Aortic valve calcification

To study CAVD in a controlled system, animal models of valvular dysfunction are utilized in the laboratory setting. The same principles used to diagnose AS in humans may be applied in the study of the progression of this disease in a wide array of animal models. Valvular cells extracted from bovine sources have been widely used due to the ease of extraction and because the structure of the bovine aortic valve is similar to the human aortic valve [65-67]. Porcine models have been utilized to a large extent for studies of the aortic valve, since the heart and cardiovascular system are nearer in size to the human equivalents [68-70]. A relevant porcine model for aortic valve calcification has been developed by Balachandran et al [71] in which the effects of cyclic stretch were studied using porcine aortic valve leaflets in a unidirectional stretch bioreactor. Calcification was significantly... 

The role of these small molecules in the aortic valve is a relatively new frontier. miRNAs have been studied in the interstitial cells and two miRNAs have been found to play a role in the valve calcification process. MiRNA-30b has been found to be an inhibitor of osteoblast differentiation and its expression is reduced in stenotic valves compared to healthy valves [137]. Another mlRNA also studied in aortic valvular interstitial cells has been miRNA-141, this mlRNA reduces TGF-P activation, BMP-2 signaling and alkaline phosphatase activity and its expression is attenuated in bicuspid valves compared to tricuspid healthy valves [138]. Of note, several miRNAs have recently been reported to react specifically to differential mechanical shear stress (shear-sensitive miRNAs), indicating their potential importance in disturbed flow-mediated conditions such as atherosclerosis and aortic valve calcification. 

Leopold, J.A. Cellular mechanisms of aortic valve calcification. Circ. Cardiovasc. Interv. 5(4), 605-614 (2012)... 

Rajamannan, N.M., et al. Human Aortic Valve Calcification Is Associated With an Osteoblast Phenotype. Circulation 107(17), 2181-2184 (2003)... 

Iwata, S., et al. Higher Ambulatory Blood Pressure Is Associated With Aortic Valve Calcification in the Elderly A Population-Based Study. Hypertension 61(1), 55-60 (2013)... 

Richards, J., et al. Side-specific endothelial-dependent regulation of aortic valve calcification interplay of hemod5mamics and nitric oxide signaling. Am. J. Pathol. 182(5), 1922-1931 (2013)... 

Rattazzi, M., et al. Extracellular pyrophosphate is reduced in aortic interstitial valve cells acquiring a calcifying profile Implications for aortic valve calcification. Atherosclerosis 237(2), 568-576 (2014)... 

Balachandran, K., et al. Elevated Cyclic Stretch Induces Aortic Valve Calcification in a Bone Morphogenic Protein-Dependent Manner. The American Journal of Pathology 177(1), 49-57 (2010)... 

Koos R, Krueger T, Westenfeld R, et al. Relation of circulating Matrix Gla-Protein and anticoagulation status in patients with aortic valve calcification, Thromb Haemost 2009 101 706-713. 

Holden RM, Sanfihppo AS, Hopman WM, Zimmerman D, Garland JS, Morton AR. Warfarin and aortic valve calcification in hemodialysis patients, J Nephrol 2007 20 417-122. 

Kars M, Delgado V, Holman ER, Feelders RA, Smit JW, Romijn JA, Bax JJ, Pereira AM. Aortic valve calcification and mild tricuspid regurgitation but no clinical heart disease after 8 years of dopamine agonist therapy for prolactinoma. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2008 93 (9) 3348-56. 

Cardiovascular The incidence of mitral and aortic valve calcification has been studied in 1155 patients with atrial fibrillation, of whom 725 were taking warfarin [1 ]. There was a significant association between the use of warfarin and the risk of calcification (unadjusted OR = 1.71 95% Cl = 1.34, 2.18), and the association remained after adjustment for confounding factors. 

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