Tumor necrosis factor-α levels and non-surgical bleeding in continuous-flow left ventricular assist devices.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Non-surgical bleeding (NSB) due to angiodysplasia is common in left ventricular assist device (LVAD) patients. Thrombin-induced angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) expression in LVAD patients leads to altered angiogenesis and is associated with lower angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and increased NSB. However, the mechanism for decreased Ang-1, made by pericytes, is unknown and the origin of thrombin in LVAD patients is unclear. We hypothesized that high tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels in LVAD patients induce pericyte apoptosis, tissue factor (TF) expression and vascular instability.

Methods

We incubated cultured pericytes with serum from patients with heart failure (HF), LVAD or orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT), with or without TNF-α blockade. We performed several measurem

SUBMITTER: Tabit CE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5722712 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature