Browsing by Author "Wiltz, Dena C."

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    Differential Aortic and Mitral Valve Interstitial Cell Mineralization and the Induction of Mineralization by Lysophosphatidylcholine In Vitro
    (Springer, 2014) Wiltz, Dena C.; Han, Richard I.; Wilson, Reid L.; Kumar, Aditya; Morrisett, Joel D.; Grande-Allen, K. Jane; Bioengineering
    Calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD) is a serious condition with vast uncertainty regarding the precise mechanism leading to valve calcification. This study was undertaken to examine the role of the lipid lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) in a comparison of aortic and mitral valve cellular mineralization. The proportion of LPC in differentially calcified regions of diseased aortic valves was determined using thin layer chromatography (TLC). Next, porcine valvular interstitial cells (pVICs) from the aortic (paVICs) and mitral valve (pmVICs) were cultured with LPC (10−1–105 nM) and analyzed for cellular mineralization, alkaline phosphatase activity (ALPa), proliferation, and apoptosis. TLC showed a higher percentage of LPC in calcified regions of tissue compared to non-calcified regions. In pVIC cultures, with the exception of 105 nM LPC, increasing concentrations of LPC led to an increase in phosphate mineralization. Increased levels of calcium content were exhibited at 104 nm LPC application compared to baseline controls. Compared to pmVIC cultures, paVIC cultures had greater total phosphate mineralization, ALPa, calcium content, and apoptosis, under both a baseline control and LPC-treated conditions. This study showed that LPC has the capacity to promote pVIC calcification. Also, paVICs have a greater propensity for mineralization than pmVICs. LPC may be a key factor in the transition of the aortic valve from a healthy to diseased state. In addition, there are intrinsic differences that exist between VICs from different valves that may play a key role in heart valve pathology.
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    Gentamicin Reduces Calcific Nodule Formation by Aortic Valve Interstitial Cells In Vitro
    (Springer, 2013) Kumar, Aditya; Wiltz, Dena C.; Grande-Allen, K. Jane; Bioengineering
    Gentamicin is a widely employed antibiotic, but may reduce calcium uptake by eukaryotic cells. This study was conducted to determine whether gentamicin reduces calcification by porcine aortic valvular interstitial cells (pAVICs) grown in 2D culture, which is a common model for calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). The presence of gentamicin (up to 0.2 mM) in the medium of pAVICs cultured for 8 days significantly lowered calcification and alkaline phosphatase content in a dose-dependent manner compared to pAVICs cultured without gentamicin. Gentamicin also significantly increased cell proliferation and apoptosis at concentrations of 0.1–0.2 mM compared to controls. Next, gentamicin was applied to previously calcified pAVIC cultures (grown for 8 days) to determine whether it could stop or reverse the calcification process. Daily application of gentamicin for 8 additional days significantly reduced calcification to below the pre-calcification levels. These results confirm that gentamicin should be used cautiously with in vitro studies of calcification, and suggest that gentamicin may have the ability to reverse calcification by pAVICs. Given the nephrotoxicity and ototoxicity of this antibiotic, its clinical potential for the treatment of calcification in heart valves is limited. However, further investigation of the pathways through which gentamicin alters calcium uptake by valvular cells may provide insight into novel therapies for CAVD.