Heart Thread, Because It's #1

[badger2]

There's an interesting difference in " breakthrough reports " shown below, in that this report links heart and cancer. Well known in cancer is the endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), and we perked when (six transcription factors [italics]) were found, not just one or two:

Badger Herald 30 Jan 2018 Morgride Institute Fellow Shares Breakthroughs on Heart Disease
"'....As a postdoc/scientist with Jamie Thomson [in blood development], I identified six transcription factors that together induce and expand progenitors of blood and vascular tissues in culture,"" Vereide said. His other discoveries include the identification of a mechanism by which the Epstein-Barr virus sustains tumor cells.,,,,As someone develops cardiovascular disease, some of their arterial endothelial cells change, Vereide said. They become mesenchymal cells, which act differently than endothelial cells. Endothelial cells are considered to be a "normal"cell type. "Mesenchymal cells can pile up on themselves, narrowing the artery, so it it is difficult for blood to flow through."Vereide said.

Some of the precursor cells generated by the research team underwent an EndoMT easily, while other cells resisted the change."
....
As for the immediate future, the team has two distinct goals. The first is to look more closely at the genetics of EndoMT cells and the second is to polish the cultivation of cells.

 

[MarathonMike]

Are you a doctor? I've been reading about some unusual findings about coronary plaque buildup in old marathon runners (e.g. me!). That seems counter intuitive have you heard of this?

 

[badger2]

No, not a doctor, but here it is:

Plaque in Marathon Runners
Heart Risk? Marathoners Have Increased Artery Plaque

 

[MarathonMike]

No, not a doctor, but here it is:

Plaque in Marathon Runners
Heart Risk? Marathoners Have Increased Artery Plaque

Food for thought. I did notice that over half of the 50 marathoners in the study were former smokers. They could have done a better job screening candidates. But I suppose old guys who have run 25 or more marathons is a very small group to draw from.

 

[badger2]

In the article, Agatson, but also spelled Agatston.

Pubmed has about 1700 + references, Agatston AS (1990), Agatston SA (1945 Argentina), Agatston H (1946, Belgian Ophthalmology)

For Agatston[AND]calcium, there are 807 references.

 

[badger2]

Before reading the article, intuition suggested ubiquination as a cause, for the siimple fact that the ubiquination process is what tags proteins for destruction, much like taking the garbage out of the cells.

The hyper-stressed cell must be in top shape for a marathon, but the key to this approach seems to be oxygen as well. A Pubmed keyword search, plaque[AND]ubiquination, retrieved this abstract:

2017 Mechanical Activation of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1alpha Drives Endothelial Dysfunction at Ateroprone Sites
Mechanical Activation of Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1α Drives Endothelial Dysfunction at Atheroprone Sites. - PubMed - NCBI

This seems a worthwhile trajectory, considering the endothelial cells of post #1.

 

[MarathonMike]

So you got me interested and I started reading up on Endothelial cells. I read that a major cause of plaque buildup in arteries is dehydration. Well I can tell you from experience that marathon runners often get dehydrated on long training runs and of course during the marathons themselves. Could it be as simple as that? Drink more water and I'm good to go?

 

[badger2]

There is resonance with a genetic predisposition to marathoner's cardiac complications, so citing the text on hydration would be helpful.