Significance of Kidney Disease in Cardiovascular Disease Patients

Self-reported sleep duration and quality and cardiovascular diseases among middle-aged and older Chinese: A 7-year longitudinal cohort study

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of death worldwide, and several studies have attempted to identify its risk factors. This study aimed to investigate the association between sleep duration and sleep quality, and the 7-year incidence of CVD among middle-aged and older Chinese individuals. A total of 6682 participants aged 45-90 years from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study database were included in this study. The authors estimated sleep duration and quality based on self-reported data of night sleep hours and disturbance symptoms, and examined the associations between them and the composite outcome of CVD using logistic regression models. A total of 1692 participants (25.32%) reported new CVD events during follow-up. Short sleep duration (< 6 h/night) was significantly associated with a higher risk of CVD in all three models (p < .05). However, this was not observed for long sleep duration (> 8 h/night). Additionally, participants with mild sleep disturbance in all three models, and severe sleep disturbance in Models 2 and 3 had a significantly higher risk of CVD (p < .05). After stratification by age and daytime napping, we still found a significant association between short sleep duration and CVD in individuals aged 45-59 years, and between sleep disturbance and CVD in non-nappers (p < .05). However, these associations were not significant in individuals aged ≥60 years or in nappers (p > .05). In conclusion, short sleep duration and sleep disturbance are both associated with an increased risk of CVD in middle-aged and older Chinese individuals.

Synergistic integration of deep learning with protein docking in cardiovascular disease treatment strategies

This research delves into the exploration of the potential of tocopherol-based nanoemulsion as a therapeutic agent for cardiovascular diseases (CVD) through an in-depth molecular docking analysis. The study focuses on elucidating the molecular interactions between tocopherol and seven key proteins (1O8a, 4YAY, 4DLI, 1HW9, 2YCW, 1BO9 and 1CX2) that play pivotal roles in CVD development. Through rigorous in silico docking investigations, assessment was conducted on the binding affinities, inhibitory potentials and interaction patterns of tocopherol with these target proteins. The findings revealed significant interactions, particularly with 4YAY, displaying a robust binding energy of -6.39 kcal/mol and a promising Ki value of 20.84 μM. Notable interactions were also observed with 1HW9, 4DLI, 2YCW and 1CX2, further indicating tocopherol's potential therapeutic relevance. In contrast, no interaction was observed with 1BO9. Furthermore, an examination of the common residues of 4YAY bound to tocopherol was carried out, highlighting key intermolecular hydrophobic bonds that contribute to the interaction's stability. Tocopherol complies with pharmacokinetics (Lipinski's and Veber's) rules for oral bioavailability and proves safety non-toxic and non-carcinogenic. Thus, deep learning-based protein language models ESM1-b and ProtT5 were leveraged for input encodings to predict interaction sites between the 4YAY protein and tocopherol. Hence, highly accurate predictions of these critical protein-ligand interactions were achieved. This study not only advances the understanding of these interactions but also highlights deep learning's immense potential in molecular biology and drug discovery. It underscores tocopherol's promise as a cardiovascular disease management candidate, shedding light on its molecular interactions and compatibility with biomolecule-like characteristics.

Mineralocorticoid Receptors in Vascular Smooth Muscle: Blood Pressure and Beyond

After half a century of evidence suggesting the existence of mineralocorticoid receptors (MR) in the vasculature, the advent of technology to specifically knockout the MR from smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in mice has elucidated contributions of SMC-MR to cardiovascular function and disease, independent of the kidney. This review summarizes the latest understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which SMC-MR contributes to (1) regulation of vasomotor function and blood pressure to contribute to systemic and pulmonary hypertension; (2) vascular remodeling in response to hypertension, vascular injury, obesity, and aging, and the impact on vascular calcification; and (3) cardiovascular pathologies including aortic aneurysm, heart valve dysfunction, and heart failure. Data are reviewed from in vitro studies using SMCs and in vivo findings from SMC-specific MR-knockout mice that implicate target genes and signaling pathways downstream of SMC-MR. By regulating expression of the L-type calcium channel subunit Cav1.2 and angiotensin II type-1 receptor, SMC-MR contributes to myogenic tone and vasoconstriction, thereby contributing to systemic blood pressure. MR activation also promotes SMC proliferation, migration, production and degradation of extracellular matrix, and osteogenic differentiation by regulating target genes including connective tissue growth factor, osteopontin, bone morphogenetic protein 2, galectin-3, and matrix metallopeptidase-2. By these mechanisms, SMC-MR promotes disease progression in models of aging-associated vascular stiffness, vascular calcification, mitral and aortic valve disease, pulmonary hypertension, and heart failure. While rarely tested, when sexes were compared, the mechanisms of SMC-MR-mediated disease were sexually dimorphic. These advances support targeting SMC-MR-mediated mechanisms to prevent and treat diverse cardiovascular disorders.