BACKGROUND Myocardial bridge(MB)will compress the mural coronary artery(MCA)during the systole and cause myocardial ischemia.In the diagnosis of coronary heart disease(CHD),because the structure of MB is difficult to ...BACKGROUND Myocardial bridge(MB)will compress the mural coronary artery(MCA)during the systole and cause myocardial ischemia.In the diagnosis of coronary heart disease(CHD),because the structure of MB is difficult to be observed by coronary angiography(CAG),the clinical study of the influence of MB on CHD is lacking.With the advancement of computed tomography coronary angiography technology,detailed observations of the MB anatomy have realized.AIM To explore the main influencing factors of MB-related CHD and to find potential indicators for predicting MB-related CHD.METHODS A total of 1718 patients with suspected CHD due to the symptoms of myocardial ischemia were enrolled as subjects.Patients diagnosed with CHD were included in a CHD group,and patients with no significant abnormalities were included in a control group.In the CHD group,patients were divided into an MB-CHD subgroup if MB-related CHD was found.In the control group,patients were divided into a simple MB subgroup if MB was found.The patient's clinical data and MB-related indicators,including the branch of MB,MB type(superficial/deep type),MB length,MB thickness,systolic and diastolic compression of the MCA,and MCA systolic stenosis rate were recorded and compared.Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the independent influencing factors of MD-related CHD.ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of potential indicators for MB-related CHD.RESULTS There were 1060 cases in the CHD group and 658 cases in the control group,and there were 236 cases in the MB-CHD subgroup and 52 cases in the simple MB subgroup.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the combined MB had a significant effect on the occurrence of CHD(P<0.05).MB thickness,systolic compression,diastolic compression,and MCA systolic stenosis rate had significant effects on the occurrence of MB-related CHD(P<0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combination of these influencing factors for the diagnosis of MB-related CHD was 0.959,which was significantly hig展开更多
Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved intercellular signaling pathway that plays numerous crucial roles in vascular development and physiology.Compelling evidence indicates that Notch signaling is vital for v...Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved intercellular signaling pathway that plays numerous crucial roles in vascular development and physiology.Compelling evidence indicates that Notch signaling is vital for vascular morphogenesis including arterial and venous differentiation and endothelial tip and stalk cell specification during sprouting angiogenesis and also vessel maturation featured by mural cell differentiation and recruitment.Notch signaling is also required for vascular homeostasis in adults by keeping quiescent phalanx cells from re-entering cell cycle and by modulating the behavior of endothelial progenitor cells.We will summarize recent advances of Notch pathway in vascular biology with special emphasis on the underlying molecular mechanisms.展开更多
AIM: To elucidate the role of contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography(CE-EUS) in the diagnosis of branch duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(BD-IPMN).METHODS: A total of 50 patients diagnosed with BDIPMN...AIM: To elucidate the role of contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography(CE-EUS) in the diagnosis of branch duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(BD-IPMN).METHODS: A total of 50 patients diagnosed with BDIPMN by computed tomography(CT) and endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS) at our institute were included in this study. CE-EUS was performed when mural lesions were detected by EUS. The diagnostic accuracy for identifying mural nodules(MNs) was evaluated by CT, EUS, and EUS combined with CE-EUS. In the patients who underwent resection, the accuracy of measuring MN height with each imaging modality was compared. The cut-off values to diagnose malignant BD-IPMNs based on MN height for each imaging modality were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.RESULTS: Fifteen patients were diagnosed with BD-IPMN with MNs and underwent resection. The remaining 35 patients were diagnosed with BD-IPMN without MNs and underwent follow-up monitoring. The pathological findings revealed 14 cases with MNs and one case without. The accuracy for diagnosing MNs was 92% using CT and 72% using EUS; the diagnostic accuracy increased to 98% when EUS and CE-EUS were combined. The accuracy for measuring MN height significantly improved when using CE-EUS compared with using CT or EUS(median measurement error value, CT: 3.3 mm vs CE-EUS: 0.6 mm, P < 0.05; EUS: 2.1 mm vs CE-EUS: 0.6 mm, P < 0.01). A cut-off value of 8.8 mm for MN height as measured by CE-EUS improved the accuracy of diagnosing malignant BDIPMN to 93%. CONCLUSION: Using CE-EUS to measure MN height provides a highly accurate method for differentiating benign from malignant BD-IPMN.展开更多
A tumor vasculature is highly unstable and immature, characterized by a high proliferation rate of endothelial cells, hyper-permeability, and chaotic blood flow. The dysfunctional vasculature gives rise to continual p...A tumor vasculature is highly unstable and immature, characterized by a high proliferation rate of endothelial cells, hyper-permeability, and chaotic blood flow. The dysfunctional vasculature gives rise to continual plasma leakage and hypoxia in the tumor, resulting in constant on-sets of inflammation and angiogenesis. Tumors are thus likened to wounds that will not heal. The lack of functional mural cells, including pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, in tumor vascular structure contributes significantly to the abnormality of tumor vessels. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) is a physiological angiogenesis promoter during embryonic development. The function of Ang1 is essential to endothelial cell survival, vascular branching, and pericyte recruitment. However, an increasing amount of experimental data suggest that Ang1-stimulated association of mural cells with endothelial cells lead to stabilization of newly formed blood vessels. This in turn may limit the otherwise continuous angiogenesis in the tumor, and consequently give rise to inhibition of tumor growth. We discuss the enigmatic role of Ang1 in tumor angiogenesis in this review.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND Myocardial bridge(MB)will compress the mural coronary artery(MCA)during the systole and cause myocardial ischemia.In the diagnosis of coronary heart disease(CHD),because the structure of MB is difficult to be observed by coronary angiography(CAG),the clinical study of the influence of MB on CHD is lacking.With the advancement of computed tomography coronary angiography technology,detailed observations of the MB anatomy have realized.AIM To explore the main influencing factors of MB-related CHD and to find potential indicators for predicting MB-related CHD.METHODS A total of 1718 patients with suspected CHD due to the symptoms of myocardial ischemia were enrolled as subjects.Patients diagnosed with CHD were included in a CHD group,and patients with no significant abnormalities were included in a control group.In the CHD group,patients were divided into an MB-CHD subgroup if MB-related CHD was found.In the control group,patients were divided into a simple MB subgroup if MB was found.The patient's clinical data and MB-related indicators,including the branch of MB,MB type(superficial/deep type),MB length,MB thickness,systolic and diastolic compression of the MCA,and MCA systolic stenosis rate were recorded and compared.Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the independent influencing factors of MD-related CHD.ROC curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of potential indicators for MB-related CHD.RESULTS There were 1060 cases in the CHD group and 658 cases in the control group,and there were 236 cases in the MB-CHD subgroup and 52 cases in the simple MB subgroup.Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the combined MB had a significant effect on the occurrence of CHD(P<0.05).MB thickness,systolic compression,diastolic compression,and MCA systolic stenosis rate had significant effects on the occurrence of MB-related CHD(P<0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combination of these influencing factors for the diagnosis of MB-related CHD was 0.959,which was significantly hig
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(91339115,31370769,30830067)
文摘Notch signaling is an evolutionarily conserved intercellular signaling pathway that plays numerous crucial roles in vascular development and physiology.Compelling evidence indicates that Notch signaling is vital for vascular morphogenesis including arterial and venous differentiation and endothelial tip and stalk cell specification during sprouting angiogenesis and also vessel maturation featured by mural cell differentiation and recruitment.Notch signaling is also required for vascular homeostasis in adults by keeping quiescent phalanx cells from re-entering cell cycle and by modulating the behavior of endothelial progenitor cells.We will summarize recent advances of Notch pathway in vascular biology with special emphasis on the underlying molecular mechanisms.
文摘AIM: To elucidate the role of contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography(CE-EUS) in the diagnosis of branch duct intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm(BD-IPMN).METHODS: A total of 50 patients diagnosed with BDIPMN by computed tomography(CT) and endoscopic ultrasonography(EUS) at our institute were included in this study. CE-EUS was performed when mural lesions were detected by EUS. The diagnostic accuracy for identifying mural nodules(MNs) was evaluated by CT, EUS, and EUS combined with CE-EUS. In the patients who underwent resection, the accuracy of measuring MN height with each imaging modality was compared. The cut-off values to diagnose malignant BD-IPMNs based on MN height for each imaging modality were determined using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis.RESULTS: Fifteen patients were diagnosed with BD-IPMN with MNs and underwent resection. The remaining 35 patients were diagnosed with BD-IPMN without MNs and underwent follow-up monitoring. The pathological findings revealed 14 cases with MNs and one case without. The accuracy for diagnosing MNs was 92% using CT and 72% using EUS; the diagnostic accuracy increased to 98% when EUS and CE-EUS were combined. The accuracy for measuring MN height significantly improved when using CE-EUS compared with using CT or EUS(median measurement error value, CT: 3.3 mm vs CE-EUS: 0.6 mm, P < 0.05; EUS: 2.1 mm vs CE-EUS: 0.6 mm, P < 0.01). A cut-off value of 8.8 mm for MN height as measured by CE-EUS improved the accuracy of diagnosing malignant BDIPMN to 93%. CONCLUSION: Using CE-EUS to measure MN height provides a highly accurate method for differentiating benign from malignant BD-IPMN.
文摘A tumor vasculature is highly unstable and immature, characterized by a high proliferation rate of endothelial cells, hyper-permeability, and chaotic blood flow. The dysfunctional vasculature gives rise to continual plasma leakage and hypoxia in the tumor, resulting in constant on-sets of inflammation and angiogenesis. Tumors are thus likened to wounds that will not heal. The lack of functional mural cells, including pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells, in tumor vascular structure contributes significantly to the abnormality of tumor vessels. Angiopoietin-1 (Ang1) is a physiological angiogenesis promoter during embryonic development. The function of Ang1 is essential to endothelial cell survival, vascular branching, and pericyte recruitment. However, an increasing amount of experimental data suggest that Ang1-stimulated association of mural cells with endothelial cells lead to stabilization of newly formed blood vessels. This in turn may limit the otherwise continuous angiogenesis in the tumor, and consequently give rise to inhibition of tumor growth. We discuss the enigmatic role of Ang1 in tumor angiogenesis in this review.