Genome-wide association study for Chagas Cardiomyopathy identify a new risk locus on chromosome 18 associated with an immune-related protein and transcriptional signature

Discovery of therapeutic targets in cardiovascular diseases using high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C)

Epigenetic changes have been associated with several cardiovascular diseases. In recent years, epigenetic inheritance based on spatial changes has gradually attracted attention. Alterations in three-dimensional chromatin structures have been shown to regulate gene expression and influence disease onset and progression. High-throughput Chromosome Conformation Capture (Hi-C) is a powerful method to detect spatial chromatin conformation changes. Since its development, Hi-C technology has been widely adopted for discovering novel therapeutic targets in cardiovascular research. In this review, we summarize key targets identified by Hi-C in cardiovascular diseases and discuss their potential implications for epigenetic therapy.

Cardiac involvement in Chagas disease and African trypanosomiasis

Trypanosomiases are diseases caused by various species of protozoan parasite in the genus Trypanosoma, each presenting with distinct clinical manifestations and prognoses. Infections can affect multiple organs, with Trypanosoma cruzi predominantly affecting the heart and digestive system, leading to American trypanosomiasis or Chagas disease, and Trypanosoma brucei primarily causing a disease of the central nervous system known as human African trypanosomiasis or sleeping sickness. In this Review, we discuss the effects of these infections on the heart, with particular emphasis on Chagas disease, which continues to be a leading cause of cardiomyopathy in Latin America. The epidemiology of Chagas disease has changed substantially since 1990 owing to the emigration of over 30 million Latin American citizens, primarily to Europe and the USA. This movement of people has led to the global dissemination of individuals infected with T. cruzi. Therefore, cardiologists worldwide must familiarize themselves with Chagas disease and the severe, chronic manifestation - Chagas cardiomyopathy - because of the expanded prevalence of this disease beyond traditional endemic regions.

Association between positive serology for COVID-19 and chagas cardiomyopathy progression: The SaMi-Trop project

BACKGROUND

Chagas Disease (CD) can cause Chagas cardiomyopathy. The new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) also affects the cardiovascular system and may worsen Chagas cardiomyopathy. However, the cardiac evolution of patients with CD infected by COVID-19 is not known. Thus, the objective of this study is to assess, within one year, whether there was cardiac progression after COVID-19 in CD.

METHODS

Longitudinal study with CD patients. The outcome was cardiac progression, defined as the appearance of new major changes in the current ECG compared to the previous ECG considered from the comparison of electrocardiograms (ECGs) performed with an interval of one year. Positive Anti-SARS-CoV2 Serology was the independent variable of interest. For each analysis, a final multiple model was constructed, adjusted for sociodemographic, clinical, and pandemic-related characteristics.

RESULTS

Of the 404 individuals included, 22.8 % had positive serology for COVID-19 and 10.9 % had cardiac progression. In the final model, positive serology for COVID-19 was the only factor associated with cardiac progression in the group as a whole (OR = 2.65; 95 % CI = 1.27-5.53) and for new-onset cardiomyopathy in the group with normal previous ECG (OR = 3.50; 95 % CI = 1.21-10.13).

CONCLUSION

Our study shows an association between COVID-19 and progression of Chagas cardiomyopathy, evaluated by repeated ECGs, suggesting that COVID-19 accelerated the natural history of CD.

Bioinformatics Identification and Experimental Validation of a Prognostic Model for the Survival of Lung Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients

Lung squamous cell carcinoma (LUSC) kills more than four million people yearly. Creating more trustworthy tumor molecular markers for LUSC early detection, diagnosis, prognosis, and customized treatment is essential. Cuproptosis, a novel form of cell death, opened up a new field of study for searching for trustworthy tumor indicators. Our goal was to build a risk model to assess drug sensitivity, monitor immune function, and predict prognosis in LUSC patients. The 19 cuproptosis-related genes were found in the literature, and patient genomic and clinical information was collected using the Cancer Genomic Atlas (TCGA) database. The LUSC patients were grouped using unsupervised clustering techniques, and 7626 differentially expressed genes were identified. Using univariate COX analysis, LASSO regression analysis, and multivariate COX analysis, a prognostic model for LUSC patients was developed. The tumor immune escape was evaluated using the Tumor Immune Dysfunction and Exclusion (TIDE) method. The R packages 'pRRophetic,' 'ggpubr,' and 'ggplot2' were utilized to examine drug sensitivity. For modeling, a 6-cuproptosis-based gene signature was found. Patients with high-risk LUSC had significantly worse survival rates than those with low-risk conditions. The possibility of tumor immunological escape was increased in patients with higher risk scores due to more immune cell inactivation. For patients with high-risk LUSC, we discovered seven potent potential drugs (AZD6482, CHIR.99021, CMK, Embelin, FTI.277, Imatinib, and Pazopanib). In conclusion, the cuproptosis-based genes predictive risk model can be utilized to predict outcomes, track immune function, and evaluate medication sensitivity in LUSC patients.

Interactions between genetic and lifestyle factors on cardiometabolic disease-related outcomes in Latin American and Caribbean populations: A systematic review

Introduction

The prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases has increased in Latin American and the Caribbean populations (LACP). To identify gene-lifestyle interactions that modify the risk of cardiometabolic diseases in LACP, a systematic search using 11 search engines was conducted up to May 2022.

Methods

Eligible studies were observational and interventional studies in either English, Spanish, or Portuguese. A total of 26,171 publications were screened for title and abstract; of these, 101 potential studies were evaluated for eligibility, and 74 articles were included in this study following full-text screening and risk of bias assessment. The Appraisal tool for Cross-Sectional Studies (AXIS) and the Risk Of Bias In Non-Randomized Studies-of Interventions (ROBINS-I) assessment tool were used to assess the methodological quality and risk of bias of the included studies.

Results

We identified 122 significant interactions between genetic and lifestyle factors on cardiometabolic traits and the vast majority of studies come from Brazil (29), Mexico (15) and Costa Rica (12) with FTO, APOE, and TCF7L2 being the most studied genes. The results of the gene-lifestyle interactions suggest effects which are population-, gender-, and ethnic-specific. Most of the gene-lifestyle interactions were conducted once, necessitating replication to reinforce these results.

Discussion

The findings of this review indicate that 27 out of 33 LACP have not conducted gene-lifestyle interaction studies and only five studies have been undertaken in low-socioeconomic settings. Most of the studies were cross-sectional, indicating a need for longitudinal/prospective studies. Future gene-lifestyle interaction studies will need to replicate primary research of already studied genetic variants to enable comparison, and to explore the interactions between genetic and other lifestyle factors such as those conditioned by socioeconomic factors and the built environment. The protocol has been registered on PROSPERO, number CRD42022308488.

Systematic review registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov, identifier CRD420223 08488.