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AbstractBackgroundThe ARTFL‐LEFFTDS Longitudinal Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration (ALLFTD) research consortium is actively enrolling participants across 23 North American centers to characterize sporadic and familial frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and prepare for disease‐modifying clinical trials. The ability to identify, otherwise unknown, relatives among these participants is critical to rigorously build family structures for downstream clinical and genetic research studies.MethodsGenome‐wide SNP genotyping data from ALLFTD participants was used to perform lineage analyses using PLINK. Briefly, QC was performed to remove individuals with low call rate and filter autosomal SNPs for missingness, allele frequency, and deviation from Hardy‐Weinberg equilibrium, before pruning SNPs for linkage disequilibrium. Identity‐by‐descent (IBD) estimates were then calculated for determining relatedness, followed by family‐network identification and pedigree reconstruction using PRIMUS.ResultsAbout 46% of ALLFTD participants that were genotyped and passed QC (n = 1,453) had reported a family history, while 50% (n = 721) did not and were considered sporadic. We identified a total of 460 participants that had at least one relative who was second degree or closer (PI_HAT>0.1875) based on IBD sharing, resulting in 150 family networks. This included 9 participants who self‐identified as sporadic, demonstrating the utility of direct genetic characterization to determine familiality in FTD. Most of the predicted families were associated with disease causing variants in the 3 major FTD‐causing genes: 66 families with known C9orf72 repeat expansion carriers, 35 with MAPT (including 11 families with the variant historically known as p.P301L) and 30 with GRN pathogenic variant carriers, as well as 2 families with carriers of both a C9orf72 expansion and a GRN pathogenic variant. We also identified 5 families with carriers of pathogenic variants in other familial dementia genes (2 TARDBP, 2 VCP and 1 PSEN1), as well as 12 families with yet unknown genetic etiology.ConclusionsThis dataset sets up a crucial resource to increase statistical accuracy and power in downstream association studies using the clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and biomarker data currently being generated by the ALLFTD consortium. It will also facilitate genetic studies aimed at novel gene discovery, and identification of haplotypes and genetic modifiers associated with the 3 major FTD causal genes.

Introduction: Percutaneous left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) has been rapidly evolving since FDA’s approval in 2015, and has become more of a same-day-discharge procedure. Cancer patients who underwent LAAO are known to have more inpatient complications and longer hospital stay. Readmission data, however, were rarely studied in this patient population. Hypothesis: Readmission burden is relatively high in cancer patients who received LAAO. Methods: Data were derived from the National Readmission Database from 2016 to 2019. Patients with primary diagnosis of atrial fibrillation or flutter admitted for percutaneous LAAO (ICD-10 code 02L73DK) were grouped by cancer as a secondary diagnosis. We assessed inpatient mortality, length of stay, total charges and procedure complications from index hospitalization. We also compared readmission rate and most common readmission reasons. Stata SE 17.0 was used for data analysis. Results: There were 49882 index hospitalizations for LAAO, among which 1545 (3.1%) patients had a secondary diagnosis of cancer. From index hospitalizations, Patients with cancer had higher inpatient mortality (0.65% vs 0.14%, p=0.007), longer length of stay (1.54±0.08 vs 1.31±0.01, p<0.001) and higher total charges (120.25±3.44 vs 117.29±2.40, p<0.001). There was no statistical significance of 30-day readmission rate between patients with cancer and patients without cancer (10.0% vs 9.1%, p=0.34). The most common readmission reason in cancer patients was gastrointestinal bleeding. Conclusions: Readmission utilization is comparable between patients with cancer and patients without cancer who underwent LAAO.

Introduction: Previously, miR-425 have been implicated in the inhibition of the cardiac natriuretic peptide (NP) ANP gene expression with their role on BNP undefined. The mechanism by which miR-425 modulates NP expression remains to be explored. In heart failure (HF), adrenergic and neurohormone pathways are aberrantly activated. Our goal was to investigate the role of miR-425 and its downstream target Cofilin 2 (CFL2) on ANP and BNP expression in human CV disease (CVD). Hypothesis: We hypothesized miR-425, via CFL2, supresses NPs expression in vitro. MiR-425, CFL2 and NP levels were also determined in CVD patients. Methods: In vitro, human cardiomyocytes (HCM) were treated with vehicle (Veh), catecholamine isoproterenol (ISO) and cytokine endothelin (ET), miR-425 mimic. Cells were transfected with CFL2 plasmid or CFL2 siRNA. Normal (NM, n=100), Hypertension (HTN, n=30) and Acute HF (AHF, n=74) cohorts were studied. A confirmatory cohort was recruited. Plasma NT-proBNP, miR-425 were measured. In left ventricles (LV) from NM or HF (n=5 each), NP, CFL2 and miR-425 expression were assessed. Data expressed as means±SEM. * p<0.05 vs NM or Veh. Results: In vitro in HCM, treatment with ISO or ET in HCM reduced miR-425 and elevated NP mRNA levels. Furthermore, miR-425 mimic reduced Nppa (Veh: 1.0±0.03, mimic: 0.7±0.02*) and Nppb levels (Veh: 1.0±0.03, mimic: 0.5±0.01*). We showed that a top predicted target of miR-425, CFL2, was also reduced by the mimic. Further, NP mRNA was elevated by CFL2 overexpression and reduced by the knockdown of CFL2. In humans, MiR-425 was lower in HTN and AHF patients (NM: 0.15±0.03, HTN: 0.03±0.005*, HF: 0.01±0.003*) than NM. MiR-425 negatively correlates with NT-proBNP in NM and AHF cohorts. Downregulation of miR-425 was validated in a second AHF cohort. Similarly, in HF LV tissues, miR-425 (NM: 2.5±0.5, HF: 1.0±0.5*) was lower than NM group, while CFL2 and NP gene and protein expression were increased. Conclusion: In vitro, cardiac stress hormones downregulate miR-425 and increase NP gene expression, potentially through a novel target, CFL2. In CVD patients, miR-425 is lower, accompanied by an elevation of CFL2 and NP. Our findings implicate the pathway of stress hormones/miR-425/CFL2/NP production in CVD.

Introduction: Spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) is an understudied cause of acute myocardial infarction due to hematoma formation in coronary arteries primarily affecting women. It is not known to what extent SCAD is genetically distinct from other cardiovascular diseases, including atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). Methods and Results: Through a meta-analysis of 8 GWAS (1917 cases, 9292 controls of European ancestry), we identified 17 risk loci, including 12 new. Functional annotations pointed at enrichment in enhancer marks of arteries, specifically smooth muscle cells, and strong candidate genes, such as tissue factor gene ( F3 ) on Chr1 near rs1146473 (OR=1.32, P=5.8 х10 -9 ). F3 is novel for SCAD or any cardiovascular disease. The risk allele correlated with F3 lower expression in arteries, supporting a mechanism consistent with hematoma formation. Bayesian gene regulatory networks constructed from expression and genetics data indicated the extracellular matrix organization in arteries as the biological function where most prioritized genes clustered (e.g. COL4A1/A2, HTRA1, and TIMP3 ). Overall, we report substantial polygenicity for SCAD (LDSC: h 2 SNP = 0.71 ± 0.11) and shared genetics with several neurovascular diseases (e.g intracranial aneurysm). Intriguingly, for 6 loci, colocalization analyses showed that SCAD and CAD are likely to share the same causal variants but involve opposite risk alleles (e.g COL4A1/A2 ). In addition, a negative genetic correlation was found between SCAD and CAD (rg=-0.12; P=3.7х10 -3 ), including after conditioning on BP (mt-COJO: rg CAD/SBP =-0.19, P=4.6х10 -6 ). Mendelian randomization analyses indicated higher BP to associate with increased risk for SCAD (beta IVW-SBP =0.05, P=7.6х10 -6 , beta IVW-DBP =0.10, P=1.9х10 -6 ) and CAD (beta IVW-SBP =0.04, P=8.6х10 -49 ; DBP: beta IVW-DBP =0.06, P=1.6х10 -44 ) but not BMI, lipids, or type 2 diabetes, which we confirmed as genetic risk factors for CAD Conclusions: Our results set the stage for future investigation of novel biological pathways relevant to both SCAD and CAD and potential therapeutic and preventive strategies specifically targeting this ischemic disease predominantly affecting women.

AbstractBackgroundHidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic inflammatory skin condition that causes substantial physical, emotional and psychological burdens. Guselkumab, a monoclonal antibody that binds to the p19 subunit of interleukin‐23, has demonstrated high levels of efficacy in the treatment of inflammatory diseases, including psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.ObjectiveTo evaluate the effect of guselkumab on the treatment of HS, a phase 2, multicentre, randomized, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind, proof‐of‐concept study was conducted.MethodsPatients ≥18 years of age with moderate‐to‐severe HS for ≥1 year were randomized to (1) guselkumab 200 mg by subcutaneous (SC) injection every 4 weeks (q4w) through Week 36 (guselkumab SC); (2) guselkumab 1200 mg intravenously (IV) q4w for 12 weeks, then switched to guselkumab 200 mg SC q4w from Weeks 12 through 36 (guselkumab IV); or (3) placebo for 12 weeks, with re‐randomization to guselkumab 200 mg SC q4w at Weeks 16 through 36 (placebo → guselkumab 200 mg) or guselkumab 100 mg SC at Weeks 16, 20, 28 and 36 and placebo at Weeks 24 and 32 (placebo → guselkumab 100 mg). End points included HS clinical response (HiSCR) and patient‐reported outcomes.ResultsAlthough guselkumab SC or guselkumab IV resulted in numerically higher HiSCR versus placebo at Week 16 (50.8%, 45.0%, 38.7%, respectively), statistical significance was not achieved. Numerically greater improvements in patient‐reported outcomes were also observed for guselkumab SC and guselkumab IV versus placebo at Week 16. Through Week 40, no clear differences to suggest a dose response were observed for HiSCR and patient‐reported outcomes.ConclusionsDespite modest improvements, the primary end point was not met and the overall findings do not support the efficacy of guselkumab in the treatment of HS. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT 03628924.

AbstractAccumulating evidence from recent studies has indicated the importance of studying the interaction between the microvascular and lymphatic systems in the brain. To date, most imaging methods can only measure blood or lymphatic vessels separately, such as dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI for blood vessels and DSC MRI‐in‐the‐cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) (cDSC MRI) for lymphatic vessels. An approach that can measure both blood and lymphatic vessels in a single scan offers advantages such as a halved scan time and contrast dosage. This study attempts to develop one such approach by optimizing a dual‐echo turbo‐spin‐echo sequence, termed “dynamic dual‐spin‐echo perfusion (DDSEP) MRI”. Bloch simulations were performed to optimize the dual‐echo sequence for the measurement of gadolinium (Gd)‐induced blood and CSF signal changes using a short and a long echo time, respectively. The proposed method furnishes a T1‐dominant contrast in CSF and a T2‐dominant contrast in blood. MRI experiments were performed in healthy subjects to evaluate the dual‐echo approach by comparing it with existing separate methods. Based on simulations, the short and long echo time were chosen around the time when blood signals show maximum difference between post‐ and pre‐Gd scans, and the time when blood signals are completely suppressed, respectively. The proposed method showed consistent results in human brains as previous studies using separate methods. Signal changes from small blood vessels occurred faster than from lymphatic vessels after intravenous Gd injection. In conclusion, Gd‐induced signal changes in blood and CSF can be detected simultaneously in healthy subjects with the proposed sequence. The temporal difference in Gd‐induced signal changes from small blood and lymphatic vessels after intravenous Gd injection was confirmed using the proposed approach in the same human subjects. Results from this proof‐of‐concept study will be used to further optimize DDSEP MRI in subsequent studies.