The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
The formation of the coronary vasculature during embryonic and fetal life requires many signaling events that involve transcription factors, growth factors, and other molecules. Vascular precursor cells migrate to the heart from the proepicardium, and then differentiate and assemble to form the coronary vasculature. Several growth factors are required for coronary vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and...
Regulation of the cardiac cell cycle is an important and unique process in myocardial development. During embryonic growth cardiomyocytes rapidly proliferate, but shortly after birth they enter a final round of the cell cycle after which they permanently withdraw and cardiac growth depends on physiological hypertrophy. When the heart becomes stressed, it undergoes pathological hypertrophy to compensate...
The sodium–calcium exchanger (NCX) is thought to be a critical protein in excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in the heart through its regulation of intracellular [Ca2+]. The exchanger removes Ca2+ from the cell in exchange for extracellular Na+ in the “forward mode” to induce cardiac relaxation. Although still controversial, NCX may also participate in cardiomyocyte contractile activity in a “reverse...
Scleraxis is a transcription factor that appears to play a key role in both the development of extracellular matrix-rich tissues such as tendons, and in the synthesis of matrix itself by regulating matrix gene expression. Our understanding of how scleraxis works, how its activity and expression are regulated, and the specific role it plays in disease is largely incomplete. However, enough data have...
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in men and women in industrialized countries. The profound impact of biological sex on cardiovascular physiology of pathology has long been known, but the biological mechanisms responsible for sex-related differences have emerged more recently. Thus, this chapter is aimed at bringing a comprehensive review of the sex-based differences in cardiac...
Despite his ecclesiastical career, J. G. Mendel (1822–1884) was early attracted by science, namely mathematics and physics. This inclination fully developed after he appeared as a friar in the Augustinian monastery in Brno. His famous, statistically analyzed experiments on peas, though worldwide recognized only long after his death, became a milestone in modern biology foretelling the era of genetics.
Gene therapy (GT) is one of the most fascinating consequences of the penetration of molecular biology and genetic engineering into medicine. Originally, it was assumed that monogenic genetic diseases will be the main field of its application. However, a great majority of the GT-based clinical trials in the last decade have dealt with acquired diseases. Still, its introduction into clinical practice...
The genetic network responsible for blood pressure (BP) variation in the general population and specifically the hypertensive population remains elusive. Several recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified and confirmed loci associated with BP and hypertension. However, only a small fraction of the trait is currently explained. This apparent deficit relative to the estimates for...
Essential hypertension is a major risk factor for several cardiovascular diseases, the etiology of which is not yet completely understood. The problem is that blood pressure (BP) is a typical quantitative trait with multifactorial determination. The interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors as well as gene–gene interactions cause modifications of various systems that adjust blood...
Mutations in cardiac sodium channel gene SCN5A are responsible for a spectrum of hereditary arrhythmias including type-3 long QT syndrome (LQT3), Brugada syndrome (BrS), conduction disturbance, and sinus node dysfunction. These syndromes were originally regarded as independent entities with distinct clinical manifestations and biophysical properties. However, recent evidence shows considerable clinical...
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.