This Article Free upon publication Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Related Collections Related Articles

(Circulation. 2008;117:331-332.)
© 2008 American Heart Association, Inc.

Clinical Summaries

An extract of the first 250 words of the full text is provided, because this article has no abstract.

	Angiotensin II Activates Signal Transducer and Activators of Transcription 3 via Rac1 in Atrial Myocytes and Fibroblasts: Implication for the Therapeutic Effect of Statin in Atrial Structural Remodeling

 
The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system plays a pivotal role in various cardiovascular diseases. Clinical use of angiontensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin blockers is helpful in preventing the progression of many cardiovascular diseases. Basic investigations of the angiotensin II receptor pathways in the heart have focused primarily on ventricular cells. In the present study, we investigated the downstream pathways of the angiotensin II receptor in atrial cells in an attempt to understand the pathogenesis of atrial structural remodeling. An important angiotensin II signaling pathway, the Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway, which has rarely been characterized in the atrium, was found to mediate angiotensin II–induced atrial structural remodeling. Angiotensin II activates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 through a Rac1-dependent mechanism, which is inhibited by losartan (an angiotensin II type 1 receptor blocker) and a cholesterol-lowering agent, simvastatin, which inhibits Rac1 translocation. Our investigation not only reappraised the beneficial effects of blockade of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in atrial fibrillation but also further elucidated the downstream pathways of the angiotensin II receptor involved in atrial structural remodeling. We also provide a rationale for the use of statins to prevent angiotensin II–related atrial structural remodeling. The clinical effects of statins in the treatment of atrial fibrillation merit further investigation. See p 344.

	Mayo Clinic Risk Score for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Predicts In-Hospital Mortality in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

 
This study established that the new Mayo Clinic Risk Score, originally derived to predict outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention with preprocedure variables, can also predict in-hospital mortality after coronary artery bypass graft surgery. This is the first risk . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Related Articles:

Angiotensin II Activates Signal Transducer and Activators of Transcription 3 via Rac1 in Atrial Myocytes and Fibroblasts: Implication for the Therapeutic Effect of Statin in Atrial Structural Remodeling

Chia-Ti Tsai, Ling-Ping Lai, Kuan-Ting Kuo, Juey-Jen Hwang, Chia-Shan Hsieh, Kuan-Lih Hsu, Chuen-Den Tseng, Yung-Zu Tseng, Fu-Tien Chiang, and Jiunn-Lee Lin
Circulation 2008 117: 344-355. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Electronic Alerts Versus On-Demand Decision Support to Improve Dyslipidemia Treatment: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Jacobus T. van Wyk, Marc A.M. van Wijk, Miriam C.J.M. Sturkenboom, Mees Mosseveld, Peter W. Moorman, and Johan van der Lei
Circulation 2008 117: 371-378. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Osteoprotegerin Inhibits Vascular Calcification Without Affecting Atherosclerosis in ldlr^(–/–) Mice

Sean Morony, Yin Tintut, Zina Zhang, Russell C. Cattley, Gwyneth Van, Denise Dwyer, Marina Stolina, Paul J. Kostenuik, and Linda L. Demer
Circulation 2008 117: 411-420. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Perinatal Risk Factors for Ischemic Heart Disease: Disentangling the Roles of Birth Weight and Preterm Birth

Magnus Kaijser, Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, Olof Akre, Sven Cnattingius, Fredrik Granath, Mikael Norman, and Anders Ekbom
Circulation 2008 117: 405-410. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Mayo Clinic Risk Score for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Predicts In-Hospital Mortality in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Mandeep Singh, Bernard J. Gersh, Shuang Li, John S. Rumsfeld, John A. Spertus, Sean M. O’Brien, Rakesh M. Suri, and Eric D. Peterson
Circulation 2008 117: 356-362. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Noninvasive In Vivo Imaging of Monocyte Trafficking to Atherosclerotic Lesions

Moritz F. Kircher, Jan Grimm, Filip K. Swirski, Peter Libby, Robert E. Gerszten, Jennifer R. Allport, and Ralph Weissleder
Circulation 2008 117: 388-395. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Dietary -Lipoic Acid Supplementation Inhibits Atherosclerotic Lesion Development in Apolipoprotein E–Deficient and Apolipoprotein E/Low-Density Lipoprotein Receptor–Deficient Mice

Wei-Jian Zhang, Karyn E. Bird, Timothy S. McMillen, Renee C. LeBoeuf, Tory M. Hagen, and Balz Frei
Circulation 2008 117: 421-428. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators in Tetralogy of Fallot

Paul Khairy, Louise Harris, Michael J. Landzberg, Sangeetha Viswanathan, Amanda Barlow, Michael A. Gatzoulis, Susan M. Fernandes, Luc Beauchesne, Judith Therrien, Philippe Chetaille, Elaine Gordon, Isabelle Vonder Muhll, and Frank Cecchin
Circulation 2008 117: 363-370. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Nix-Mediated Apoptosis Links Myocardial Fibrosis, Cardiac Remodeling, and Hypertrophy Decompensation

Abhinav Diwan, Janaka Wansapura, Faisal M. Syed, Scot J. Matkovich, John N. Lorenz, and Gerald W. Dorn, II
Circulation 2008 117: 396-404. [Abstract] [Full Text]

Nanoparticle PET-CT Imaging of Macrophages in Inflammatory Atherosclerosis

Matthias Nahrendorf, Hanwen Zhang, Sheena Hembrador, Peter Panizzi, David E. Sosnovik, Elena Aikawa, Peter Libby, Filip K. Swirski, and Ralph Weissleder
Circulation 2008 117: 379-387. [Abstract] [Full Text]