The inaugural issue of JACC: Basic to Translational Science, a new journal from the ACC containing original research and review articles pertaining to basic translational science, published online March 2 as ACC’s first open-access journal. According to the first Editor’s Page from Douglas L. Mann, MD, FACC, editor-in-chief of JACC: Basic to Translational Science, the journal will “lead the endeavor to publish those scientific studies that will lead to new therapies … [and represents an] unprecedented opportunity today to develop novel cardiovascular drugs and devices.”

According to research led by Heike A. Hildebrandt, MD, et al., included in the inaugural issue, a single remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC) maneuver can induce the release of cardioprotective, dialyzable, humoral factors which reduce infarct size in the mouse heart.

Researchers collected venous blood from 20 healthy volunteers at baseline, five minutes, 30 minutes, one hour, six hours and daily from one to seven days after RIPC in order to characterize the kinetic properties of humoral factors released after RIPC. The results of the study showed that RIPC induces the release of cardioprotective, dialyzable factors within five minutes and circulate for up to six days. In their translational outlook, Hildebrandt et al., suggest that the “kinetics and signaling of cardioprotection by RIPC should be better defined … [and that] identification of the transfer factor(s) is mandatory for its potential use as a therapeutic agent.”

“This research is important for two reasons,” explains Mann. “First, the findings show that there is a circulating factor in humans that is responsible for cardioprotection following remote ischemic protection that is circulating for up to six days. Second, the study suggests that there is a specific signal transduction pathway that is important for mediating cardioprotection.”

According to a separate study published in the journal, tissue-specific biomaterial therapy may be more effective for treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Jessica L. Ungerleider, BS, et al., examined acellular extracellular matrix-based hydrogels (decellularized porcine skeletal muscle and human umbilical cord-derived matrix) as therapies for treating PAD.

Results showed that both biomaterials were associated with significant improvements in hindlimb tissue perfusion and perfusion kinetics in rodents. An accompanying editorial by Ralf A. Benndorf, MD, notes that the study “uncovers the ability of extracellular matrix-based hydrogels to improve arterial blood flow and skeletal muscle remodeling …” 

“These findings demonstrate that a decelluarized extracellular matrix injected into skeletal muscle that has decreased blood flow results in increased blood flow by stimulating the growth of new arteries in the injected muscle,” adds Mann. “There are currently no therapies for PAD, so having an injectable treatment for PAD is a potentially very important and novel observation.”

Read the full issue of JACC: Basic to Translational Science. ACC members receive free access to the journal, as well as discounts on the article processing charge.

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