULATION MAY HAVE A CLUE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF HF. THIS REVIEW REPRESENTS CURRENT AVAILABLE EVIDENCE REGARDING THE IMPLICATION OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIFFERENT HF PHENOTYPES AND PERSPECTIVES OF EPIGENETIC-BASED THERAPIES OF HF. 2016 4 5891 38 SYSTEMS BIOLOGY IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE-IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL MIRNA REGULATORS. HEART FAILURE (HF) IS A COMPLEX DISEASE ENTITY WITH HIGH CLINICAL IMPACT, POORLY UNDERSTOOD PATHOPHYSIOLOGY AND SCANTLY KNOWN MIRNA-MEDIATED EPIGENETIC REGULATION. WE HAVE ANALYSED MIRNA PATTERNS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HF (CHF) AND A SEX- AND AGE-MATCHED REFERENCE GROUP AND PURSUED AN IN SILICO SYSTEM BIOLOGY ANALYSIS TO DISCERN PATHWAYS INVOLVED IN CHF PATHOPHYSIOLOGY. TWENTY-EIGHT MIRNAS WERE IDENTIFIED IN CHF THAT WERE UP-REGULATED IN THE REFERENCE GROUP, AND EIGHT OF THEM WERE VALIDATED BY RT-QPCR. IN SILICO ANALYSIS OF PREDICTED TARGETS BY STRING PROTEIN-PROTEIN INTERACTION NETWORKS REVEALED EIGHT CLUSTER NETWORKS (INVOLVING SEVEN OF THE IDENTIFIED MIRNAS) ENRICHED IN PATHWAYS RELATED TO CELL CYCLE, RAS, CHEMOKINE, PI3K-AKT AND TGF-BETA SIGNALING. BY ROC CURVE ANALYSIS, COMBINED PROBABILITIES OF THESE SEVEN MIRNAS (LET-7A-5P, MIR-107, MIR-125A-5P, MIR-139-5P, MIR-150-5P, MIR-30B-5P AND MIR-342-3P; CLUSTERS 1-4 [C:1-4]), DISCRIMINATED BETWEEN HF WITH PRESERVED EJECTION FRACTION (HFPEF) AND HF WITH REDUCED EJECTION FRACTION (HFREF), AND ISCHAEMIC AND NON-ISCHAEMIC AETIOLOGY. A COMBINATION OF MIR-107, MIR-139-5P AND MIR-150-5P, INVOLVED IN CLUSTERS 5 AND 7 (C:5+7), DISCRIMINATED HFPEF FROM HFREF. PATHWAY ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS OF MIRNAS PRESENT IN C:1-4 (LET-7A-5P, MIR-125A-5P, MIR-30B-5P AND MIR-342-3P) REVEALED PATHWAYS RELATED TO HF PATHOGENESIS. IN CONCLUSION, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED A DIFFERENTIAL SIGNATURE OF DOWN-REGULATED MIRNAS IN THE PLASMA OF HF PATIENTS AND PROPOSE NOVEL CELLULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN CHF PATHOGENESIS. 2022 5 6569 42 TRANSPLANTATION OF EPIGENETICALLY MODIFIED ADULT CARDIAC C-KIT+ CELLS RETARDS REMODELING AND IMPROVES CARDIAC FUNCTION IN ISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE MODEL. CARDIAC C-KIT+ CELLS HAVE A MODEST CARDIOGENIC POTENTIAL THAT COULD LIMIT THEIR EFFICACY IN HEART DISEASE TREATMENT. THE PRESENT STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO AUGMENT THE CARDIOGENIC POTENTIAL OF CARDIAC C-KIT+ CELLS THROUGH CLASS I HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITION AND EVALUATE THEIR THERAPEUTIC POTENCY IN THE CHRONIC HEART FAILURE (CHF) ANIMAL MODEL. MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION (MI) WAS CREATED BY CORONARY ARTERY OCCLUSION IN RATS. C-KIT+ CELLS WERE TREATED WITH MOCETINOSTAT (MOCE), A SPECIFIC CLASS I HDAC INHIBITOR. AT 3 WEEKS AFTER MI, CHF ANIMALS WERE RETROGRADELY INFUSED WITH UNTREATED (CONTROL) OR MOCE-TREATED C-KIT+ CELLS (MOCE/C-KIT+ CELLS) AND EVALUATED AT 3 WEEKS AFTER CELL INFUSION. WE FOUND THAT CLASS I HDAC INHIBITION IN C-KIT+ CELLS ELEVATED THE LEVEL OF ACETYLATED HISTONE H3 (ACH3) AND INCREASED ACH3 LEVELS IN THE PROMOTER REGIONS OF PLURIPOTENT AND CARDIAC-SPECIFIC GENES. EPIGENETIC CHANGES WERE ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED EXPRESSION OF CARDIAC-SPECIFIC MARKERS. TRANSPLANTATION OF CHF RATS WITH EITHER CONTROL OR MOCE/C-KIT+ CELLS RESULTED IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN CARDIAC FUNCTION, RETARDATION OF CHF REMODELING MADE EVIDENT BY INCREASED VASCULARIZATION AND SCAR SIZE, AND CARDIOMYOCYTE HYPERTROPHY REDUCTION. COMPARED WITH CHF INFUSED WITH CONTROL CELLS, INFUSION OF MOCE/C-KIT+ CELLS RESULTED IN A FURTHER REDUCTION IN LEFT VENTRICLE END-DIASTOLIC PRESSURE AND TOTAL COLLAGEN AND AN INCREASE IN INTERLEUKIN-6 EXPRESSION. THE LOW ENGRAFTMENT OF INFUSED CELLS SUGGESTS THAT PARACRINE EFFECTS MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS OF C-KIT+ CELLS IN CHF. IN CONCLUSION, SELECTIVE INHIBITION OF CLASS I HDACS INDUCED EXPRESSION OF CARDIAC MARKERS IN C-KIT+ CELLS AND PARTIALLY AUGMENTED THE EFFICACY OF THESE CELLS FOR CHF REPAIR. SIGNIFICANCE: THE STUDY HAS SHOWN THAT SELECTIVE CLASS 1 HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITION IS SUFFICIENT TO REDIRECT C-KIT+ CELLS TOWARD A CARDIAC FATE. EPIGENETICALLY MODIFIED C-KIT+ CELLS IMPROVED CONTRACTILE FUNCTION AND RETARDED REMODELING OF THE CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE HEART. THIS STUDY PROVIDES NEW INSIGHTS INTO THE EFFICACY OF CARDIAC C-KIT+ CELLS IN THE ISCHEMIC HEART FAILURE MODEL. 2015 6 465 42 ARE TARGETED THERAPIES FOR DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY ON THE HORIZON? DIABETES INCREASES THE RISK OF HEART FAILURE APPROXIMATELY 2.5-FOLD, INDEPENDENT OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND OTHER COMORBIDITIES. THIS PROCESS, TERMED DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, IS CHARACTERIZED BY INITIAL IMPAIRMENT OF LEFT VENTRICULAR (LV) RELAXATION FOLLOWED BY LV CONTRACTILE DYSFUNCTION. POST-MORTEM EXAMINATION REVEALS THAT HUMAN DIASTOLIC DYSFUNCTION IS CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH LV DAMAGE, INCLUDING CARDIOMYOCYTE HYPERTROPHY, APOPTOSIS AND FIBROSIS, WITH IMPAIRED CORONARY MICROVASCULAR PERFUSION. THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERPINNING THE CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY REMAIN POORLY UNDERSTOOD, ALTHOUGH MULTIPLE FACTORS INCLUDING ALTERED LIPID METABOLISM, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM (ER) STRESS, INFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC CHANGES, ARE IMPLICATED. DESPITE A RECENT RISE IN RESEARCH INTERROGATING THESE MECHANISMS AND AN INCREASED UNDERSTANDING OF THE CLINICAL IMPORTANCE OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, THERE REMAINS A LACK OF SPECIFIC TREATMENT STRATEGIES. HOW THE CHRONIC METABOLIC DISTURBANCES OBSERVED IN DIABETES LEAD TO STRUCTURAL AND FUNCTIONAL CHANGES REMAINS A PERTINENT QUESTION, AND IT IS HOPED THAT RECENT ADVANCES, PARTICULARLY IN THE AREA OF EPIGENETICS, AMONG OTHERS, MAY PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS. THIS REVIEW HENCE EXPLORES THE TEMPORAL ONSET OF THE PATHOLOGICAL FEATURES OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, AND THEIR RELATIVE CONTRIBUTION TO THE RESULTANT DISEASE PHENOTYPE, AS WELL AS BOTH CURRENT AND POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS. THE EMERGENCE OF GLUCOSE-OPTIMIZING AGENTS, NAMELY GLUCAGON-LIKE PEPTIDE-1 (GLP-1) AGONISTS AND SODIUM/GLUCOSE CO-TRANSPORTER (SGLT)2 INHIBITORS THAT CONFER BENEFITS ON CARDIOVASCULAR OUTCOMES, TOGETHER WITH NOVEL EXPERIMENTAL APPROACHES, HIGHLIGHT A NEW AND EXCITING ERA IN DIABETES RESEARCH, WHICH IS LIKELY TO RESULT IN MAJOR CLINICAL IMPACT. 2017 7 5068 37 PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND PROGENITOR CELL-MEDIATED ENDOTHELIAL REPAIR IN CHRONIC HEART FAILURE: IS THERE A ROLE FOR EPIGENETICS? CHRONIC HEART FAILURE (CHF) IS THE MOST COMMON CARDIAC DISEASE AMONG THE ELDERLY AND A LEADING CAUSE OF MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS. ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IS HELD TO HAVE A MAJOR ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRESSION OF CHF, WHICH RESULTS IN PROGRESSIVELY IMPAIRED FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY. ENDOTHELIAL PROGENITOR CELLS (EPCS) AND CIRCULATING ANGIOGENIC CELLS (CACS) ARE THE MAIN PLAYERS INVOLVED IN THE ENDOGENOUS REPAIR MECHANISMS THAT CAN COUNTERACT ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION. A MOUNTING BODY OF DATA INDICATES THAT EXERCISE ENHANCES ENDOTHELIAL RENEWAL THROUGH MOBILIZATION OF BONE MARROW-DERIVED EPCS AND CACS, MAKING IT AN EFFECTIVE THERAPEUTIC TOOL FOR CHF. INTERESTINGLY, EMERGING EVIDENCE HAS BEEN SHOWING THAT EXERCISE TRAINING CAN ALSO PROMOTE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, E.G. DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, AND DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION OF SPECIFIC NON-CODING RNAS LIKE MICRORNA (MIRNAS). SINCE DEREGULATION OF THE MIRNAS INVOLVED IN ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION MODULATION HAS WIDELY BEEN DOCUMENTED IN CIRCULATING CELLS AND PLASMA OF CHF PATIENTS, DEREGULATION OF EPIGENETIC FEATURES COULD PLAY A KEY ROLE IN DISEASE PROGRESSION. HERE, WE REVIEW CURRENT KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF EPCS AND CACS TO ENDOTHELIAL REPAIR MECHANISMS IN CHF PATIENTS, FOCUSING ON THE EFFECTS INDUCED BY EXERCISE TRAINING AND HYPOTHESIZING THAT SOME OF THESE EFFECTS CAN BE MEDIATED BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. 2016 8 5054 46 PHARMACOPROTEOMICS REVEAL NOVEL PROTECTIVE ACTIVITY OF BROMODOMAIN CONTAINING 4 INHIBITORS ON VASCULAR HOMEOSTASIS IN TLR3-MEDIATED AIRWAY REMODELING. SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATOR BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) ARE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTICS FOR VIRAL AND ALLERGEN-INDUCED AIRWAY REMODELING. A LIMITATION OF THEIR PRECLINICAL ADVANCEMENT IS THE LACK OF DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS OF ACTION AND BIOMARKERS OF EFFECT. WE REPORT A SYSTEMS-LEVEL PHARMACOPROTEOMICS IN A STANDARDIZED MURINE MODEL OF TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR TLR3-NFKAPPAB/RELA INNATE INFLAMMATION IN THE ABSENCE OR PRESENCE OF A HIGHLY SELECTIVE BRD4 INHIBITOR (ZL0454) OR NONSELECTIVE BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL DOMAIN INHIBITOR (JQ1). PROTEOMICS OF BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID (BALF) SECRETOME AND EXOSOMAL PROTEINS FROM THIS MURINE MODEL REVEALED INCREASED, SELECTIVE, CAPILLARY LEAK ASSOCIATED WITH PERICYTE-MYOFIBROBLAST TRANSITION, A PHENOMENON BLOCKED BY BRD4 INHIBITORS. BALF PROTEOMICS ALSO SUGGESTED THAT ZL0454 BETTER REDUCED THE VASCULAR LEAKAGE AND EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX DEPOSITION THAN JQ1. A SIGNIFICANT SUBSET OF INFLAMMATION-MEDIATED REMODELING FACTORS WAS ALSO IDENTIFIED IN A MOUSE MODEL OF IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS PRODUCED BY BLEOMYCIN. BALF EXOSOME ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT BRD4 INHIBITORS REDUCED THE INDUCTION OF EXOSOMES ENRICHED IN COAGULATION FACTORS WHOSE PRESENCE CORRELATED WITH INTERSTITIAL FIBRIN DEPOSITION. FINALLY, BALF SAMPLES FROM HUMANS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA DEMONSTRATED SIMILAR UPREGULATIONS OF ORM2, APCS, SPARCL1, FGA, AND FN1, SUGGESTING THEIR POTENTIAL AS BIOMARKERS FOR EARLY DETECTION OF AIRWAY REMODELING AND/OR MONITORING OF THERAPY RESPONSE. SIGNIFICANCE: REPETITIVE AND CHRONIC VIRAL UPPER RESPIRATORY TRACT INFECTIONS TRIGGER TOLL-LIKE RECEPTOR (TLR)3-NFKAPPAB/RELA MEDIATED AIRWAY REMODELING WHICH IS LINKED TO A PROGRESSIVE DECLINE IN PULMONARY FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE. SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS OF THE EPIGENETIC REGULATOR BROMODOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN 4 (BRD4) ARE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTICS FOR VIRAL AND ALLERGEN-INDUCED AIRWAY REMODELING. A LIMITATION OF THEIR PRECLINICAL ADVANCEMENT IS THE LACK OF DETAILED UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS OF ACTION AND BIOMARKERS OF EFFECT. OUR STUDY REVEALED THAT THE ACTIVATION OF (TLR)3-NFKAPPAB/RELA PATHWAY IN THE LUNG INDUCED AN ELEVATION IN COAGULATION, COMPLEMENT, AND PLATELET FACTORS, INDICATING THE INCREASED VASCULAR LEAK DURING AIRWAY REMODELING. THE MECHANISM OF VASCULAR LEAKAGE WAS CHRONIC INFLAMMATION-INDUCED PERICYTE-MYOFIBROBLAST TRANSITION, WHICH WAS BLOCKED BY BRD4 INHIBITORS. FINALLY, PROTEOMICS ANALYSIS OF THE BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE FLUID SAMPLES FROM HUMANS WITH SEVERE ASTHMA DEMONSTRATED SIMILAR FINDINGS THAT WE OBSERVED IN THE ANIMAL MODEL. 2019 9 2239 29 EPIGENETIC MODULATION BY APABETALONE COUNTERS CYTOKINE-DRIVEN ACUTE PHASE RESPONSE IN VITRO, IN MICE AND IN PATIENTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. CHRONIC SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) AND CORRELATES WITH THE ABUNDANCE OF ACUTE PHASE RESPONSE (APR) PROTEINS IN THE LIVER AND PLASMA. BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL (BET) PROTEINS ARE EPIGENETIC READERS THAT REGULATE INFLAMMATORY GENE TRANSCRIPTION. WE SHOW THAT BET INHIBITION BY THE SMALL MOLECULE APABETALONE REDUCES APR GENE AND PROTEIN EXPRESSION IN HUMAN HEPATOCYTES, MOUSE MODELS, AND PLASMA FROM CVD PATIENTS. STEADY-STATE EXPRESSION OF SERUM AMYLOID P, PLASMINOGEN ACTIVATOR INHIBITOR 1, AND CERULOPLASMIN, APR PROTEINS LINKED TO CVD RISK, IS REDUCED BY APABETALONE IN CULTURED HEPATOCYTES AND IN HUMANIZED MOUSE LIVER. IN CYTOKINE-STIMULATED HEPATOCYTES, APABETALONE REDUCES THE EXPRESSION OF C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (CRP), ALPHA-2-MACROGLOBULIN, AND SERUM AMYLOID P. THE LATTER TWO ARE ALSO REDUCED BY APABETALONE IN THE LIVER OF ENDOTOXEMIC MICE. BET KNOCKDOWN IN VITRO ALSO COUNTERS CYTOKINE-MEDIATED INDUCTION OF THE CRP GENE. MECHANISTICALLY, APABETALONE REDUCES THE CYTOKINE-DRIVEN INCREASE IN BRD4 BET OCCUPANCY AT THE CRP PROMOTER, CONFIRMING THAT TRANSCRIPTION OF CRP IS BET-DEPENDENT. IN PATIENTS WITH STABLE CORONARY DISEASE, PLASMA APR PROTEINS CRP, IL-1 RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, AND FIBRINOGEN GAMMA DECREASE AFTER APABETALONE TREATMENT VERSUS PLACEBO, RESULTING IN A PREDICTED DOWNREGULATION OF THE APR PATHWAY AND CYTOKINE TARGETS. WE CONCLUDE THAT CRP AND COMPONENTS OF THE APR PATHWAY ARE REGULATED BY BET PROTEINS AND THAT APABETALONE COUNTERS CHRONIC CYTOKINE SIGNALING IN PATIENTS. 2020 10 445 41 APABETALONE (RVX-208) REDUCES VASCULAR INFLAMMATION IN VITRO AND IN CVD PATIENTS BY A BET-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. BACKGROUND: APABETALONE (RVX-208) IS A BROMODOMAIN AND EXTRATERMINAL PROTEIN INHIBITOR (BETI) THAT IN PHASE II TRIALS REDUCED THE RELATIVE RISK (RR) OF MAJOR ADVERSE CARDIAC EVENTS (MACE) IN PATIENTS WITH CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD) BY 44% AND IN DIABETIC CVD PATIENTS BY 57% ON TOP OF STATINS. A PHASE III TRIAL, BETONMACE, IS CURRENTLY ASSESSING APABETALONE'S ABILITY TO REDUCE MACE IN STATIN-TREATED POST-ACUTE CORONARY SYNDROME TYPE 2 DIABETIC CVD PATIENTS WITH LOW HIGH-DENSITY LIPOPROTEIN C. THE LEADING CAUSE OF MACE IS ATHEROSCLEROSIS, DRIVEN BY DYSFUNCTIONAL LIPID METABOLISM AND CHRONIC VASCULAR INFLAMMATION (VI). IN VITRO STUDIES HAVE IMPLICATED THE BET PROTEIN BRD4 AS AN EPIGENETIC DRIVER OF INFLAMMATION AND ATHEROGENESIS, SUGGESTING THAT BETI MAY BE CLINICALLY EFFECTIVE IN COMBATING VI. HERE, WE ASSESSED APABETALONE'S ABILITY TO REGULATE INFLAMMATION-DRIVEN GENE EXPRESSION AND CELL ADHESION IN VITRO AND INVESTIGATED THE MECHANISM BY WHICH APABETALONE SUPPRESSES EXPRESSION. THE CLINICAL IMPACT OF APABETALONE ON MEDIATORS OF VI WAS ASSESSED WITH PROTEOMIC ANALYSIS OF PHASE II CVD PATIENT PLASMA. RESULTS: IN VITRO, APABETALONE PREVENTED INFLAMMATORY (TNFALPHA, LPS, OR IL-1BETA) INDUCTION OF KEY FACTORS THAT DRIVE ENDOTHELIAL ACTIVATION, MONOCYTE RECRUITMENT, ADHESION, AND PLAQUE DESTABILIZATION. BRD4 ABUNDANCE ON INFLAMMATORY AND ADHESION GENE PROMOTERS AND ENHANCERS WAS REDUCED BY APABETALONE. BRD2-4 DEGRADATION BY MZ-1 ALSO PREVENTED TNFALPHA-INDUCED TRANSCRIPTION OF MONOCYTE AND ENDOTHELIAL CELL ADHESION MOLECULES AND INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, CONFIRMING BET-DEPENDENT REGULATION. TRANSCRIPTIONAL REGULATION BY APABETALONE TRANSLATED INTO A REDUCTION IN MONOCYTE ADHESION TO AN ENDOTHELIAL MONOLAYER. IN A PHASE II TRIAL, APABETALONE TREATMENT REDUCED THE ABUNDANCE OF MULTIPLE VI MEDIATORS IN THE PLASMA OF CVD PATIENTS (SOMASCAN(R) 1.3 K). THESE PROTEINS CORRELATE WITH CVD RISK AND INCLUDE ADHESION MOLECULES, CYTOKINES, AND METALLOPROTEINASES. INGENUITY(R) PATHWAY ANALYSIS (IPA(R)) PREDICTED THAT APABETALONE INHIBITS PRO-ATHEROGENIC REGULATORS AND PATHWAYS AND PREVENTS DISEASE STATES ARISING FROM LEUKOCYTE RECRUITMENT. CONCLUSIONS: APABETALONE SUPPRESSED GENE EXPRESSION OF VI MEDIATORS IN MONOCYTES AND ENDOTHELIAL CELLS BY INHIBITING BET-DEPENDENT TRANSCRIPTION INDUCED BY MULTIPLE INFLAMMATORY STIMULI. IN CVD PATIENTS, APABETALONE TREATMENT REDUCED CIRCULATING LEVELS OF VI MEDIATORS, AN OUTCOME CONDUCIVE WITH ATHEROSCLEROTIC PLAQUE STABILIZATION AND MACE REDUCTION. INHIBITION OF INFLAMMATORY AND ADHESION MOLECULE GENE EXPRESSION BY APABETALONE IS PREDICTED TO CONTRIBUTE TO MACE REDUCTION IN THE PHASE III BETONMACE TRIAL. 2019 11 3846 36 IS ATHEROSCLEROSIS A NEUROGENIC PHENOMENON? IDENTIFIED RISK FACTORS FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS INCLUDE DIET, AGE, GENDER, FAMILY HISTORY, STRESS, LIFESTYLE, SMOKING, DIABETES, DYSLIPIDEMIAS, HYPERTENSION, AND HIV. THE MECHANISTIC RATIONALE TO EXPLAIN THESE ASSOCIATIONS REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. WE BELIEVE THAT THESE SEEMINGLY UNRELATED ENTITIES MAY PROMOTE ATHEROSCLEROSIS THROUGH A COMMON PATHWAY BY INDUCING ADVENTITIAL AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION, SPECIFICALLY AS AN ADVENTITIAL STRESS DYSFUNCTION OF NEUROGENIC ORIGIN. ATHEROSCLEROSIS MAY REPRESENT A LOCAL VASCULAR MANIFESTATION OF THE GLOBAL AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION INDUCED BY AGE, SMOKING, HYPERTENSION, HIV, AND DIABETES. ATHEROSCLEROSIS MAY ALSO PARTICIPATE IN A FEED-FORWARD CYCLE AS AGING, DIABETES, DYSLIPIDEMIA, AND HYPERTENSION MAY ALSO REPRESENT INDEPENDENT DOWNSTREAM CONSEQUENCES OF GLOBAL SYMPATHETIC BIAS. CHRONIC PHYSIOLOGIC STRESS AND BEHAVIORAL STRESS CAN SHIFT THE AUTONOMIC BALANCE TOWARDS A STATE OF SYMPATHETIC PREDOMINANCE. THE HIGHLY COMMUNICABLE NATURE OF BEHAVIORAL STRESS MAY PARTIALLY IMPLICATE THE FAMILIAL ASSOCIATION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS AS AN EPIGENETIC PHENOMENON, INDEPENDENT OF PUTATIVE GENETIC MECHANISMS. HOST STRESS, GLOBAL AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION, AND SYMPATHETIC BIAS MAY ALSO ARISE FROM CHRONIC MALADAPTIVE CONSUMPTION OF STRESSED FOODS, AS ORGANISMS DETECT AND ASSIMILATE THE STRESS PHENOTYPES OF THEIR DIETARY CONSTITUENTS THROUGH A PROCESS CALLED XENOHORMESIS. THE BENEFITS OF EXERCISE MAY OPERATE THROUGH REDUCTION OF CHRONIC PHYSIOLOGIC STRESS ASSOCIATED WITH GLOBAL SYMPATHETIC BIAS. THE NEUROGENIC ADVENTITIAL STRESS RESPONSE MAY EXPLAIN THE LOCAL TISSUE REMODELING SEEN IN ATHEROSCLEROSIS, INCLUDING ADVENTITIAL ADIPOSE DYSFUNCTION, INFLAMMATION, ADVENTITIAL ANGIOGENESIS, THROMBOSIS, AND ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION. WE BELIEVE THAT THE LOCATIONS OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC LESIONS CORRESPOND TO REGIONS OF NEUROGENIC ADVENTITIAL AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION, IN SIMILAR FASHION TO THE SEGMENTAL PATTERNS OF INVOLVEMENT FOUND IN INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE. THE DIFFUSE ATHEROSCLEROSIS EXHIBITED IN TRANSPLANTED HEARTS MAY REFLECT A DIFFUSE SYMPATHETIC BIAS OF THE DONOR HEART, SINCE TISSUES AND ORGANS EXHIBIT AN INTRINSIC SYMPATHETIC BIAS IN THE ABSENCE OF AN EXTRINSIC SOURCE OF AUTONOMIC HEGEMONY. ONCE WE REGARD ATHEROSCLEROSIS AS A NEUROGENIC PHENOMENON MANIFESTED IN ADVENTITIAL AUTONOMIC DYSFUNCTION, NOVEL DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC PARADIGMS BECOME EVIDENT. 2007 12 3734 33 INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY IN MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES: THE POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS. ATHEROSCLEROSIS IS A COMPLEX METABOLIC DISEASE CHARACTERIZED BY THE DYSFUNCTION OF LIPID METABOLISM AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE INTIMAL SPACE OF THE VESSEL. AS THE MOST ABUNDANT INNATE IMMUNE CELLS, MONOCYTE-DERIVED MACROPHAGES PLAY A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE, CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM, AND FOAM CELL FORMATION. IN RECENT DECADES, IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT MONOCYTES AND MACROPHAGES CAN ESTABLISH INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY (ALSO TERMED TRAINED IMMUNITY) VIA ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS ATHEROGENIC STIMULI AND EXHIBIT A LONG-LASTING PROINFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE. THE IMPORTANT CELLULAR METABOLISM PROCESSES, INCLUDING GLYCOLYSIS, OXIDATIVE PHOSPHORYLATION (OXPHOS), THE TRICARBOXYLIC ACID (TCA) CYCLE, FATTY ACID SYNTHESIS, AND CHOLESTEROL SYNTHESIS, ARE REPROGRAMMED. TRAINED MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES WITH INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY CAN BE PERSISTENTLY HYPERACTIVATED AND CAN UNDERGO EXTENSIVE EPIGENETIC REWIRING, WHICH CONTRIBUTES TO THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS VIA INCREASED PROINFLAMMATORY CYTOKINE PRODUCTION AND LIPID ACCUMULATION. HERE, WE PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF THE REGULATION OF CELLULAR METABOLIC PROCESSES AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS OF INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY IN MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES AS WELL AS THE POTENTIAL ENDOGENOUS AND EXOGENOUS STIMULATIONS INVOLVED IN THE PROGRESSION OF ATHEROSCLEROSIS THAT HAVE BEEN REPORTED RECENTLY. THESE ELUCIDATIONS MIGHT BE BENEFICIAL FOR FURTHER UNDERSTANDING INNATE IMMUNE MEMORY AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC STRATEGIES FOR INFLAMMATORY DISEASES AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS. 2022 13 4191 38 METABOLIC LANDSCAPE IN CARDIAC AGING: INSIGHTS INTO MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS. CARDIAC AGING IS EVIDENT BY A REDUCTION IN FUNCTION WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY CONTRIBUTES TO HEART FAILURE. THE METABOLIC MICROENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A HALLMARK OF MALIGNANCY, BUT RECENT STUDIES HAVE SHED LIGHT ON ITS ROLE IN CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVDS). VARIOUS METABOLIC PATHWAYS IN CARDIOMYOCYTES AND NONCARDIOMYOCYTES DETERMINE CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN THE AGING HEART. METABOLIC ALTERATION IS A COMMON PROCESS THROUGHOUT CARDIAC DEGENERATION. IMPORTANTLY, THE INVOLVEMENT OF CELLULAR SENESCENCE IN CARDIAC INJURIES, INCLUDING HEART FAILURE AND MYOCARDIAL ISCHEMIA AND INFARCTION, HAS BEEN REPORTED. HOWEVER, METABOLIC COMPLEXITY AMONG HUMAN AGING HEARTS HINDERS THE DEVELOPMENT OF STRATEGIES THAT TARGETS METABOLIC SUSCEPTIBILITY. ADVANCES OVER THE PAST DECADE HAVE LINKED CELLULAR SENESCENCE AND FUNCTION WITH THEIR METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING PATHWAY IN CARDIAC AGING, INCLUDING AUTOPHAGY, OXIDATIVE STRESS, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AND MYOCYTE SYSTOLIC PHENOTYPE REGULATION. IN ADDITION, METABOLIC STATUS IS INVOLVED IN CRUCIAL ASPECTS OF MYOCARDIAL BIOLOGY, FROM FIBROSIS TO HYPERTROPHY AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION. HOWEVER, FURTHER ELUCIDATION OF THE METABOLISM INVOLVEMENT IN CARDIAC DEGENERATION IS STILL NEEDED. THUS, DECIPHERING THE MECHANISMS UNDERLYING HOW METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING IMPACTS CARDIAC AGING IS THOUGHT TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE NOVEL INTERVENTIONS TO PROTECT OR EVEN RESTORE CARDIAC FUNCTION IN AGING HEARTS. HERE, WE SUMMARIZE EMERGING CONCEPTS ABOUT METABOLIC LANDSCAPES OF CARDIAC AGING, WITH SPECIFIC FOCUSES ON WHY METABOLIC PROFILE ALTERS DURING CARDIAC DEGENERATION AND HOW WE COULD UTILIZE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE TO IMPROVE THE MANAGEMENT OF CARDIAC AGING. 2023 14 6357 39 THE ROLE OF HYPERGLYCAEMIA IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY. DIABETES MELLITUS IS A METABOLIC DISORDER WITH A CHRONIC HYPERGLYCAEMIC STATE. CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES ARE THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF MORTALITY IN PATIENTS WITH DIABETES. INCREASING EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE EXISTENCE OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, A CARDIAC DYSFUNCTION WITH IMPAIRED CARDIAC CONTRACTION AND RELAXATION, INDEPENDENT OF CORONARY AND/OR VALVULAR COMPLICATIONS. DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY CAN LEAD TO HEART FAILURE. SEVERAL PRECLINICAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE AIMED TO DECIPHER THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS OF DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY. AMONG ALL THE CO-FACTORS, HYPERGLYCAEMIA SEEMS TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THIS PATHOLOGY. HYPERGLYCAEMIA HAS BEEN SHOWN TO ALTER CARDIAC METABOLISM AND FUNCTION THROUGH SEVERAL DELETERIOUS MECHANISMS, SUCH AS OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, ACCUMULATION OF ADVANCED GLYCATED END-PRODUCTS AND UPREGULATION OF THE HEXOSAMINE BIOSYNTHESIS PATHWAY. THESE MECHANISMS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ACTIVATION OF HYPERTROPHIC PATHWAYS, EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, MITOCHONDRIAL DYSFUNCTION, CELL APOPTOSIS, FIBROSIS AND CALCIUM MISHANDLING, LEADING TO CARDIAC STIFFNESS, AS WELL AS CONTRACTILE AND RELAXATION DYSFUNCTION. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO DESCRIBE THE HYPERGLYCAEMIC-INDUCED ALTERATIONS THAT PARTICIPATE IN DIABETIC CARDIOMYOPATHY, AND THEIR CORRELATION WITH THE SEVERITY OF THE DISEASE AND PATIENT MORTALITY, AND TO PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF CARDIAC OUTCOMES OF GLUCOSE-LOWERING THERAPY. 2021 15 4117 40 MECHANISMS OF AUTOPHAGIC RESPONSES TO ALTERED NUTRITIONAL STATUS. AUTOPHAGY IS A DYNAMIC PROCESS AND CRITICAL FOR CELLULAR REMODELING AND ORGANELLE QUALITY CONTROL. IN RESPONSE TO ALTERED NUTRITIONAL STATUS (E.G., FASTING AND FEEDING), AUTOPHAGIC ACTIVITY IS FINELY TUNED BY TRANSCRIPTIONAL, POSTTRANSLATIONAL, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS VIA VARIOUS SIGNALING PATHWAYS, INCLUDING ENERGY SENSORS (E.G., MECHANISTIC TARGET OF RAPAMYCIN (MTOR)/ AMP-ACTIVATED PROTEIN KINASE - UNC-51 LIKE AUTOPHAGY ACTIVATING KINASE 1, MTORC1- WD REPEAT DOMAIN, PHOSPHOINOSITIDE INTERACTING 2, MTORC1- TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR EB, PERILIPIN 5- SIRTUIN 1, AND SIRTUIN 1-MEDIATED DEACETYLATION OF AUTOPHAGY PROTEINS), FASTING OR FEEDING INDUCED HORMONES (E.G., FIBROBLAST GROWTH FACTOR [FGF21]- PROTEIN KINASE A - JUMONJI DOMAIN-CONTAINING PROTEIN D3, FGF21- DOWNSTREAM REGULATORY ELEMENT ANTAGONIST MODULATOR - E3 LIGASE MIDLINE-1- TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR EB, FGF19-SHP- LYSINE-SPECIFIC DEMETHYLASE, INSULIN- INSULIN RECEPTOR SUBSTRATE - PROTEIN KINASE B - FORKHEAD BOX O, GLUCAGON- PROTEIN KINASE A - CAMP RESPONSE BINDING PROTEIN), AND LYSOSOMAL ENZYMES (E.G., CATHEPSIN B AND CATHEPSIN L). IN CONTRAST TO FASTING THAT INDUCES AUTOPHAGY AND HEALTH BENEFITS, NUTRIENT OVERSUPPLY (OVERFEEDING OR FEEDING ON HIGH ENERGY DIETS) DYSREGULATES AUTOPHAGY, WHICH HAS BEEN INCREASINGLY OBSERVED IN ANIMAL MODELS OF HUMAN CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS OBESITY, DIABETES, NON-ALCOHOLIC FATTY LIVER DISEASE, AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. STUDIES HAVE REVEALED MULTIFACETED EFFECTS OF HIGH ENERGY DIETS ON AUTOPHAGY, BEING EITHER AN INHIBITOR OR ENHANCER OF AUTOPHAGY. THE CONUNDRUM MAY ARISE FROM THE VARIATIONS IN METHODS FOR AUTOPHAGY ANALYSIS, COMPONENTS OF HIGH ENERGY DIETS AND CONTROL DIETS FOR TREATMENTS, TREATMENT DURATIONS, AND THE AGES OF GENETIC BACKGROUNDS OF LABORATORY ANIMALS. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE REVIEWED THE EVIDENCE FROM BOTH HUMAN AND ANIMAL STUDIES, PRESENTING THE MOLECULAR MECHANISM OF AUTOPHAGIC RESPONSE TO ALTERED NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND DISCUSSING THE CONTRIBUTING FACTORS OF AND POSSIBLE SOLUTION TO THE CURRENT CONUNDRUM CONCERNING THE EXACT ROLE OF HIGH ENERGY DIETS IN AUTOPHAGIC REGULATION. 2022 16 6713 37 VISCERAL ADIPOSITY SYNDROME. THE ASSOCIATION OF ANTHROPOMETRIC (WAIST CIRCUMFERENCE) AND HEMODYNAMIC (BLOOD PRESSURE) CHANGES WITH ABNORMALITIES IN GLUCOSE AND LIPID METABOLISM HAS BEEN MOTIVATION FOR A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS IN THE LAST 30 YEARS. NOWADAYS, BLOOD PRESSURE, BODY MASS INDEX/ABDOMINAL CIRCUMFERENCE, GLYCEMIA, TRIGLYCERIDEMIA, AND HDL-CHOLESTEROL CONCENTRATIONS ARE CONSIDERED IN THE DEFINITION OF METABOLIC SYNDROME, REFERRED AS VISCERAL ADIPOSITY SYNDROME (VAS) IN THE PRESENT REVIEW. HOWEVER, MORE THAN 250 YEARS AGO AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN VISCERAL AND MEDIASTINAL OBESITY WITH HYPERTENSION, GOUT, AND OBSTRUCTIVE APNEA HAD ALREADY BEEN RECOGNIZED. EXPANSION OF VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE SECONDARY TO CHRONIC OVER-CONSUMPTION OF CALORIES STIMULATES THE RECRUITMENT OF MACROPHAGES, WHICH ASSUME AN INFLAMMATORY PHENOTYPE AND PRODUCE CYTOKINES THAT DIRECTLY INTERFERE WITH INSULIN SIGNALING, RESULTING IN INSULIN RESISTANCE. IN TURN, INSULIN RESISTANCE (IR) MANIFESTS ITSELF IN VARIOUS TISSUES, CONTRIBUTING TO THE OVERALL PHENOTYPE OF VAS. FOR EXAMPLE, IN WHITE ADIPOSE TISSUE, IR RESULTS IN LIPOLYSIS, INCREASED FREE FATTY ACIDS RELEASE AND WORSENING OF INFLAMMATION, SINCE FATTY ACIDS CAN BIND TO TOLL-LIKE RECEPTORS. IN THE LIVER, IR RESULTS IN INCREASED HEPATIC GLUCOSE PRODUCTION, CONTRIBUTING TO HYPERGLYCEMIA; IN THE VASCULAR ENDOTHELIUM AND KIDNEY, IR RESULTS IN VASOCONSTRICTION, SODIUM RETENTION AND, CONSEQUENTLY, ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION. OTHER PLAYERS HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF VAS, SUCH AS GENETIC PREDISPOSITION, EPIGENETIC FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO AN UNFAVOURABLE INTRAUTERINE ENVIRONMENT AND THE GUT MICROBIOTA. MORE RECENTLY, EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THE AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM PARTICIPATES IN MODULATING VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE. THE SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM IS RELATED TO ADIPOSE TISSUE FUNCTION AND DIFFERENTIATION THROUGH BETA1, BETA2, BETA3, ALPHA1, AND ALPHA2 ADRENERGIC RECEPTORS. THE RELATION IS BIDIRECTIONAL: SYMPATHETIC DENERVATION OF ADIPOSE TISSUE BLOCKS LIPOLYSIS TO A VARIETY OF LIPOLYTIC STIMULI AND ADIPOSE TISSUE SEND INPUTS TO THE BRAIN. AN IMBALANCE OF SYMPATHETIC/PARASYMPATHETIC AND ALPHA2 ADRENERGIC/BETA3 RECEPTOR IS RELATED TO VISCERAL ADIPOSE TISSUE STORAGE AND INSULIN SENSITIVITY. THUS, IN ADDITION TO THE WELL-KNOWN FACTORS CLASSICALLY ASSOCIATED WITH VAS, ABNORMAL AUTONOMIC ACTIVITY ALSO EMERGES AS AN IMPORTANT FACTOR REGULATING WHITE ADIPOSE TISSUE, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS COMPLEX ROLE OF ADIPOSE TISSUE IN THE VAS. 2016 17 6224 41 THE LEUCINE CATABOLITE AND DIETARY SUPPLEMENT BETA-HYDROXY-BETA-METHYL BUTYRATE (HMB) AS AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR IN MUSCLE PROGENITOR CELLS. BETA-HYDROXY-BETA-METHYL BUTYRATE (HMB) IS A NATURAL CATABOLITE OF LEUCINE DEEMED TO PLAY A ROLE IN AMINO ACID SIGNALING AND THE MAINTENANCE OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS. ACCORDINGLY, HMB IS USED AS A DIETARY SUPPLEMENT BY SPORTSMEN AND HAS SHOWN SOME CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS IN PREVENTING MUSCLE WASTING IN CANCER AND CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE, AS WELL AS IN AGE-DEPENDENT SARCOPENIA. HOWEVER, THE MOLECULAR CASCADES UNDERLYING THESE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS ARE LARGELY UNKNOWN. HMB BEARS A SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURAL SIMILARITY WITH BUTYRATE AND BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE (BETAHB), TWO COMPOUNDS RECOGNIZED FOR IMPORTANT EPIGENETIC AND HISTONE-MARKING ACTIVITIES IN MULTIPLE CELL TYPES INCLUDING MUSCLE CELLS. WE ASKED WHETHER SIMILAR CHROMATIN-MODIFYING ACTIONS COULD BE ASSIGNED TO HMB AS WELL. EXPOSURE OF MURINE C2C12 MYOBLASTS TO MILLIMOLAR CONCENTRATIONS OF HMB LED TO AN INCREASE IN GLOBAL HISTONE ACETYLATION, AS MONITORED BY ANTI-ACETYLATED LYSINE IMMUNOBLOTTING, WHILE PREVENTING MYOTUBE DIFFERENTIATION. IN THESE EFFECTS, HMB RESEMBLED, ALTHOUGH WITH LESS POTENCY, THE HISTONE DEACETYLASE (HDAC) INHIBITOR SODIUM BUTYRATE. HOWEVER, INITIAL STUDIES DID NOT CONFIRM A DIRECT INHIBITORY EFFECT OF HMB ON HDACS IN VITRO. BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRATE, A KETONE BODY PRODUCED BY THE LIVER DURING STARVATION OR INTENSE EXERCISE, HAS A MODEST EFFECT ON HISTONE ACETYLATION OF C2C12 CELLS OR IN VITRO HDAC INHIBITOR ACTIVITIES, AND, UNLIKE BUTYRATE AND HMB, DID NOT INTERFERE WITH MYOTUBE FORMATION IN A MYOBLAST DIFFERENTIATION ASSAY. INSTEAD, BETAHB DRAMATICALLY INCREASED LYSINE BETA-HYDROXYBUTYRYLATION (KBHB) OF HISTONE TAILS, AN EPIGENETIC MARK ASSOCIATED WITH FASTING RESPONSES AND MUSCLE CATABOLIC STATES. HOWEVER, WHEN C2C12 CELLS WERE EXPOSED TO BETAHB IN THE PRESENCE OF EQUIMOLAR HMB THIS CHROMATIN MODIFICATION WAS DRASTICALLY REDUCED, POINTING TO A ROLE FOR HMB IN ATTENUATING KETOSIS-ASSOCIATED MUSCLE WASTING. IN CONCLUSION, WHILE THEIR MECHANISTIC UNDERPINNINGS REMAIN TO BE CLARIFIED, THESE PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS HIGHLIGHT NOVEL AND POTENTIALLY IMPORTANT ACTIVITIES OF HMB AS AN EPIGENETIC REGULATOR AND BETAHB ANTAGONIST IN MUSCLE PRECURSOR CELLS, TO BE FURTHER EXPLORED IN THEIR BIOMEDICAL IMPLICATIONS. 2021 18 444 37 AORTIC AND CAROTID ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND EPIGENETIC REGULATOR GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES PRECEDE BLOOD PRESSURE RISE IN STROKE-PRONE DAHL SALT-SENSITIVE HYPERTENSIVE RATS. MULTIPLE CLINICAL STUDIES SHOW THAT ARTERIAL STIFFNESS, MEASURED AS PULSE WAVE VELOCITY (PWV), PRECEDES HYPERTENSION AND IS AN INDEPENDENT PREDICTOR OF HYPERTENSION END ORGAN DISEASES INCLUDING STROKE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. RISK FACTOR STUDIES FOR ARTERIAL STIFFNESS IMPLICATE AGE, HYPERTENSION AND SODIUM. HOWEVER, CAUSAL MECHANISMS LINKING RISK FACTOR TO ARTERIAL STIFFNESS REMAIN TO BE ELUCIDATED. HERE, WE STUDIED THE CAUSAL RELATIONSHIP OF ARTERIAL STIFFNESS AND HYPERTENSION IN THE NA-INDUCED, STROKE-PRONE DAHL SALT-SENSITIVE (S) HYPERTENSIVE RAT MODEL, AND ANALYZED PUTATIVE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS. STROKE-PRONE AND NON-STROKE-PRONE MALE AND FEMALE RATS WERE STUDIED AT 3- AND 6-WEEKS OF AGE FOR ARTERIAL STIFFNESS (PWV, STRAIN), BLOOD PRESSURE, VESSEL WALL HISTOLOGY, AND GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES. STUDIES SHOWED THAT INCREASED LEFT CAROTID AND AORTIC ARTERIAL STIFFNESS PRECEDED HYPERTENSION, PULSE PRESSURE WIDENING, AND STRUCTURAL WALL CHANGES AT THE 6-WEEK TIME-POINT. INSTEAD, DIFFERENTIAL GENE INDUCTION WAS DETECTED IMPLICATING MOLECULAR-FUNCTIONAL CHANGES IN EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX (ECM) STRUCTURAL CONSTITUENTS, MODIFIERS, CELL ADHESION, AND MATRICELLULAR PROTEINS, AS WELL AS IN ENDOTHELIAL FUNCTION, APOPTOSIS BALANCE, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATORS. IMMUNOSTAINING TESTING HISTONE MODIFIERS EP300, HDAC3, AND PRMT5 LEVELS CONFIRMED CAROTID ARTERY-UPREGULATION IN ALL THREE LAYERS: ENDOTHELIAL, SMOOTH MUSCLE AND ADVENTITIAL CELLS. OUR STUDY RECAPITULATES OBSERVATIONS IN HUMANS THAT GIVEN SALT-SENSITIVITY, INCREASED NA-INTAKE INDUCED ARTERIAL STIFFNESS BEFORE HYPERTENSION, INCREASED PULSE PRESSURE, AND STRUCTURAL VESSEL WALL CHANGES. DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH ARTERIAL STIFFNESS SUGGEST A MOLECULAR MECHANISM LINKING SODIUM TO FULL-VESSEL WALL RESPONSE AFFECTING GENE-NETWORKS INVOLVED IN VASCULAR ECM STRUCTURE-FUNCTION, APOPTOSIS BALANCE, AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION. 2014 19 1707 52 DYSBIOTIC 1-CARBON METABOLISM IN CARDIAC MUSCLE REMODELING. UNLESS THERE IS A GENETIC DEFECT/MUTATION/DELETION IN A GENE, THE CAUSATION OF A GIVEN DISEASE IS CHRONIC DYSREGULATION OF GUT METABOLISM. MOST OF THE TIME, IF NOT ALWAYS, STARTS WITHIN THE GUT; THAT IS WHAT WE EAT. RECENT RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THE IMBALANCE BETWEEN GOOD VERSUS BAD MICROBIAL POPULATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE GUT, CAUSES SYSTEMIC DISEASES. THUS, AN APPROPRIATE BALANCE OF THE GUT MICROBIOTA (EUBIOSIS OVER DYSBIOSIS) NEEDS TO BE MAINTAINED FOR NORMAL HEALTH (VEERANKI AND TYAGI, 2017, JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY, 232, 2929-2930). HOWEVER, DURING VARIOUS DISEASES SUCH AS METABOLIC SYNDROME, INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE, DIABETES, OBESITY, AND HYPERTENSION THE DYSBIOTIC GUT ENVIRONMENT TENDS TO PREVAIL. OUR RESEARCH FOCUSES ON HOMOCYSTEINE (HCY) METABOLISM THAT OCCUPIES A CENTER-STAGE IN MANY BIOCHEMICALLY RELEVANT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. FOR EXAMPLE, DYSBIOTIC BACTERIA METHYLATE PROMOTERS TO INHIBIT GENE ACTIVITIES. INTERESTINGLY, THE PRODUCT OF THE 1-CARBON METABOLISM IS HCY, UNEQUIVOCALLY. EMERGING STUDIES SHOW THAT HOST RESISTANCE TO VARIOUS ANTIBIOTICS OCCURS DUE TO INVERTON PROMOTER INHIBITION, PRESUMABLY BECAUSE OF PROMOTER METHYLATION. THIS RESULTS FROM MODIFICATION OF HOST PROMOTERS BY BACTERIAL PRODUCTS LEADING TO LOSS OF HOST'S ABILITY TO DRUG COMPATIBILITY AND SYSTEM SENSITIVITY. IN THIS STUDY, WE FOCUS ON THE ROLE OF HIGH METHIONINE DIET (HMD), AN INGREDIENT RICH IN RED MEAT AND MEASURE THE EFFECTS OF A PROBIOTIC ON CARDIAC MUSCLE REMODELING AND ITS FUNCTIONS. WE EMPLOYED WILD TYPE (WT) AND CYSTATHIONINE BETA-SYNTHASE HETEROZYGOTE KNOCKOUT (CBS(+/-) ) MICE WITH AND WITHOUT HMD AND WITH AND WITHOUT A PROBIOTIC; PB (LACTOBACILLUS) IN DRINKING WATER FOR 16 WEEKS. RESULTS INDICATE THAT MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE-2 (MMP-2) ACTIVITY WAS ROBUST IN CBS(+/-) FED WITH HMD AND THAT IT WAS SUCCESSFULLY ATTENUATED BY THE PB TREATMENT. CARDIOMYOCYTE CONTRACTILITY AND ECHO DATA REVEALED MITIGATION OF THE CARDIAC DYSFUNCTION IN CBS(+/-) + HMD MICE TREATED WITH PB. IN CONCLUSION, OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT PROBIOTICS CAN POTENTIALLY REVERSE THE HCY-MEDITATED CARDIAC DYSFUNCTION. 2020 20 6498 30 TRAINED IMMUNITY IN MONOCYTE/MACROPHAGE: NOVEL MECHANISM OF PHYTOCHEMICALS IN THE TREATMENT OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE. ATHEROSCLEROSIS (AS) IS THE PATHOLOGY OF ATHEROSCLEROTIC CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (ASCVD), CHARACTERIZED BY PERSISTENT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN THE VESSEL WALL, IN WHICH MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES PLAY A KEY ROLE. IT HAS BEEN REPORTED THAT INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM CELLS CAN ASSUME A PERSISTENT PROINFLAMMATORY STATE AFTER SHORT STIMULATION WITH ENDOGENOUS ATHEROGENIC STIMULI. THE PATHOGENESIS OF AS CAN BE INFLUENCED BY THIS PERSISTENT HYPERACTIVATION OF THE INNATE IMMUNE SYSTEM, WHICH IS TERMED TRAINED IMMUNITY. TRAINED IMMUNITY HAS ALSO BEEN IMPLICATED AS A KEY PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISM, LEADING TO PERSISTENT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION IN AS. TRAINED IMMUNITY IS MEDIATED VIA EPIGENETIC AND METABOLIC REPROGRAMMING AND OCCURS IN MATURE INNATE IMMUNE CELLS AND THEIR BONE MARROW PROGENITORS. NATURAL PRODUCTS ARE PROMISING CANDIDATES FOR NOVEL PHARMACOLOGICAL AGENTS THAT CAN BE USED TO PREVENT OR TREAT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES (CVD). A VARIETY OF NATURAL PRODUCTS AND AGENTS EXHIBITING ANTIATHEROSCLEROTIC ABILITIES HAVE BEEN REPORTED TO POTENTIALLY INTERFERE WITH THE PHARMACOLOGICAL TARGETS OF TRAINED IMMUNITY. THIS REVIEW DESCRIBES IN AS MUCH DETAIL AS POSSIBLE THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN TRAINED IMMUNITY AND HOW PHYTOCHEMICALS OF THIS PROCESS INHIBIT AS BY AFFECTING TRAINED MONOCYTES/MACROPHAGES. 2023