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Ensayo MERCED (MEnopausia y Raloxifeno en la Cardiopatía isquémica Efecto sobre la Disfunción endotelial) Trial

This national phase IV multimember clinical trial has the objective of analyzing the effect of raloxifene treatment in menopause on endothelial function at the level of peripheral circulation and on biological markers of inflammation and risk of thrombosis in ischemic heart disease.

Ion channels and intimal proliferation

This project characterizing the functional role of ion channels in the process of phenotype modulation in smooth muscle cells of the arterial wall proposes to study the development of intimal hyperplasia through vascular lesions, in vivo, and the proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro. Toward this end, a transluminal model of arterial damage is used that reproduces the characteristics of post-angioplasty restenosis lesions in humans.

Physiopathologic mechanisms and prognosis in acute coronary syndromes

1. Determine the importance of inflammation and anti-inflammatory response in the prognosis of patients with non-ST segment elevation acute coronary syndrome.
2. Evaluate the current prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome, with and without ST segment elevation, especially for patients with diabetes and those older than 75 years; determine the value of the different risk stratification methods upon admission; and, as a function of these findings, determine optimal patient management strategies.

Physiopathology of heart failure. Molecular basis. Prevalence and prognosis of heart failure. Heart transplantation. Factors implicated in longterm survival

1. To gain deeper knowledge of molecular and cellular mechanisms of heart failure, using the analysis of changes in adrenomedulin, endothelin, the receptors ETA and ETB, and constituent NO synthase in the myocardium of patients with heart failure who receive heart transplantation.
2. To study routine biopsies of the transplanted heart for the possible induction of adrenomedulin, endothelin and/or NOS-III expression, and their relationship with the onset of graft vasculopathy.
3. To study biopsies of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy for relationships between the expression of adrenomedulin, endothelin and/or NOS-III, and the later appearance of cardiovascular events.

Control mechanisms for intimal hyperplasia after vascular lesion

1. To analyze the effect of the modulation of the cell cycle, using various drug strategies and genetically modified animals, on the development of neointimal hyperplasia in a porcine model of femoral artery transplantation, abdominal aorta transplant in rats, and endoluminal endothelial denudation of the femoral artery in the mouse.
2. To analyze mechanisms that regulate the cell proliferation and migration in vitro, using aortic smooth muscle cells isolated from explanted vein grafts and genetically modified mice.

The cardiovascular research laboratory at the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) in Barcelona has the infrastructure required to conduct studies of cell cultures, cell biology, molecular biology, genetics, clinical testing, and histomorphology. It also recently acquired a FASCan cytometer with two lasers, and has all the necessary materials for immunohistochemical techniques (tissue embedder, cryostat, microtome, fluorescent microscope, etc.) and a cryopreservation refrigerator.

Numerous laboratories at Barcelona hospitals provide the needed support for the group’s activities. These include the Biochemistry Laboratory at the Hospital de Sant Pau and, at the Hospital Clinic, the Haemostasis and Coagulation, Biochemistry, Radiology, Effort Testing, and Haemodynamics laboratories and the Echocardiography Units.

The Department of Echocardiography has equipment with an incorporated 5.5 MHz transducer and the software necessary for analyzing endothelial function in the brachial artery.

Latest publications

• Sanchis J, Núñez E, Barrabés JA, Marín F, Consuegra-Sanchez L, Ventura S, Valero E, Roqué M, Bayés-Genís A, Del Blanco BG, Dégano I, Núñez J Randomized comparison between the invasive and conservative strategies in comorbid elderly patients with non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. Eur. J. Intern. Med. 2016; 35: 89-94

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• Lopez-Vilchez I, Diaz-Ricart M, Galán AM, Roqué M, Caballo C, Molina P, White JG, Escolar G Internalization of Tissue Factor-Rich Microvesicles by Platelets Occurs Independently of GPIIb-IIIa, and Involves CD36 Receptor, Serotonin Transporter and Cytoskeletal Assembly. J. Cell. Biochem. 2016; 117: 448-57

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• Ferreira-González I, Carrillo X, Martin V, de la Torre Hernández JM, Baz JA, Navarro Manchón J, Masotti M, Cequier A, Cárdenas M, Alfonso Manterola F Interhospital Variability in Drug Prescription After Acute Coronary Syndrome: Insights From the ACDC Study. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) 2016; 69: 117-24

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• Alfonso F, Perez-Vizcayno MJ, Cárdenas A, García Del Blanco B, García-Touchard A, López-Minguez JR, Rivero F, Masotti M, Zueco J, Cequier A, Morís C, Fernández-Ortiz A, Escaned J, Jiménez-Quevedo P, Gonzalo N, Fernández C, Macaya C Rationale and design of the RIBS IV randomised clinical trial (drug-eluting balloons versus everolimus-eluting stents for patients with drug-eluting stent restenosis). EuroIntervention 2015; 11: 336-42

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• Brugaletta S, Gori T, Low AF, Tousek P, Pinar E, Gomez-Lara J, Scalone G, Schulz E, Chan MY, Kocka V, Hurtado J, Gómez-Hospital JA, Münzel T, Lee CH, Cequier A, Valdés M, Widimsky P, Serruys PW, Sabaté M Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold versus everolimus-eluting metallic stent in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction: 1-year results of a propensity score matching comparison: the BVS-EXAMINATION Study (bioresorbable vascular scaffold-a clinical evaluation of everolimus eluting coronary stents in the treatment of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction). JACC Cardiovasc Interv 2015; 8: 189-97

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• Regueiro A, Freixa X, Fernández-Rodríguez D, Diaz-Ricart M, Escolar G, Martín-Yuste V, Brugaletta S, Sabaté M, Masotti M Platelet reactivity assessment with VerifyNow®: substitute or complement for light transmission aggregometry? Int. J. Cardiol. 2015; 178: 221-2

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• Ortiz-Pérez JT, Bosch X Comments on exercise echocardiography and multidetector computed tomography for the evaluation of acute chest pain. Response. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) 2015; 68: 165-6

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• Sanchis J, Abellán L, García-Blas S, Mainar L, Mollar A, Valero E, Consuegra-Sanchez L, Roqué M, Bertomeu-González V, Chorro FJ, Núñez E, Núñez J Usefulness of delta troponin for diagnosis and prognosis assessment of non-ST-segment elevation acute chest pain. Eur Heart J Acute Cardiovasc Care 2015; :

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• Cidad P, Miguel-Velado E, Ruiz-McDavitt C, Alonso E, Jiménez-Pérez L, Asuaje A, Carmona Y, García-Arribas D, López J, Marroquín Y, Fernández M, Roqué M, Pérez-García MT, López-López JR Kv1.3 channels modulate human vascular smooth muscle cells proliferation independently of mTOR signaling pathway. Pflugers Arch. 2015; 467: 1711-22

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• Regueiro A, Cuadrado-Godia E, Bueno-Betí C, Diaz-Ricart M, Oliveras A, Novella S, Gené GG, Jung C, Subirana I, Ortiz-Pérez JT, Roqué M, Freixa X, Núñez J, Escolar G, Marrugat J, Hermenegildo C, Valverde MA, Roquer J, Sanchis J, Heras M Mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells in acute cardiovascular events in the PROCELL study: time-course after acute myocardial infarction and stroke. J. Mol. Cell. Cardiol. 2015; 80: 146-55

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