Physiology articles within Nature Reviews Cardiology

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  • Review Article |

    Protein glycosylation is vital to the regulation of cell function, and changes in this post-translational modification underlie many disease processes. In this Review, Chatham and Patel discuss how protein glycosylation contributes to normal cardiovascular function and its role in cardiovascular disease, identifying important knowledge gaps and areas for future research.

    • John C. Chatham
    •  & Rakesh P. Patel

  • Review Article |

    Non-coding RNAs are implicated in the pathophysiology of ischaemic heart disease and heart failure. In this Review, Caporali and colleagues examine the biology of these molecules and discuss the potential of non-coding RNAs for translation to the clinic as biomarkers and therapeutics in adverse cardiac remodelling leading to ischaemic heart failure.

    • Andrea Caporali
    • , Maryam Anwar
    •  & Costanza Emanueli

  • Tools of the Trade |

    In this Tools of the Trade article, Olivera describes a rat model of pre-elampsia that has been instrumental for investigating potential long-term cardiovascular effects in offspring.

    • Sol Olivera
    •  & Delyth Graham

  • Journal Club |

    Rebecca Gilchrist discusses the study that demonstrated the long-term modulation of ventricular repolarization by the sequence of electrical activation in the human heart and established the concept of cardiac memory.

    • Rebecca J. Gilchrist

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Lakhal-Littleton and Cleland use the latest understanding of iron homeostasis to evaluate existing and emerging markers of iron status, describe the reciprocal relationship between iron status and heart failure, and mechanistically examine the benefits of oral and intravenous iron replacement therapies.

    • Samira Lakhal-Littleton
    •  & John G. F. Cleland

  • Research Highlight |

    NAD-dependent protein deacetylase sirtuin 2 is a key protective mediator against cardiac ageing, according to a study in non-human primates.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    The metabolic maturation of mammalian cardiomyocytes that occurs during the early postnatal period shapes the epigenetic landscape of cardiomyocytes and creates a barrier for cell division, but reversing this remodelling process can restore the reparative capacity of the heart in mice, according to a study published in Nature.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Review Article |

    The menopausal transition period, which begins with irregular menstrual cycles and ends with the final menstrual period, is associated with an increase in cardiovascular risk. In this Review, Mehta and Manson describe the metabolic and cardiovascular changes that occur during the menopausal transition period and summarize the evidence on the use of targeted interventions to slow the progression of atherosclerosis.

    • Jaya M. Mehta
    •  & JoAnn E. Manson

  • Review Article |

    Some species have a greater capacity for cardiac regeneration than others. In this Review, Weinberger and Riley summarize the diverse array of vertebrates that have been studied for their cardiac regenerative potential and the core mechanisms that regulate cardiac regeneration across vertebrate species.

    • Michael Weinberger
    •  & Paul R. Riley

  • Review Article |

    In the infarcted heart, pericytes have crucial roles in inflammatory signalling, angiogenesis, and scar formation and stabilization. In this Review, Avolio and colleagues discuss the numerous roles of cardiac pericytes in homeostasis and disease and describe the potential of pericyte-based therapy for restoring the perivascular niche after myocardial infarction.

    • Elisa Avolio
    • , Paola Campagnolo
    •  & Paolo Madeddu

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Ritterhoff and Tian describe the metabolic reprogramming that occurs in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure; discuss the contribution of metabolism to energy-generating and non-energy-generating functions, including signalling, protein function and gene expression regulation; and highlight the role of metabolism in non-cardiomyocytes and the potential to develop metabolic therapies for heart failure.

    • Julia Ritterhoff
    •  & Rong Tian

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Kroemer and colleagues describe eight molecular hallmarks of cardiovascular ageing: disabled macroautophagy, loss of proteostasis, genomic instability, epigenetic alterations, mitochondrial dysfunction, cell senescence, dysregulated neurohormonal signalling and inflammation. Therapeutically targeting these hallmarks might attenuate residual cardiovascular risk in older individuals.

    • Mahmoud Abdellatif
    • , Peter P. Rainer
    •  & Guido Kroemer

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors discuss current treatment regimens for lowering plasma LDL cholesterol levels to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, highlight treatment gaps and challenges, as well as describe opportunities raised by novel available therapies and potential future therapeutic approaches.

    • Julia Brandts
    •  & Kausik K. Ray

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Gawaz and colleagues discuss the pathophysiological role of platelets in acute myocardial ischaemia, vascular inflammation and atherosclerotic progression, summarize the current clinical concepts in antiplatelet therapy and describe novel therapeutic targets for antiplatelet drugs that are currently in development.

    • Meinrad Gawaz
    • , Tobias Geisler
    •  & Oliver Borst

  • Review Article |

    Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a common disorder characterized by thickening, fibrosis and mineralization of the aortic valve leaflets. In this Review, Mathieu and colleagues summarize the risk factors, genetics and molecular mechanisms involved in CAVD and the implications for treatment of the condition.

    • Louis-Hippolyte Minvielle Moncla
    • , Mewen Briend
    •  & Patrick Mathieu

  • Research Highlight |

    A new study shows that age-dependent nuclear remodelling in cardiomyocytes (via age-related loss of nuclear lamins) contributes to cardiac dysfunction through a process that is conserved in flies, mice and nonhuman primates.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Review Article |

    Alternative splicing determines which exons are included in mature RNA and accounts for the majority of transcriptomic diversity. In this Review, Gotthardt and colleagues discuss how alternative splicing is regulated in the heart and how it differs in cardiac development, physiological adaptation and pathological remodelling. They also summarize technological advances in the field and potential applications of splicing data in cardiovascular medicine.

    • Michael Gotthardt
    • , Victor Badillo-Lisakowski
    •  & Leslie Leinwand

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors summarize the evidence for physiological and pathological cardiac hypertrophy regression from clinical and basic science studies, discussing therapies and mechanisms involved in regression of cardiac hypertrophy and highlighting knowledge gaps and questions for future investigation to design specific therapies to promote regression of pathological hypertrophy.

    • Thomas G. Martin
    • , Miranda A. Juarros
    •  & Leslie A. Leinwand

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Gatsiou and Stellos summarize the current knowledge on RNA modifications in cardiovascular health and disease, discussing their effect on cardiovascular biology and function, and the potential for development and application of epitranscriptome-based prognostic, diagnostic and therapeutic tools for cardiovascular disease.

    • Aikaterini Gatsiou
    •  & Konstantinos Stellos

  • Review Article |

    A growing body of evidence suggests that the mechanical functions of cardiac fibroblasts are an active and necessary component of myocardial growth and homeostasis. In this Review, Van Linthout and colleagues describe cell mechanosensation as a regulator of cardiac maturation and disease, and summarize the evidence showing that remodelling of the cardiac extracellular matrix, as a result of disease, can induce changes in the mechanical properties of the myocardium.

    • Maurizio Pesce
    • , Georg N. Duda
    •  & Sophie Van Linthout

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, the authors summarize the evidence on the different effects of sex and gender on the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and treatment responses of patients with ischaemic heart disease or heart failure. In addition, they highlight unexplored areas of sex-related and gender-related factors in cardiovascular disease such as in individuals with gender dysphoria.

    • Vera Regitz-Zagrosek
    •  & Catherine Gebhard

  • Review Article |

    Advances in single-cell RNA sequencing technologies in the past 5 years have led to a greater understanding of endothelial cell development and heterogeneity. In this Review, Red-Horse and Trimm discuss the most up-to-date research on vascular endothelial cell development and diversity, and highlight the latest findings on organ-specific endothelial cells in the heart, brain, lungs, kidneys and liver.

    • Emily Trimm
    •  & Kristy Red-Horse

  • Review Article |

    Since the discovery of ferroptosis a decade ago, this iron-dependent form of regulated cell death has been implicated in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. In this Review, Fudi Wang and colleagues discuss the link between the metabolic pathways of iron signalling and ferroptosis in the context of the cardiovascular system and describe the potential of ferroptosis inhibitors in the treatment of cardiovascular disease.

    • Xuexian Fang
    • , Hossein Ardehali
    •  & Fudi Wang

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Iacobellis provides a comprehensive overview of the role of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) in cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation, discusses imaging techniques for EAT assessment and highlights the therapeutic potential of targeting EAT in cardiovascular disease.

    • Gianluca Iacobellis

  • News & Views |

    In a pooled analysis of 144 high-quality randomized trials involving patients with coronary artery disease, application of the most stringent criteria for surrogacy demonstrated that a reduction in the rates of non-fatal myocardial infarction by any intervention did not necessarily predict a reduction in all-cause or cardiovascular mortality during follow-up.

    • Davide Capodanno
    •  & William Wijns

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Nattel and colleagues discuss the role of cellular senescence in cardiac disease, summarize the therapeutic strategies that are being developed for targeting senescence and consider the potential implications for improving the management of patients with heart disease.

    • Mozhdeh Mehdizadeh
    • , Martin Aguilar
    •  & Stanley Nattel

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Mehta and Shapiro discuss the mechanisms by which apolipoproteins regulate lipoprotein metabolism and thereby influence vascular biology and atherosclerotic disease. Advances in the understanding of apolipoprotein biology and their translation into therapeutic agents to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease are also highlighted.

    • Anurag Mehta
    •  & Michael D. Shapiro

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Maack and colleagues discuss the pathophysiology of angina in the context of the underlying cardiovascular condition as well as the modes of action of antianginal drugs to provide the clinician with a rationale and compass of when to use which compound or combination of drugs.

    • Edoardo Bertero
    • , Gerd Heusch
    •  & Christoph Maack

  • Research Highlight |

    A new study shows that male rats are more susceptible to cardiac fibrosis in response to chronic adrenergic stimulation than female rats, probably as a result of the increased myofibroblast activation in male hearts, and suggests that sex hormones do not to control the cardiac fibroblast response in this setting.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Dunstan and colleagues make a case for an approach to preventing and managing cardiovascular disease that involves sitting less and moving more, which will build on the well-established role of exercise in cardiovascular disease prevention and rehabilitation.

    • David W. Dunstan
    • , Shilpa Dogra
    •  & Neville Owen

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Stark and Massberg discuss how the interplay between innate immunity, platelet activation and coagulation, known as immunothrombosis, functions as a host defence mechanism to limit pathogen spreading, yet its aberrant activation, termed thromboinflammation, results in thrombotic complications, highlighting the therapeutic potential of anti-inflammatory strategies in cardiovascular pathologies.

    • Konstantin Stark
    •  & Steffen Massberg

  • Review Article |

    Atherosclerotic plaque erosion is becoming an increasingly common characteristic of culprit lesions in acute coronary syndromes. In this Review, Fahed and Jang discuss the patient phenotype and the molecular characteristics in plaque erosion and provide their vision for a potential major shift in the management of patients with plaque erosion.

    • Akl C. Fahed
    •  & Ik-Kyung Jang

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Hollenberg and Singer explore the definition, epidemiology, diagnosis and pathophysiology of septic cardiomyopathy, with an emphasis on how best to interpret this condition in the clinical context in order to optimize interventions and improve outcomes.

    • Steven M. Hollenberg
    •  & Mervyn Singer

  • Research Highlight |

    New research shows that the pyruvate–lactate axis is an important regulatory node for cardiac homeostasis and function and that alteration of this axis is an early event in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and heart failure.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    A new study shows that hydralazine, a drug used for the treatment of resistant hypertension and heart failure, can inhibit mitochondrial fission, thereby reducing cardiomyocyte death and myocardial infarct size after ischaemia–reperfusion injury in mice.

    • Andrew Robson

  • Review Article |

    In this Review, Entcheva and Kay discuss a decade of important developments and applications of optogenetics to the heart, focusing on near-term and longer-term clinical translation of this technology in cardiology.

    • Emilia Entcheva
    •  & Matthew W. Kay

  • Research Highlight |

    A metabolomics approach to assess heart energy metabolism in humans provides new insights into what fuels are used by both the failing and non-failing heart.

    • Andrew Robson

  • Research Highlight |

    A network of macrophages in the heart supports cardiac health and function by removing dysfunctional mitochondria and waste material released from cardiomyocytes in subcellular particles called exophers.

    • Irene Fernández-Ruiz

  • Research Highlight |

    In a prespecified secondary analysis of the ACCELERATE trial, Puri and colleagues report a stepwise relationship between lipoprotein(a) levels and risk of major adverse cardiac events in patients with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels ≥2 mg/l.

    • Karina Huynh

  • Research Highlight |

    Maternal exercise during pregnancy confers benefits to offspring, including improvements in glucose metabolism, adiposity and cardiac function, via an oligosaccharide present in breast milk.

    • Shimona Starling

  • Research Highlight |

    Autologous mitochondrial transplantation for myocardial protection is feasible, safe and beneficial; however, the mechanisms by which these effects are achieved are uncertain.

    • Gregory B. Lim

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