Muscle Cell News Volume 1.03 | Mar 28 2016

Small Molecule-Mediated Up-Regulation of MicroRNA Targeting a Key Cell Death Modulator BNIP3 Improves Cardiac Function following Ischemic Injury
Investigators report that a small molecule inducer of microRNA-182 suppressed ischemia/reperfusion-induced cardiac cell death by down-regulating BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa protein-interacting protein 3 (BNIP3). [Sci Rep] Full Article

Tetrahydrobiopterin Protects against Hypertrophic Heart Disease Independent of Myocardial Nitric Oxide Synthase Coupling
Genetically augmenting tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) synthesis in endothelial cells fails to replicate this benefit, indicating that other cell types dominate the effects of exogenous BH4 administration. Researchers tested whether the primary cellular target of BH4 is the cardiomyocyte or whether other novel mechanisms are invoked. [J Am Heart Assoc] Abstract

Effects of Short-Chain Acyl-CoA Dehydrogenase on Cardiomyocyte Apoptosis
Investigators determined the role of short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase (SCAD) in tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The mRNA and protein expression of SCAD were significantly down-regulated in the cardiomyocyte apoptosis model. [J Cell Mol Med] Full Article

SKELETAL MUSCLE CELLS

UTX Demethylase Activity Is Required for Satellite Cell–Mediated Muscle Regeneration
Researchers employed an inducible mouse KO that specifically ablates Utx in satellite cells and demonstrated that active H3K27 demethylation is necessary for muscle regeneration. [J Clin Invest] Full Article

Pax3⁺ Skeletal Muscle Satellite Cells Retain Long-Term Self-Renewal and Proliferation
Investigators used cell-surface markers and paired box transcription factor 3 (Pax3)/Pax7 expression to separate satellite cells populations. In addition, self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation abilities of each population were analyzed. [Muscle Nerve] Abstract

SMOOTH MUSCLE CELLS

Salusin-β Induces Foam Cell Formation and Monocyte Adhesion in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells via miR155/NOX2/NFκB Pathway
Scientists showed that salusin-β increased foam cell formation evidenced by accumulation of lipid droplets and intracellular cholesterol content, and promoted monocyte adhesion in human vascular smooth muscle cells. [Sci Rep] Full Article

Transient Contractions of Urinary Bladder Smooth Muscle Are Drivers of Afferent Nerve Activity during Filling
Using an ex vivo mouse bladder preparation, investigators explored the relative contributions of filling pressure and transient contraction-induced pressure transients to sensory nerve stimulation. [J Gen Physiol]
Abstract | Press Release

Caveolae Are Involved in Mechanotransduction during Pulmonary Hypertension
Researchers investigated how caveolae are involved in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension (PH) and particularly in mechanotransduction. Pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells were freshly isolated from control rats and rats suffering from PH induced by three weeks of chronic hypoxia. [Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol] Abstract

Myocyte-Fibroblast Communication in Cardiac Fibrosis and Arrhythmias: Mechanisms and Model Systems
Investigators focus on mechanisms of myocyte-fibroblast communication and their effects on disease features such as cardiac fibrosis and arrhythmias as well as methods being used and currently developed in this field. [J Mol Cell Cardiol] Abstract

Regenerative Pharmacology for the Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury: Skeletal Muscle Stem/Progenitor Cells for Renal Regeneration?
The authors discuss the current development in acute kidney injury (AKI) treatment using different types of mesenchymal stem cells and the pilot results of the experimental study in vivo using a novel type of stem cells − skeletal muscle-derived stem/progenitor cells for the treatment of gentamicin-induced AKI. [Pharmacol Res] Abstract | Graphical Abstract

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NYU Langone Medical Center Awarded Grant for New Nationwide Initiative to Study Heart Disease in Women
Building on its national reputation in both cardiac research and women’s health, NYU Langone Medical Center has received nearly $4 million in a four-year research grant from the American Heart Association (AHA) and has been selected as a center in the AHA’s new Go Red For Women Research Network. [NYU Langone Medical Center] Press Release

CorMatrix^® Cardiovascular, Inc. Treats First Patient in Its US Clinical Study for CorMatrix^® ECM^® Tricuspid Valve
CorMatrix Cardiovascular, Inc. announced treatment of the first patient to receive their tissue engineered regenerative CorMatrix^® ECM^® Tricuspid Valve. The company received approval for the CorMatrix^® ECM^® Tricuspid Heart Valve as an early feasibility study approved through the FDA Investigational Device Exemption. [CorMatrix^® Cardiovascular, Inc.] Press Release

Ultragenyx Funds Researcher’s Quest to Treat His Daughter’s Disease
SLU’s Center for World Health and Medicine, has entered into a three-year collaboration to advance a potential treatment identified by Sverdrup for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. [Saint Louis University] Press Release

New Ultrasound Method Creates a Better Picture of Cardiovascular Health
Researchers at Lund University in Sweden have discovered a new and more accurate way to distinguish between harmful and harmless plaque in the blood vessels by using ultrasound. [Lund University] Press Release | Video

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Research Technician – Myogenesis, Neurogenesis and Related Diseases (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center)

Research Assistant – Skeletal Muscle Cell Biology (Nestlé)

Postdoctoral Positions – Tissue Repair/Inflammation (Institut Pasteur)

Postdoctoral Researcher – Cell Biology and Regenerative Therapies in Cardiovascular Diseases (Universitätsmedizin Goettingen)

Postdoctoral Positions – Human Stem Cells and Heart Regenerative Medicine (University of Pittsburgh)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease (AstraZeneca)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Ion Channel Signaling and Metabolism (University of Iowa)

Postdoctoral Fellow – Neurology Research in Cerebral Small Vessel Diseases (The Chinese University of Hong Kong)

PhD Studentship – Functional Genomics of Muscle, Nerve and Brain Disorders (Leids University Medical Center)

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