ijms-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Diseases

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 January 2025 | Viewed by 4110

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In this Special Issue, several distinguished international authors will summarize the role of novel biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) still remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and their prevalence have been estimated to increase in the next years. In recent decades, both the prevalence and mortality of CVDs have exponentially increased in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore, CVDs represent one of the most common comorbidities for several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), chronic kidney disease (CKD), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

For these reasons, the use of biomarkers appears the most convenient option to screen and follow-up patients with CVDs in order to detect the possible cardiovascular risk trajectories in patients with ASCVD (Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease) risk due to atherosclerosis and in patients with chronic disease involving organs other than the heart such as patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and chronic broncopulmonary disease such as chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs), asthma, and interstitial lung diseases.

To our knowledge, none of the existing biomarkers for cardiovascular diseases are routinely used and scientifically validated among the general population and do not appear in the cardiovascular risk scores. Furthermore, the role of these proposed cardiovascular risk biomarkers has not been validated in the clinical setting of CKDs, in the clinical setting aiming to elucidate the possible response in terms of cardiovascular risk damage, and the clinical setting of chronic broncopulmonary diseases to elucidate the response to therapeutic strategies such as cardio and lung fitness.

This Special Issue will collect review articles and original investigations concerning the role of novel biomarkers of subclinical atherosclerosis such as the role of metabolomics in patients with peripheral and carotid atherosclerosis as a predictive factor of new vascular events.

Another theme will be the role of serum and epigenetic markers of inflammasome in subjects with atherosclerosis and end organ damage in organs such as heart, peripheral arteries, and aorta.

Another issue worthy of interest will be the role of novel biomarkers of congestive heart failure in subjects with heart failure and a reduced ejection fraction HFrEF and heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).

No study has yet fully addressed the role of biomarkers in the cardiovascular risk prediction in subjects with COPD, asthma, and interstitial lung diseases. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a common but under-diagnosed disease. In COPD, there is an increased risk for concomitant cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular comorbidity is associated with increased mortality. Still, patients with COPD may be less likely to receive cardiovascular preventative therapies, albeit most guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of COPD include recommendations regarding the evaluation of cardiovascular risk factors and the presence of cardiovascular disease. However, no biomarker has been shown to identify subclinical cardiovascular disease in a representative population-based cohort of individuals with COPD, even though ischemic abnormalities on electrocardiogram (ECG) are suggested to be associated with worse prognosis.

In the cerebrovascular disease clinical setting, the role of possible biomarkers in the onset of new cerebrovascular events in subjects at high cerebrovascular risk still needs a substantial and extensive evaluation. A possible issue concerns the role of inflammatory, thrombotic, and epigenetic markers as possible diagnostic biomarkers in acute ischemic cerebrovascular events and as possible predictive variables in subjects at cerebrovascular risk.

Prof. Dr. Antonino Tuttolomondo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomarker
  • cardiovascular diseases
  • congestive heart failure
  • cardiorespiratory risk
  • COPD
  • stroke
  • atherosclerosis
  • inflammation
  • thrombosis
  • epigenetics
  • microRNA

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

28 pages, 3251 KiB  
Article
Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 2 in Severe Aortic Valve Stenosis and Pulmonary Hypertension: A Gender-Based Perspective
by Elke Boxhammer, Vera Paar, Kristen Kopp, Sarah X. Gharibeh, Evelyn Bovenkamp-Aberger, Richard Rezar, Michael Lichtenauer, Uta C. Hoppe and Moritz Mirna
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(15), 8220; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25158220 - 27 Jul 2024
Viewed by 974
Abstract
Severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are life-threatening cardiovascular conditions, necessitating early detection and intervention. Recent studies have explored the role of Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 2 (IGF-BP2) in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Understanding its involvement may offer novel insights into disease [...] Read more.
Severe aortic valve stenosis (AS) and pulmonary hypertension (PH) are life-threatening cardiovascular conditions, necessitating early detection and intervention. Recent studies have explored the role of Insulin-like Growth Factor-Binding Protein 2 (IGF-BP2) in cardiovascular pathophysiology. Understanding its involvement may offer novel insights into disease mechanisms and therapeutic targets for these conditions. A total of 102 patients (46 female, 56 male) with severe AS undergoing a transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) in a single-center study were classified using echocardiography tests to determine systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) and the presence (sPAP ≥ 40 mmHg) or absence (sPAP < 40 mmHg) of PH. Additionally, serial laboratory determinations of IGF-BP2 before, and at 24 h, 96 h, and 3 months after intervention were conducted in all study participants. Considering the entire cohort, patients with PH had significant and continuously higher serum IGF-BP2 concentrations over time than patients without PH. After subdivision by sex, it could be demonstrated that the above-mentioned results were only verifiable in males, but not in females. In the male patients, baseline IGF-BP2 levels before the TAVR was an isolated risk factor for premature death after intervention and at 1, 3, and 5 years post-intervention. The same was valid for the combination of male and echocardiographically established PH patients. The predictive role of IGF-BP2 in severe AS and concurrent PH remains unknown. A more profound comprehension of IGF-BP2 mechanisms, particularly in males, could facilitate the earlier consideration of the TAVR as a more effective and successful treatment strategy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 1514 KiB  
Article
A Comprehensive Analysis of Non-Desmosomal Rare Genetic Variants in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy: Integrating in Padua Cohort Literature-Derived Data
by Maria Bueno Marinas, Marco Cason, Riccardo Bariani, Rudy Celeghin, Monica De Gaspari, Serena Pinci, Alberto Cipriani, Ilaria Rigato, Alessandro Zorzi, Stefania Rizzo, Gaetano Thiene, Martina Perazzolo Marra, Domenico Corrado, Cristina Basso, Barbara Bauce and Kalliopi Pilichou
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(11), 6267; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25116267 - 6 Jun 2024
Viewed by 1130
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited myocardial disease at risk of sudden death. Genetic testing impacts greatly in ACM diagnosis, but gene-disease associations have yet to be determined for the increasing number of genes included in clinical panels. Genetic variants evaluation was undertaken [...] Read more.
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited myocardial disease at risk of sudden death. Genetic testing impacts greatly in ACM diagnosis, but gene-disease associations have yet to be determined for the increasing number of genes included in clinical panels. Genetic variants evaluation was undertaken for the most relevant non-desmosomal disease genes. We retrospectively studied 320 unrelated Italian ACM patients, including 243 cases with predominant right-ventricular (ARVC) and 77 cases with predominant left-ventricular (ALVC) involvement, who did not carry pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) variants in desmosome-coding genes. The aim was to assess rare genetic variants in transmembrane protein 43 (TMEM43), desmin (DES), phospholamban (PLN), filamin c (FLNC), cadherin 2 (CDH2), and tight junction protein 1 (TJP1), based on current adjudication guidelines and reappraisal on reported literature data. Thirty-five rare genetic variants, including 23 (64%) P/LP, were identified in 39 patients (16/243 ARVC; 23/77 ALVC): 22 FLNC, 9 DES, 2 TMEM43, and 2 CDH2. No P/LP variants were found in PLN and TJP1 genes. Gene-based burden analysis, including P/LP variants reported in literature, showed significant enrichment for TMEM43 (3.79-fold), DES (10.31-fold), PLN (117.8-fold) and FLNC (107-fold). A non-desmosomal rare genetic variant is found in a minority of ARVC patients but in about one third of ALVC patients; as such, clinical decision-making should be driven by genes with robust evidence. More than two thirds of non-desmosomal P/LP variants occur in FLNC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

13 pages, 1057 KiB  
Review
The Protective Role of Interleukin-37 in Cardiovascular Diseases through Ferroptosis Modulation
by Alfredo Cruz-Gregorio, Luis M. Amezcua-Guerra, Brandon Fisher-Bautista, Abraham Romero-Beltrán and Gabriela Fonseca-Camarillo
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2024, 25(18), 9758; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms25189758 - 10 Sep 2024
Viewed by 1278
Abstract
The role of ferroptosis and iron metabolism dysregulation in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases is increasingly recognized. Conditions such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, heart failure, and cardiovascular complications associated with COVID-19 have been linked to these processes. Inflammation is central [...] Read more.
The role of ferroptosis and iron metabolism dysregulation in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases is increasingly recognized. Conditions such as hypertension, cardiomyopathy, atherosclerosis, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, heart failure, and cardiovascular complications associated with COVID-19 have been linked to these processes. Inflammation is central to these conditions, prompting exploration into the inflammatory and immunoregulatory molecular pathways that mediate ferroptosis and its contribution to cardiovascular disease progression. Notably, emerging evidence highlights interleukin-37 as a protective cytokine with the ability to activate the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 pathway, inhibit macrophage ferroptosis, and attenuate atherosclerosis progression in murine models. However, a comprehensive review focusing on interleukin-37 and its protective role against ferroptosis in CVD is currently lacking. This review aims to fill this gap by summarizing existing knowledge on interleukin-37, including its regulatory functions and impact on ferroptosis in conditions such as atherosclerosis and myocardial infarction. We also explore experimental strategies and propose that targeting interleukin-37 to modulate ferroptosis presents a promising therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Novel Biomarkers for Cardiovascular Diseases)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop