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Full-Text Articles in Cardiovascular Diseases
Nanoanalytical Analysis Of Bisphosphonate-Driven Alterations Of Microcalcifications Using A 3d Hydrogel System And In Vivo Mouse Model, Jessica L. Ruiz, Joshua D. Hutcheson, Luis Cardoso, Amirala Bakhshian Nik, Alexandra Condado De Abreu, Tan Pham, Fabrizio Buffolo, Sara Busatto, Stefania Frederici, Andrea Ridolfi, Masanori Aikawa, Sergio Bertazzo, Paolo Bergese, Sheldon Weinbaum, Elena Aikawa
Nanoanalytical Analysis Of Bisphosphonate-Driven Alterations Of Microcalcifications Using A 3d Hydrogel System And In Vivo Mouse Model, Jessica L. Ruiz, Joshua D. Hutcheson, Luis Cardoso, Amirala Bakhshian Nik, Alexandra Condado De Abreu, Tan Pham, Fabrizio Buffolo, Sara Busatto, Stefania Frederici, Andrea Ridolfi, Masanori Aikawa, Sergio Bertazzo, Paolo Bergese, Sheldon Weinbaum, Elena Aikawa
Publications and Research
Vascular calcification predicts atherosclerotic plaque rupture and cardiovascular events. Retrospective studies of women taking bisphosphonates (BiPs), a proposed therapy for vascular calcification, showed that BiPs paradoxically increased morbidity in patients with prior acute cardiovascular events but decreased mortality in event-free patients. Calcifying extracellular vesicles (EVs), released by cells within atherosclerotic plaques, aggregate and nucleate calcification. We hypothesized that BiPs block EV aggregation and modify existing mineral growth, potentially altering microcalcification morphology and the risk of plaque rupture. Three-dimensional (3D) collagen hydrogels incubated with calcifying EVs were used to mimic fibrous cap calcification in vitro, while an ApoE−/− mouse was used …
Knockdown Of Heparan Sulfate Via Ndst1 Knockout Does Not Inhibit Mouse Aortic Endothelial Cell Alignment In-Vivo, John Diaz De Leon Iii
Knockdown Of Heparan Sulfate Via Ndst1 Knockout Does Not Inhibit Mouse Aortic Endothelial Cell Alignment In-Vivo, John Diaz De Leon Iii
Dissertations and Theses
Atherosclerotic plaque localizes in predictable areas such as arches and bifurcations which are characterized by disturbed flow patterns and the resulting damage and dysfunction to the endothelium. Endothelial cells (ECs) under sustained laminar flow align in the direction of flow; however, under disturbed flow conditions, ECs sustain damage to their glycocalyx (GCX) which results in unaligned and rounder cells. An investigation into the role of NDST1 sulfation of heparan sulfate (HS), a key component of many proteoglycans which make up the GCX, was conducted. The descending aortas (DAs) of transgenic mice with conditional knockouts (KOs) of NDST1 in vascular ECs …
Mimicking The Arterial Microenvironment With Peg-Pc To Investigate The Roles Of Physicochemical Stimuli In Smc Phenotype And Behavior, William G. Herrick
Mimicking The Arterial Microenvironment With Peg-Pc To Investigate The Roles Of Physicochemical Stimuli In Smc Phenotype And Behavior, William G. Herrick
Doctoral Dissertations
The goal of this dissertation was to parse the roles of physical, mechanical and chemical cues in the phenotype plasticity of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in atherosclerosis. We first developed and characterized a novel synthetic hydrogel with desirable traits for studying mechanotransduction in vitro. This hydrogel, PEG-PC, is a co-polymer of poly(ethylene glycol) and phosphorylcholine with an incredible range of Young’s moduli (~1 kPa - 9 MPa) that enables reproduction of nearly any tissue stiffness, exceptional optical and anti-fouling properties, and support for covalent attachment of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins. To our knowledge, this combination of mechanical range, low …