12 documents found, page 1 of 2
Growth differentiation factor 15 as a biomarker for risk stratification in the ...
Ferreira, Ricardo; Velho, Tiago R.; Pereira, Rafael Maniés; Pedroso, Dora; Draiblate, Beatriz; Santos, Susana Constantino Rosa; Nobre, AngeloGrowth Differentiation Factor 15 (GDF15) is an emerging biomarker that significantly increases during acute stress responses, such as infections, and is moderately elevated in chronic and inflammation-driven conditions. While evidence suggests that high levels of GDF15 in cardiac surgery are associated with worse outcomes, its utility as an evaluator of early postoperative complications remains unclear. This st...
Early impairment of paracrine and phenotypic features in resident cardiac mesen...
Picchio, Vittorio; Gaetani, Roberto; Pagano, Francesca; Derevyanchuk, Yuriy; Pagliarosi, Olivia; Floris, Erica; Cozzolino, Claudia; Bernava, GiacomoRadiotherapy-induced cardiac toxicity and consequent diseases still represent potential severe late complications for many cancer survivors who undergo therapeutic thoracic irradiation. We aimed to assess the phenotypic and paracrine features of resident cardiac mesenchymal stromal cells (CMSCs) at early follow-up after the end of thoracic irradiation of the heart as an early sign and/or mechanism of cardiac to...
Molecular changes in cardiac tissue as a new marker to predict cardiac dysfunct...
Ribeiro, Sónia; Simões, Ana Rita; Rocha, Filipe; Vala, Inês Sofia; Pinto, Ana Teresa; Ministro, Augusto; Poli, Maria Esmeralda; Diegues, Isabel MariaThe contribution of radiotherapy, per se, to late cardiotoxicity remains controversial. To clarify its impact on the development of early cardiac dysfunction, we developed an experimental model in which the hearts of rats were exposed, in a fractionated plan, to clinically relevant doses of ionizing radiation for oncological patients that undergo thoracic radiotherapy. Rat hearts were exposed to daily doses of ...
Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction detected by speckle-tracking echocardi...
Locquet, Médéa; Spoor, Daan; Crijns, Anne; van der Harst, Pim; Eraso, Arantxa; Guedea, Ferran; Fiuza, Manuela; Santos, Susana Constantino RosaBackground: In the case of breast cancer (BC), radiotherapy (RT) helps reduce locoregional recurrence and BC-related deaths but can lead to cardiotoxicity, resulting in an increased risk of long-term major cardiovascular events. It is therefore of primary importance to early detect subclinical left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in BC patients after RT and to determine the dose-response relationships between card...
Vitamin D-related polymorphisms and vitamin D levels as risk biomarkers of COVI...
Freitas, Ana Teresa; Calhau, Conceição; Antunes, Gonçalo; Araújo, Beatriz; Bandeira, Matilde; Barreira, Sofia; Bazenga, Filipa; Braz, SandraVitamin D is a fundamental regulator of host defences by activating genes related to innate and adaptive immunity. Previous research shows a correlation between the levels of vitamin D in patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 and the degree of disease severity. This work investigates the impact of the genetic background related to vitamin D pathways on COVID-19 severity. For the first time, the Portuguese populatio...
Low doses of ionizing radiation activate endothelial cells and induce angiogene...
Gil Marques, Filipa; Poli, Maria Esmeralda; Malaquias, João; Carvalho, Tânia; Portêlo, Ana; Ramires, Afonso; Aldeia, Fernando; Ribeiro, Ruy M.Purpose: During radiotherapy the peritumoral tissues are daily exposed to subtherapeutic doses of ionizing radiation. Herein, the biological and molecular effects of doses lower than 0.8 Gy per fraction (LDIR), previously described as angiogenesis inducers, were assessed in human peritumoral tissues. Material and methods: Paired biopsies of preperitoneal adipose tissue were surgically collected from 16 patients...
Echocardiographic assessment of cardiac anatomy and function in adult rats
Ribeiro, Sónia; Pereira, Ana Rita S.; Pinto, Ana Teresa; Rocha, Filipe; Ministro, Augusto; Fiuza, Manuela; Pinto, Fausto J.The use of experimental animal models has become crucial in cardiovascular science. Most studies using rodent models are focused on two-dimensional imaging to study the cardiac anatomy of the left ventricle and M-mode echo to assess its dimensions. However, this could limit a comprehensive study. Herein, we describe a protocol that allows an assessment of the heart chamber size, left ventricular function (systo...
Low-dose ionizing radiation modulates the expression of proangiogenic genes in ...
Ministro, Augusto; Pereira, Rita; Pinto, Vanda; Santos, Susana Constantino Rosa; Pedro, LuisObjective: Low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR), namely, 0.3 Gy, delivered during 4 consecutive days, has been reported to stimulate angiogenesis and arteriogenesis in a preclinical model of hindlimb ischemia. Here we performed a single-center, investigator-blinded, randomized, shamcontrolled clinical trial to evaluate the effects of LDIR exposure in the expression of proangiogenic genes in endothelial cells isol...
Early detection of cardiovascular changes after radiotherapy for breast cancer ...
Walker, Valentin; Crijns, Anne; Langendijk, Johannes; Spoor, Daan; Vliegenthart, Rozemarijn; Combs, Stephanie E.; Mayinger, Michael; Eraso, ArantxaBackground: Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women, and radiotherapy plays a major role in its treatment. However, breast cancer radiotherapy can lead to incidental irradiation of the heart, resulting in an increased risk for a variety of heart diseases arising many years after radiotherapy. Therefore, identifying breast cancer patients at the highest risk for radiation-induced cardiac complication...
Low-dose ionizing radiation induces therapeutic neovascularization in a pre-cli...
Ministro, Augusto; Oliveira, Paula de; Nunes, Raquel J.; Rocha, André dos Santos; Correia, Adriana; Carvalho, Tânia; Rino, José; Faísca, PedroAims: We have previously shown that low-dose ionizing radiation (LDIR) induces angiogenesis but there is no evidence that it induces neovascularization in the setting of peripheral arterial disease. Here, we investigated the use of LDIR as an innovative and non-invasive strategy to stimulate therapeutic neovascularization using a model of experimentally induced hindlimb ischemia (HLI). Methods and results: Afte...