OBJECTIVE Thrombin, the final coagulation product of the coagulation cascade, has been demonstrated to have many physiological effects, including pro-fibrotic actions via protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1. Recent investigations have demonstrated that activation of the cardiac local coagulation system was associated with atrial fibrillation. However, the distribution of thrombin in the heart, ...

A 72-year-old woman was admitted to our department for further investigation of a heart defect noted in transtho-racic echocardiography performed in a district hospital. The patient complained of palpitations and moderately limited physical activity. On ECG, atrial fibrillation was recorded with a well-controlled ventricular rate. The chest x-ray demonstrated an enlarged heart and signs of mode...

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become an attractive vertebrate model for studying developmental processes, and is emerging as a model system for studying the mechanisms by which toxic compounds perturb normal development. When exposed to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) shortly after fertilization, zebrafish embryos exhibit pericardial edema and reduced blood flow by 72 h post fertil...

Alopecia areata (AA) is a chronic autoimmune hair loss disease that affects several million men, women and children worldwide. Previous studies have suggested a link between autoimmunity, stress hormones, and increased cardiovascular disease risk. In the current study, histology, immunohistology, quantitative PCR (qPCR) and ELISAs were used to assess heart health in the C3H/HeJ mouse model for ...

A novel mouse isolated atrial preparation with intact postganglionic autonomic innervation was used to investigate the neuronal control of heart rate. To establish whether autonomic activation was likely to alter heart rate by modulating the hyperpolarization-activated current (If), the L-type Ca2+ current (ICa,L), or the ACh-activated K+ current (IK,ACh), the effects of nerve stimulation (righ...

Introduction. The existence of human cardiac stem cells (hCSC) and their regenerative capacity are not fully defined. The aim of this study was to identify and analyse the distribution of hCSCs by flow cytometry (FCM). Methods. Tissue samples from the left ventricle (LV) and the appendages of the right atrium (RA) and left atrium (LA) were taken during cardiac surgery. Mononuclear cells (MNCs) ...

Certain aspects of the acetylcholine hypothesis of cardiac automaticity have been tested in vitro with spontaneously beating cardiac tissue from rabbits, rats, dams, and hagfish. The beat of atria from rabbits and rats may be depressed or excited by acetylcholine, depending upon the state of the tissue. Proguanil and cocaine inhibition of the beat in the rat may be antagonized by acetylcholine ...

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common supraventricular tachycardia and its incidence increases with age. The pathophysiology of AF has been studied extensively and is a subject of continuing research. The primary pathologic change seen in AF is progressive fibrosis of the atria and hence structural remodeling, is the mainstay in many forms of AF. Dilation of the atria can be due to almost...

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) was localized in rat heart by quantitative in vitro autoradiography with 125I-351A as the radioligand. The binding association constant (KA) of the radioligand was measured in membrane-rich fractions of atrium, ventricle, and lung by a radioinhibitor binding assay. A single class of high-affinity binding sites was detected in each tissue, and a significant di...