Potential role of Anitschkow cells in cardiovascular disease in human and veterinary medicine: A review of the literature.
Elena ColombinoIlaria BiasatoElena BiasibettiAlessandra SerenoLaura ChiappinoRocchina EvangelistaGiovanna CenacchiFranco GuardaMaria Teresa CapucchioPublished in: Anatomia, histologia, embryologia (2019)
Anitschkow cells (AC) are a peculiar type of stromal cells observed in myocardium, cardiac valves and coronary vessels wall whose origin, characterization and role remain controversial. In human heart, they represent a histological hallmark of Aschoff nodules in rheumatic fever, but they have also been observed in other myocardial pathologies. Firstly, they have been considered a myocyte-derived cells, but light microscopy, immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies pointed out that a macrophagic/histiocytic origin cannot be excluded. Many authors also reported extracardiac AC or an Anitschkow nuclear pattern, thus suggesting that these cells may represent a chromatin pattern rather than a specific cell type. In veterinary medicine, AC were described in myocarditis, myocardial necrosis, degenerative and inflammatory endocardial diseases of several species. Recently, AC have been observed in intramural coronary arteries of different animals (including cattle and fish) affected by arteriosclerotic processes. Stress related to the intensive livestock farming could represent a mechanotransduction promoting factor of arteriosclerotic changes allowing the development of Anitschkow chromatin pattern. Further studies both in human and veterinary medicine are needed to confirm the origin and role of these peculiar cells.
Keyphrases
- induced apoptosis
- cell cycle arrest
- cardiovascular disease
- endothelial cells
- gene expression
- heart failure
- oxidative stress
- left ventricular
- type diabetes
- signaling pathway
- coronary artery
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- cell death
- transcription factor
- dna damage
- metabolic syndrome
- high resolution
- genome wide
- high throughput
- aortic valve
- dna methylation
- optical coherence tomography
- pi k akt
- high speed
- aortic valve replacement
- transcatheter aortic valve replacement
- cardiovascular risk factors