Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is produced in cardiac myocytes, and increased secretion is closely associated with cardiac dysfunction. However, several fundamental aspects of BNP expression in the myocardium have not yet been resolved. In the present study, we report the presence of a precursor BNP mRNA transcript and a mature BNP mRNA transcript in normal porcine hearts. In normal pigs, the ...

Background: Pre-clinical investigation of stem cells for repairing damaged myocardium predominantly used rodents, however large animals have cardiac circulation closely resembling the human heart. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) could be used for assessing sheep myocardium following an acute myocardial infarction (MI) and response to int...

Key points The developmental changes of the caval (SVC) and pulmonary vein (PV) myocardium electrophysiology are traced throughout postnatal ontogenesis. in SVC as well PV demonstrate age-dependent differences ability to maintain resting membrane potential, manifest automaticity a form ectopic action potentials basal condition responses adrenergic stimulation. Electrophysiological characteristi...

Hibernating myocardium due to chronic repetitive ischemia is associated with regional sympathetic nerve dysfunction and spontaneous arrhythmic death in the absence of infarction. Although inhomogeneity in regional sympathetic innervation is an acknowledged substrate for sudden death, the mechanism(s) responsible for these abnormalities in viable, dysfunctional myocardium (i.e., neural stunning ...

BACKGROUND The time course and magnitude of infarct involution, functional recovery, and normalization of infarct-related electrocardiographic (ECG) changes after acute myocardial infarction (MI) are not completely known in humans. We sought to explore these processes early after MI and during infarct-healing using cardiac MRI. METHODS AND RESULTS Twenty-two patients with reperfused first-tim...

Background Observations of abnormalities in the diastolic components of intracellular Ca2+ transiPnts in failing human left ventricular myocardium have raised the possibility that reductions in the level or function of sarcoplasmic reticulum proteins involved in Ca2+ transport contribute to the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy in humans. Functional assays, however, have revealed no dif...

To evaluate the capability of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the detection and characterization of alterations in signal intensity and T2 relaxation time in acutely infarcted relative to normal myocardium 16 adult patients and normal volunteers were studied by electrocardiographically gated proton MRI. The seven volunteers were entirely asymptomatic and had no history of cardiovascular abn...

The integrin β1 subunit and its downstream molecule focal adhesion kinase have been identified as critical molecules for the inhibition of postinfarction cardiac remodeling, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. However, as a component of the integrin pathway, it is still unclear whether Dock180 (dedicator of cytokinesis 1) protein is expressed in the noninfarcted myocardium of the peri-i...