ALFREDO INACIO FIORELLI
Projetos de Pesquisa
Unidades Organizacionais
Instituto do Coração, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/11 - Laboratório de Cirurgia Cardiovascular e Fisiopatologia da Circulação, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
LIM/11 - Laboratório de Cirurgia Cardiovascular e Fisiopatologia da Circulação, Hospital das Clínicas, Faculdade de Medicina
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- MicroRNAs miR-1, miR-133a, miR-133b, miR-208a and miR-208b are dysregulated in Chronic Chagas disease Cardiomyopathy(2014) FERREIRA, Ludmila Rodrigues Pinto; FRADE, Amanda Farage; SANTOS, Ronaldo Honorato Barros; TEIXEIRA, Priscila Camillo; BARON, Monique Andrade; NAVARRO, Isabela Cunha; BENVENUTI, Luiz Alberto; FIORELLI, Alfredo Inacio; BOCCHI, Edimar Alcides; STOLF, Noedir Antonio; CHEVILLARD, Christophe; KALIL, Jorge; CUNHA-NETO, EdecioBackground/methods: Chagas disease is caused by an intracellular parasite, Trypanosoma cruzi, and it is a leading cause of heart failure in Latin America. The main clinical consequence of the infection is the development of a Chronic Chagas disease Cardiomyopathy (CCC), which is characterized by myocarditis, hypertrophy and fibrosis and affects about 30% of infected patients. CCC has a worse prognosis than other cardiomyopathies, like idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It is well established that myocardial gene expression patterns are altered in CCC, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these differences are not clear. MicroRNAs are recently discovered regulators of gene expression, and are recognized as important factors in heart development and cardiovascular disorders (CD). We analyzed the expression of nine different miRNAs inmyocardial tissue samples of CCC patients in comparison to DCM patients and samples from heart transplant donors. Using the results of a cDNA microarray database on CCC and DCM myocardium, signaling networks were built and nodal molecules were identified. Results: We observed that five miRNAs were significantly altered in CCC and three in DCM; importantly, three miRNAs were significantly reduced in CCC as compared to DCM. We observed that multiple gene targets of the differentially expressed miRNAs showed a concordant inverse expression in CCC. Significantly, most gene targets and involved networks belong to crucial disease-related signaling pathways. Conclusion: These results suggest that miRNAs may play a major role in the regulation of gene expression in CCC pathogenesis, with potential implication as diagnostic and prognostic tools.
- Myocardial Chemokine Expression and Intensity of Myocarditis in Chagas Cardiomyopathy Are Controlled by Polymorphisms in CXCL9 and CXCL10(2012) NOGUEIRA, Luciana Gabriel; SANTOS, Ronaldo Honorato Barros; IANNI, Barbara Maria; FIORELLI, Alfredo Inacio; MAIRENA, Eliane Conti; BENVENUTI, Luiz Alberto; FRADE, Amanda; DONADI, Eduardo; DIAS, Fabricio; SABA, Bruno; WANG, Hui-Tzu Lin; FRAGATA, Abilio; SAMPAIO, Marcelo; HIRATA, Mario Hiroyuki; BUCK, Paula; MADY, Charles; BOCCHI, Edimar Alcides; STOLF, Noedir Antonio; KALIL, Jorge; CUNHA-NETO, EdecioBackground: Chronic Chagas cardiomyopathy (CCC), a life-threatening inflammatory dilated cardiomyopathy, affects 30% of the approximately 8 million patients infected by Trypanosoma cruzi. Even though the Th1 T cell-rich myocarditis plays a pivotal role in CCC pathogenesis, little is known about the factors controlling inflammatory cell migration to CCC myocardium. Methods and Results: Using confocal immunofluorescence and quantitative PCR, we studied cell surface staining and gene expression of the CXCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CCR7, CCR8 receptors and their chemokine ligands in myocardial samples from end-stage CCC patients. CCR5+, CXCR3+, CCR4+, CCL5+ and CXCL9+ mononuclear cells were observed in CCC myocardium. mRNA expression of the chemokines CCL5, CXCL9, CXCL10, CCL17, CCL19 and their receptors was upregulated in CCC myocardium. CXCL9 mRNA expression directly correlated with the intensity of myocarditis, as well as with mRNA expression of CXCR3, CCR4, CCR5, CCR7, CCR8 and their ligands. We also analyzed single-nucleotide polymorphisms for genes encoding the most highly expressed chemokines and receptors in a cohort of Chagas disease patients. CCC patients with ventricular dysfunction displayed reduced genotypic frequencies of CXCL9 rs10336 CC, CXCL10 rs3921 GG, and increased CCR5 rs1799988CC as compared to those without dysfunction. Significantly, myocardial samples from CCC patients carrying the CXCL9/CXCL10 genotypes associated to a lower risk displayed a 2-6 fold reduction in mRNA expression of CXCL9, CXCL10, and other chemokines and receptors, along with reduced intensity of myocarditis, as compared to those with other CXCL9/CXCL10 genotypes. Conclusions: Results may indicate that genotypes associated to reduced risk in closely linked CXCL9 and CXCL10 genes may modulate local expression of the chemokines themselves, and simultaneously affect myocardial expression of other key chemokines as well as intensity of myocarditis. Taken together our results may suggest that CXCL9 and CXCL10 are master regulators of myocardial inflammatory cell migration, perhaps affecting clinical progression to the life-threatening form of CCC.
- Long-Term Pulmonary Vascular Reactivity After Orthotopic Heart Transplantation by the Biatrial Versus the Bicaval Technique(2011) FIORELLI, A. I.; SANTOS, R. H. B.; OLIVEIRA JR., J. L.; SILVA, M. A. F. Da; SANTOS JR., V. P. dos; REGO, F. M. P.; SOUZA, G. E.; BACAL, F.; BOCCHI, E. A.; STOLF, N. A. G.Introduction. Advantages of the bicaval versus the biatrial technique have been reported, emphasizing atrial electrical stability and less tricuspid regurgitation. Objective. To analyze the impact of the surgical technique on long-term pulmonary pressures, contractility, and graft valvular behavior after heart transplantation. Methods. Among 400 orthotopic heart transplantation recipients from 1985 to 2010, we selected 30 consecutive patients who had survived beyond 3 years. The biatrial versus bicaval surgical technique groups included 15 patients each. Their preoperative clinical characteristics were similar. None of the patients displayed a pulmonary vascular resistance or pulmonary artery pressure over 6U Wood or 60 mm Hg, respectively. We evaluated invasive hemodynamic parameters during routine endomyocardial biopsies. Two-dimensional echocardiographic parameters were obtained from routine examinations. Results. There were no significant differences regarding right atrial pressure, systolic pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, pulmonary vascular resistance, cardiac index, systolic blood pressure, left ventricular ejection fraction, and mitral regurgitation (P > .05). Tricuspid regurgitation increased significantly over the 3 years of observation only among the biatrial group (P = .0212). In both groups, the right atrial pressure, pulmonary wedge capillary pressure, transpulmonary gradient, and pulmonary vascular resistance decreased significantly (P < .05) from the pre- to the postoperative examination. In both groups cardiac index and systemic blood pressure increased significantly after transplantation (P < .05). Comparative analysis of the groups only showed significant differences regarding right atrial pressure and degree of tricuspid regurgitation; the bicaval group showing the best performance. Conclusions. Both surgical techniques ensure adequate left ventricular function in the long term; however, the bicaval technique provided better trends in hemodynamic performance, as well as a lower incidence and severity of tricuspid valve dysfunction.
- Successful Endomyocardial Biopsy Guided by Transthoracic Two-Dimensional Echocardiography(2011) FIORELLI, A. I.; COELHO, G. B.; SANTOS, R. H. B.; OLIVEIRA JR., J. L.; AIELO, V.; BENVENUTI, L.; OLIVEIRA, A. S.; SILVA, M. A. F. Da; CHIZZOLA, P. R.; COSTA, R.; MATHIAS JR., W.; BACAL, F.; BOCCHI, E. A.; STOLF, N. A. G.Introduction. Two-dimensional (2-D) echocardiography is an excellent alternative method to perform endomyocardial biopsies (EB) in special situations, mainly when the patient is in a critical state and cannot go to the catheterization laboratory or when there are contraindications to the use of fluoroscopy as in the pregnancy. Objective. This single-center experience analyzed the last 25 years use of an EB technique guided by echocardiography realized at the bedside on critical patients. Methods. From 1985 to 2010, we performed 76 EB guided by 2-D echocardiography on 59 patients, among whom 38 (64.4%) were critically ill with examinations at the bedside; among 10 (16.9%) subjects, the procedure was carried out simultaneously with fluoroscopy for safety's sake during the learning period. In addition, 8 (13.6%) were unavailable for fluoroscopy, and 3 (5.1%) required a hybrid method due to an intracardiac tumor. Results. The main adverse effects included local pain (n = 4, 5.6%); difficult out successful puncture due to previous biopsies (n = 4, 5.6%); local hematoma without major consequences (n = 3, 4.2%); failed but ultimately successful puncture on the first try due to previous biopsies or (n = 3, 4.2%); obesity and immediate postoperative period with impossibility to pass the bioptome into the right ventricle; however 2 days later the procedure was repeated successfully by echocardiography (n = 1, 1.4%). All myocardial specimens displayed suitable size. There were no undesirable extraction effects on the tricuspid valve tissue. In this series, there was no case of death, hemopericardium, or other major complication as a direct consequence of the biopsy. Conclusion. 2-D echocardiography is a special feature to guide EB is mainly in critically ill patients because it can be performed at the bedside without additional risk or disadvantages of fluoroscopy. The hybrid method associating 2-D echocardiography and fluoroscopy allows the procedure in different situations such as intracardiac tumor cases.
- Immunohistochemical Quantification of Inflammatory Cells in Endomyocardial Biopsy Fragments After Heart Transplantation: A New Potential Method to Improve the Diagnosis of Rejection After Heart Transplantation(2014) BOCCHI, E. A.; TANIGAWA, R. Y.; BRENDAO, S. M. G.; CRUZ, F.; ISSA, V.; AYUB-FERREIRA, S.; CHIZZOLA, P.; SOUZA, G.; FIORELLI, A. I.; BACAL, F.; POMERANTZEFF, P. M. A.; HONORATO, R.; LOURENCO-FILHO, D.; GUIMARAES, G.; BENVENUTI, L. A.Inconsistencies in cardiac rejection grading systems corroborate the concept that the evaluation of inflammatory intensity and myocyte damage seems to be subjective. We studied in 36 patients the potential role of the immunohistochemical (IHC) counting of inflammatory cells in endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) as an objective tool, testing the hypothesis of correlation between the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation 2004 rejection and IHC counting of inflammatory cells. We observed a progressive increment in CD68+ cells/mm(2) (P = .000) and CD3+ cells/mm(2) (P = .000) with higher rejection grade. A strong correlation between the grade of cellular rejection and both CD68+ cells/mm(2) and CD3+ cells/mm(2) was obtained (P =.000). One patient with CD3+ and CD68+ cells/mm(2) above the upper limit of the 95% confidence interval for cells/mm(2) found in rejection grade 1R evolved to rejection grade 2R without treatment. In patients with 2R that did not respond to treatment the values of CD68+ or CD3+ cells were higher than the overall median values for rejection grade 2R. For diagnosis of rejection needing treatment, the CD68+ and CD3+ cells/mm(2) areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.956 and 0.934, respectively. IHC counting of mononuclear inflammatory infiltrate in EMB seems to have additive potential role in evaluation of EMB for the diagnosis and prognosis of rejection episodes.
- Heart Transplantation in 107 Cases of Chagas' Disease(2011) FIORELLI, A. I.; SANTOS, R. H. B.; OLIVEIRA JR., J. L.; LOURENCO-FILHO, D. D.; DIAS, R. R.; OLIVEIRA, A. S.; SILVA, M. F. A. da; AYOUB, F. L.; BACAL, F.; SOUZA, G. E. C.; BOCCHI, E. A.; STOLF, N. A. G.Introduction. Chagas' disease is endemic in South America. Objective. This research reviewed the experience with cardiac transplantation in Chagas' disease, emphasizing reactivation, immunosuppression, and mortality. Methods. Over 25 years from March 1985 to March 2010, 107/409 (26.2%) patients with Chagas' disease underwent heart transplantation, patients including 74 (71.1%) men and 72 (67.2%), in functional class IV with 33 (30.8%) on vasopressors and 17 (10.7%) on mechanical circulatory support. Results. The diagnosis of disease reactivation was performed by identifying the parasite in the myocardium (n = 23; 71.8%) in the subcutaneous tissue (n = 8; 25.0%), in blood (n = 11; 34.3%), or in central nervous tissue (n = 1; 3.1%). Hospital mortality was 17.7% (n = 19) due to infection (n = 6; 31.5%), graft dysfunction (n = 6; 31.5%), rejection (n 4; 21.1%), or sudden death (n = 2; 10.5%). Late mortality was 27 (25.2%) cases, which were distributed as: rejection (n = 6; 22.2%), infection (n = 6; 22.2%), (n = lymphoma 4; 14.8%), sarcoma (n = 2; 7.4%), for constrictive pericarditis (n = 2; 7.4%) reactivation of Chagas' disease in the central nervous system (n = 1; 7.1%). Conclusions. Transplantation in Chagas' disease has peculiar problems that differ from other etiologies due to the possibility of disease reactivation and the increased possibility of emergence of cancers. However, transplantation is the only treatment able to modify the natural progression of the disease in its terminal phase. Early diagnosis and rapid introduction of benzonidazole reverses the histological patterns. Immunosuppression, especially steroids, predisposes to the development of cancer and disease reactivation.
- Recommendations for Use of Marginal Donors in Heart Transplantation: Brazilian Association of Organs Transplantation Guideline(2011) FIORELLI, A. I.; STOLF, N. A. G.; PEGO-FERNANDES, P. M.; OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, J. L.; SANTOS, R. H. B.; CONTRERAS, C. A. M.; FILHO, D. D. L.; DINKHUYSEN, J. J.; MOREIRA, M. C. V.; MEJIA, J. A. C.; CASTRO, M. C. R.The high prevalence of heart failure has increased the candidate list for heart transplantation; however, there is a shortage of viable donated organs, which is responsible for the high mortality of patients a waiting a transplantation. Because the marginal donor presents additional risk factors, it is not considered to be an ideal donor. The use of a marginal donor is only justified in situations when the risk of patient death due to heart disease is greater than that offered by the donor. These recommendations sought to expand the supply of donors, consequently increasing the transplant rate. We selected articles based on robust evidence to provide a substratum to develop recommendations for donors who exceed the traditional acceptance criteria. Recipient survival in the immediate postoperative period is intimately linked to allograft quality. Primary allograft failure is responsible for 38% to 40% of immediate deaths after heart transplantation: therefore; marginal donor selection must be more rigorous to not increase the surgical risk. The main donor risk factors with the respective evidence levels are: cancer in the donor (B), female donor (B), donor death due to hemorrhagic stroke (B), donor age above 50 years (relative risk [RR] = 1.5) (B), weight mismatch between donor and recipient < 0.8 (RR = 1.3) (B), ischemia > 240 minutes (RR = 1.2) (B), left ventricular dysfunction with ejection fraction below 45% (B), and use of high doses of vasoactive drugs (dopamine > 15 mg/kg . mm) (B). Factors that impact recipient mortality are: age over 50 years (RR = 1.5); allograft harvest at a distance; adult recipient weighing more than 20% of the donor; high doses of vasoactive drugs (dopamine greater than 15 mg/kg . min) and ischemic time >4 hours. The use of a marginal donor is only justified when it is able to increase life expectancy compared with clinical treatment, albeit the outcomes are interior to those using an ideal donor.
conferenceObject Effects of donor pretreatment with norepinephrine on heart transplant recipients survival.(2013) CRUZ, F. D. C. Fatima Das Dores; ISSA, V. S. I. Victor Sarli; FERREIRA, S. A. F. Silvia Ayub; CONCEICAO, G. E. C. Germano Emilio; BACAL, F. B. Fernando; HONORATO, R.; FIORELLI, A. I.; BOCCHI, E. A.conferenceObject THE TRANSPULMONARY GRADIENT BUT NOT THE SYSTOLIC OR MEAN PULMONARY ARTERIAL PRESSURE CORRELATES WITH THE WALL THICKNESS OF PERIPHERAL PULMONARY ARTERIES AND VEINS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEART FAILURE(2014) AIELLO, Vera D.; CAMPOS, Pompeu R.; ISSA, Victor; HONORATO, Ronaldo; FIORELLI, Alfredo I.; BOCCHI, Edimar A.conferenceObject Immunohistochemical Counting of Mononuclear Infiltrates in Endomyocardial Biopsy Fragments: A New Method To Improve the Diagnosis of Rejection after Heart Transplantation(2013) BOCCHI, E. A.; BENVENUTTI, L. A.; TANIGAWA, R.; BRANDAO, S.; ISSA, V. S.; AYUB-FERREIRA, S.; CRUZ, F.; POMERANTZEFF, P.; HONORATO, R.; LOURENCO-FILHO, D. D.; FIORELLI, A. I.; CHIZZOLA, P.; SOUZA, G.; BACAL, F.