In the LC of line 3 1, 97% ± 1% of neurons that expressed ChR2-YF

In the LC of line 3.1, 97% ± 1% of neurons that expressed ChR2-YFP also expressed TH, while 72% ± 6% of neurons that expressed TH also expressed ChR2-YFP (n = 122 for VTA, n = 86 for SN, n = 63 for LC, where n refers to counted cells; Figure 1A). To further characterize these lines, we quantified the copy number of Cre in Th::Cre rats with digital PCR ( Supplemental Experimental Procedures). Across multiple

sublines (Th::Cre 3.1, 3.5, and 4.4), we observed a single copy number of Cre in the genome ( Table S1). We performed a systematic in vitro electrophysiological study of the cellular and optogenetic properties of ChR2-YFP-expressing VTA neurons in Th::Cre+ rats, along with a comparison Selleck Akt inhibitor of the same properties of neurons in Th::Cre+ littermates injected with a control virus that expressed only

YFP. Figure 2A shows a sample trace from a ChR2-expressing Th::Cre neuron in response to current injection steps, demonstrating the classical “sag” response induced by the hyperpolarizing pulse, the result of a hyperpolarization-activated cation current (Ih) that is present in many TH+ VTA neurons ( Margolis et al., 2006, Lammel et al., 2008, Lammel et al., 2011 and Neuhoff et al., 2002). Given that the VTA TH+ neurons are heterogeneous and do not all express a prominent Ih ( Lammel et al., 2008 and Lammel et al., 2011), in addition to analyzing light responses and intrinsic properties of neurons with a prominent Ih current (Ih/large neurons), we have also included in this selleck analysis cells without a prominent Ih (Ih/small neurons), in either case comparing the properties of neurons that express ChR2-YFP to neurons

that express YFP only. Continuous blue light elicited large inward currents (peak photocurrent: −2950 ± 1574 pA for Ih/large neurons, steady-state photocurrent: −756.5 ± 225.5 pA; n = 7 Ih/large neurons, Figure 2B), and optical stimulation trains produced neural responses that were similar to those evoked by of electrical stimulation in both ChR2-expressing or YFP-only-expressing neurons (Figure 2C for pulse trains, Figure S2D for individual waveforms); notably, the amplitude of both optically and electrically evoked spike trains attenuated during the course of the pulse train. Th::Cre ChR2-expressing neurons reliably responded to light-induced spike trains over a range of frequencies from 5 to 40 Hz ( Figure 2D for Ih/large neurons, Figure S2B for Ih/small neurons). Multiple spikes in response to a single light pulse were never observed during the presentation of pulse trains under these expression, illumination, and opsin (ChR2) conditions. We also confirmed that light stimulation at various frequencies (5 to 40 Hz) failed to evoke neural responses in YFP-only-expressing neurons ( Figure S2C).

Figure 4B shows the distribution of slopes between firing rates a

Figure 4B shows the distribution of slopes between firing rates and the number of saccades for all FEF sites. The median slope was −5.28 spikes/s/saccade. Thus, smaller responses led to greater numbers of saccades to find the target. This result is consistent with the idea that the response enhancement to the target stimulus in the FEF helps learn more guide the eyes to the target location. It was not possible to do the same analysis in V4 because the response to the target on a given trial was too highly dependent on the stimulus preferences of the individual cells. We investigated this relationship between response enhancement and saccades

in another way: by calculating the response to the target in the RF in those fixation epochs when the target stimulus would be selected for a saccade two saccades later, compared to fixation epochs when the target stimulus would be selected for a saccade more than two saccades later (Figures 5A–5C). If greater response enhancement to the target leads to fewer saccades to find the target, then the response to the target in the RF should have been greater when it subsequently took two saccades to find target (Type I target, Figure 5) than when

it took more than two saccades (Type II target, Figure 5). We only considered fixations when the two subsequent saccades were all away from the RF to avoid the influence of saccades into the RF. The predicted result was indeed found, as shown in Figures 5D–5F for early search and Figures 5G–5I for late search. Response Veliparib in vitro enhancements were significantly larger to the target when it was found after two saccades than when it was found after more than two saccades (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p < 0.05). This enhanced response to the target continued for approximately 100 ms after the initiation of the first saccade but ended before the second saccade began (see Figures 5E–5I), during which many period only distracters sharing neither

the color nor the shape with the target appeared in the cell’s RF. For comparison, Figure 5 also shows the responses to the no-share stimuli that were matched in properties to the target stimuli in the above comparisons. For these no-share stimuli, the responses were smaller than to the target stimuli in all conditions (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p < 0.05). The effects of feature attention were larger when the animal took only two saccades to find the target, but they remained significant even when the animal took more than two saccades (Wilcoxon signed rank test, p < 0.05). This specificity of the enhanced responses to the target versus no-share stimuli is consistent with a feature attention effect and is inconsistent with increases in general arousal, etc., on trials with fewer saccades to find the target. As show in Figure 6, a similar pattern of results was found in V4.

, 2002) On the other hand, the results on cholinergic synaptic t

, 2002). On the other hand, the results on cholinergic synaptic transmission between SACs and DSGCs contradicted the previous report that did not detect such a transmission (Fried et al., 2002). It is remarkable that the spatial symmetry of cholinergic and GABAergic synaptic connections between SACs and DSGCs were completely different, suggesting that synaptic connectivity between these two cell types is not based simply on the relative direction of the presynaptic

and postsynaptic selleck dendrites. Rather, the synaptic connectivity between SACs and DSGCs is controlled at a much more specific and local level, depending on the identity of the synapses as well as the direction of the dendrites. To demonstrate the presence of monosynaptic nicotinic and GABAergic transmissions from a SAC to a neighboring DSGC, we analyzed the synaptic delay of cholinergic and GABAergic transmissions under dual voltage clamp. The temporal delay between the onset of the presynaptic voltage pulse and the onset of postsynaptic current response was 6.61 ± 0.28 ms (mean ± SEM, n = 18) for cholinergic,

and 6.54 ± 0.30 (mean ± SEM, n = 18) for GABAergic transmission (Figures 2A and 2B). A large portion of this delay corresponded to the time required to activate presynaptic Ca2+ currents under our recording condition (data not shown) and was similar to some of the synaptic delays previously reported for other CNS synapses (Jo and Schlichter, 1999 and Jonas et al., 1998). However, the relative difference in synaptic delay between Z VAD FMK the cholinergic and GABAergic

responses was not statistically distinguishable (p = 0.48, not Figure 2C), suggesting that at least the initial GABAergic response was not mediated by polysynaptic transmission activated by cholinergic excitation. The presence of direct ACh-GABA cotransmission between SACs and DSGCs was further proven by uncaging Ca2+ from DM-nitrophen (loaded in SACs via the patch electrode) under the condition in which all potential Ca2+-dependent polysynaptic transmission was blocked by the Ca2+ channel blocker Cd2+ (300–500 μM). Ca2+ uncaging in a single SAC evoked rapid cholinergic and GABAergic responses from a neighboring DSGC (Figures 2D and 2E), demonstrating unequivocally ACh-GABA cotransmission between SACs and DSGCs in functionally mature rabbit retina. We next examined cholinergic and GABAergic contributions to the visual responses of DSGCs. A moving light bar elicited directionally asymmetric excitatory (EPSC) and inhibitory (IPSC) postsynaptic currents in DSGCs (Figure 3A). The IPSCs evoked by the null movement were much larger than those evoked by the preferred movement, as previously reported (Fried et al., 2002, Fried et al., 2005, Taylor and Vaney, 2002 and Weng et al.

, 2007) As in axons, dendritic release of GABA from granule cell

, 2007). As in axons, dendritic release of GABA from granule cells requires intracellular Ca2+ (Isaacson, 2001 and Isaacson and Strowbridge, 1998). To test the role of dendritic Ca2+ influx and neurotransmitter release in behavior, Abraham et al. (2010) recently augmented granule cell GABA release by conditionally disrupting the GluR2 AMPA receptor subunit specifically in granule cells. Consistent with the role of GluR2 in conferring Ca2+ impermeability to AMPA receptors (Burnashev et al., 1992, Hollmann et al., 1991 and Verdoorn et al., 1991), removing granule cell

GluR2 resulted in increased Ca2+ influx upon excitation from NVP-AUY922 mitral cells, which in turn triggered more robust GABA release thus increasing mitral cell inhibition. At the behavioral click here level, this manipulation accelerated response latencies in odor discrimination tasks. Conversely, deleting

the obligate NMDA receptor subunit NR1 in granule cells resulted in decreased GABA release and less robust mitral cell inhibition. Behaviorally, this reduction in dendritic GABA release slowed odor discrimination. Together, these data demonstrate the importance of dendritic exocytosis in shaping olfactory sensory processing (Abraham et al., 2010). While dendrodendritic synapses have been characterized anatomically and electrophysiologically,

very little is known about the molecular composition of these synapses. How similar are dendrodendritic synapses to typical axo-dendritic synapses? Immunolabeling EM studies have revealed the presence of canonical glutamatergic postsynaptic scaffolding molecules PSD-93 and PSD-95 at granule/mitral cell dendrodendritic synapses, suggesting DNA ligase that these synapses resemble typical axo-dendritic synapses (Sassoé-Pognetto et al., 2003). Additionally, both AMPA receptors and NMDA receptors are found on granule cells at sites apposed to mitral cell dendritic vesicle release zones (Sassoé-Pognetto et al., 2003). Interestingly, NMDA receptor activation is sufficient to activate dendritic GABA release from granule cells (Chen et al., 2002, Halabisky et al., 2000 and Schoppa et al., 1998). However, Ca2+ influx through NMDA receptors may not be directly coupled to vesicle release. Rather, Ca2+ influx through voltage-gated N- or P/Q-type Ca2+ channels triggered by depolarizing NMDA receptor currents has been shown to mediate vesicle fusion (Isaacson, 2001). Similar to presynaptic axon terminals, Ca2+ influx into granule cells appears to be tightly coupled to vesicle fusion. Introduction of the slow Ca2+ chelator EGTA has no effect on GABA release from granule cells (Isaacson, 2001).

, 1991) In addition, in some motoneurons, AVP can suppress a K+

, 1991). In addition, in some motoneurons, AVP can suppress a K+ current (Ogier et al., 2006) that can be barium sensitive (Kolaj and Renaud, 1998). The intracellular

messengers that activate these currents are PKC independent but mediated partially by an AC-cAMP-activated PKA, partially through a yet unknown pathway (Alberi et al., 1997). OTRs can reversibly switch between states of 1–100 nM Kd affinity for agonists and antagonists depending on the presence of divalent cations (Mn2+, Mg2+) and specific interactions with membrane cholesterol. Furthermore, cholesterol also FK228 clinical trial appears required for efficient OTR expression and can stabilize the OTR against thermal or proteolytical degradation. Cholesterol-rich microdomains such as caveolae or lipid rafts can thereby switch a growth-inhibitory effect, induced by OT in an MDCK epithelial kidney cell line, into a proliferative

response, possibly by recruiting a different signaling cascade (Wiegand and Gimpl, 2012). In the rat (though not in the mouse, Insel et al., 1993), OTR expression can be increased by estradiol as well as by withdrawal of progesterone at constant estradiol levels. This occurs in a more region-specific manner, possibly as a result of local progesterone and/or estrogen receptor expression, leading to increased binding in the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), the principal nucleus of the bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BST), and medial amygdala, but not in the oval BST and central amygdala (Windle et al., 2006 and references therein). Studies on neuromodulation by OT in these areas should therefore be carefully Selleckchem Protease Inhibitor Library controlled for gender and cycle of the animal. Upon OT activation, OTRs are phosphorylated by G protein-coupled receptor kinase-2,

bind beta-arrestin, and are endocytosed via clathrin-coated vesicles (Smith et al., 2006). After internalization, they recycle back to the plasma membrane via the Rab4/Rab5 short recycling pathway (Conti et al., 2009). This internalization is thought to underlie the rapid desensitization that may occur upon OTR activation. Besides the ability of no various G protein isoforms to activate different pathways, Gi selective ligands generate G protein activation without beta-arrestin recruitment and OTR internalization (Busnelli et al., 2012). Interestingly, whereas endogenous OT can activate OTRs regardless to which G protein they are coupled, specific agonists and antagonists may exhibit differential affinity to OTRs, depending on the specific G protein (Gq, Gi, or Go) to which they are coupled and therefore not cause such internalization. Thus, for example, the OTR agonist atosiban does not promote beta-arrestin1 or beta-arrestin2 recruitment and does not affect receptor internalization, possibly because of a selective activation of only those OTR that are coupled to a Gi protein (Busnelli et al., 2012).

Of all the available materials, calcium phosphate was selected as

Of all the available materials, calcium phosphate was selected as core of choice as it is ceramic (structurally most regular materials) and crystalline in nature (high degree of order). The surface exhibits high level of surface energy which favors the binding

of carbohydrate on surface film. PARP inhibitor In the second step, extent of sugar loading was quantified by using anthrone method. The method is based on hydrolysis of carbohydrates to simple sugars in presence of acid followed by dehydration of sugars to furfural derivatives, e.g. hydroxyl methyl furfural. Furfural derivatives react with anthrone to form a deep green color with an absorption maximum at 625 nm. The sugar adsorption on core was confirmed using FTIR spectroscopy. Further drug is adsorbed over sugar loaded core particles through non-covalent and ionic interactions. The pimozide loaded aquasomes exhibited

smaller particle size than that of pimozide pure drug. Hence it can be concluded that, the aquasomal formulation had lead to reduction of particle size to nanometer range. Improved dissolution was observed with aquasome formulation of pimozide than that of pure drug, which can be accounted for nanosize and aqueous environment of the aquasomes. The release followed the first order kinetics which supported the mechanism of immediate release of pimozide. Ceramic nanoparticles were developed as a technological innovation for the pimozide delivery via the peroral route. Co-precipitation by sonication technique Selleck Z VAD FMK was found to give more yield

than other methods. Size analysis indicated spherical particles in the size range of aquasomes. Release studies of aquasomes showed greater dissolution than that of pure drug. Thus aquasomes can be used for enhancing the solubility of poorly soluble drugs. All authors have none to declare. Authors would like to express thanks to Vasudha Pharma Chemical Ltd, Hyderabad for providing the Dichloromethane dehalogenase pimozide gift sample. Authors would also like to express their thanks to Dr Sathesh, HOD, Pharmaceutics for his guidance and support. “
“The physiological environment within a living organism is mostly chiral. Therefore, chiral discrimination has been an issue in the development and use of pharmaceutical drugs. Enantiomers of racemic drugs often differ in pharmacokinetic behavior or pharmacological action.1 In recent years, research has been intensified to understand the aspects of the molecular mechanism for stereoselective biological activities of the chiral molecules. The development of analytical methods for the assessment of enantiomeric purity is challenging due to the fact that enantiomers possess virtually identical properties.2 In the pharmaceutical industry, much emphasis is put on chiral analysis. The reason is the potentially different behavior of the enantiomers of a chiral drug molecule after administration.

The only fever resulting in medical attention was for the subject

The only fever resulting in medical attention was for the subject with aseptic meningitis. Nineteen unsolicited AEs were reported among 12 subjects (7 in the 20-μg group, 2 in the 60-μg group, and 3 in the control group), most

of which were related to infection. Seven serious AEs were reported by 5 subjects, none of which were vaccine related: 4 subjects in the 20-μg group had bronchitis (2 cases in same subject), urinary tract infection (2 cases), viral infection, and respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis; and 1 subject in the 60-μg group had aseptic meningitis; 2 subjects were withdrawn CH5424802 from the study owing to AEs, neither of which were study related (aseptic meningitis and urinary tract infection; Table 1). OSI744 Although local reactions were generally mild or moderate and AEs were infrequent, fever rates ranged from 63% to 90% in infants receiving one rLP2086 dose. Most fevers were ≤39.0 °C, with only 2 subjects in the 20-μg group and 1 subject in the 60-μg group experiencing fever >39.0 °C; no reported cases were >40.0 °C. Despite the fact that almost 80% of fevers were mild and no cases of severe fever occurred in the 43 trial participants, the high overall fever rate experienced in the 60-μg group suggests that rLP2086 in the current formulation is

not acceptable for infants. Similar to the study presented herein, reactogenicity of the 4CMenB vaccine, Novartis’s fHBP-based MnB vaccine currently licensed in European Union, Canada, and Australia,

was also examined in infants. Interestingly, fever rates were similar to those observed in the present study [16] and [17]. For example, in the most recent phase 3 study of 4CMenB administered with routine vaccination in infants, 65% (1612/2468) of subjects experienced fevers ≥38.5 °C; fevers ≥40 °C occurred in 1% (29/2468) of subjects [17]. It is possible that the OMV component of 4CMenB contributes at least some of the reactogenicity of this vaccine, as an OMV meningococcal B vaccine (MenNZB) developed to target a specific epidemic strain of MnB in New Zealand also elicited fever rates in infants up to 45% at any L-NAME HCl dose, 8% of which were ≥39 °C; analgesic use was reported for up to 67% of subjects at any dose [18]; another study of MenNZB in infants in New Zealand showed similar results [19]. However, without a head-to-head trial, direct comparison of the reactogenicity of 4CMenB and the bivalent rLP2086 vaccine in infants is difficult. The question remains as to why bivalent rLP2086 vaccine is not acceptable in infants but is acceptable in other ages, as fevers were rare and generally mild in toddlers (≥18 months of age; 0–31.6%) [15] and adolescents (0–12.5%) [10] and [11] when administering a 20- or 60-μg dose. Studies in mice suggested that the presence of the lipid tail increases immunogenicity of the vaccine, and thus, the lipidated rLP2086 protein was used in the vaccine [5].

Furthermore, the Mito-Tracker-labeled TCTs partially invaded the

Furthermore, the Mito-Tracker-labeled TCTs partially invaded the H9c2 cytosol (colocalized with Lyso-Tracker) as early as 3 h post-infection (Fig. 5B), with marked entry at 24 h (Fig.

5C). The mitochondria, which showed high activity in the amastigote stage, were analyzed and also labeled with Mito-Tracker during invasion of SVEC cells by T. theileri. TWTth1 amastigotes, identified by small Hoechst dots, were co-localized with the lysosomes in Lyso-Tracker pre-stained SVEC cells 24 h after inoculation ( Fig. 5D, arrowhead). Mito-Tracker pre-stained amastigotes were also found to be surrounded by lysosomes in Lyso-Tracker pre-stained SVEC cells at 3 h post-infection ( Fig. 5E, arrowhead). Taken together, the observations described LY2109761 order above provide evidence that the invading parasites co-localize with lysosomes, as seen in the merged image, indicating TCTs and amastigotes of T. theileri are selleck chemicals fused with lysosomes in H9c2 and SVEC cell invasion. First, endogenous autophagosomes were detected by indirect immunofluorescence using MAP1LC3 antibody in TCT-infected

H9c2 cells. The parasites were detected by labeling the nucleus and kinetoplast with DAPI (Fig. 6A, arrowhead) that were surrounded by the protein LC3 (Fig. 6B, green), indicating its association in invasion. As compared to the H9c2 control cell (Fig. 6A and B, upper right panel), the LC3 protein was not present. Second, Fig. 6C revealed that pSelect-LC3-GFP-transfected H9c2 cells expressed a stable and strong positive control image after starvation. Three hours after infection, anti-TWTth1 antibody confirmed TCTs (Fig. 6D and E, red parasite body with DAPI-labeled nucleus and kinetoplast) were colocalized with

the protein LC3 (autophagosome), indicating that the T. theileri parasitophorous vacuole (PV) is not just a consequence of protein expression ( Fig. 6D and E). These results demonstrated a more intensive interaction between autophagosomes and T. theileri at the invasion Carnitine dehydrogenase sites than was previously thought. Basal TGF-β protein expression levels are shown in the control H9c2 cells (Fig. 7A). TWTth1-infected H9c2 cells revealed significant TGF-β protein expression at the penetration sites (Fig. 7B, red) and merged with the TWTth1 body (Fig. 7B, small DAPI dots). Quantitative RT-PCR showed that T. theileri infection significantly increased TGF-β1 mRNA of infected host cells (P = 0.025) ( Fig. 7C). Calcium signaling showed onset of Ca2+ transients 3 h after T. theileri infection using Fura-2/AM staining under confocal microscopy ( Fig. 8A). TWTth1 inoculation significantly increased the cytosolic Ca2+ concentration at the attachment site ( Fig. 8A, arrowhead). Quantification of Ca2+ oscillations of Fura-2/AM-loaded H9c2 cells was immediately performed after TWTth1 inoculation from zero to 35 min. Time-lapse images of Ca2+ changes from TWTth1 infected cells and non-infected control are shown in Fig. 8B.

The work reported

herein was funded by Merial Limited, GA

The work reported

herein was funded by Merial Limited, GA, USA. The authors are current employees or contractors of Merial. All studies were funded by Merial Limited. The authors gratefully acknowledge the staff at BerTek, Inc. (Greenbrier AR, USA) and at Merial Limited for their help in conducting the studies to a high professional standard. The authors gratefully acknowledge Michael Murray and Frederic Beugnet for the scientific editing of the manuscript. “
“Tick control is an important concern for public health officials, pet owners, and veterinarians (Dantas-Torres et al., 2012 and Mencke, 2013). Ixodes scapularis ticks have become an increasingly important concern ATM/ATR inhibitor drugs for public and veterinary health ( Dantas-Torres et al., 2012 and Otranto and Wall, 2008). These ticks can carry a variety of infectious agents, some of which are zoonotic and may be life-threatening, including the organisms that cause Lyme borreliosis,

babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis in both dogs and humans ( Chomel, 2011, Colwell et al., 2011 and Varde et al., 1998). The geographic distribution of I. scapularis ticks is also expanding, in part through infestation of migratory birds ( Hamer et al., 2012 and Ogden selleck kinase inhibitor et al., 2008). Several tick species, including I. scapularis, are also capable of transmitting a salivary neurotoxin that can block acetylcholine transmission and lead to flaccid paralysis in dogs and humans ( Blagburn and Dryden, 2009 and Vedanarayanan et al., 2004). There are several strategies available to control tick infestations, including avoidance of infested environments, particularly during periods when ticks are active (Otranto et al., 2009 and Blagburn and Dryden, 2009). Regular administration of an acaricide is also important since old owners may not be aware of what tick species are common in their area and avoiding infested environments may be difficult. There are many topically applied acaricidal products currently available as spot-on formulations

or collars. These compounds, which can be highly efficacious against some tick species, include amitraz, fipronil and pyrethroids (permethrin, deltamethrin, and flumethrin) (Beugnet and Franc, 2012). Despite their reported effectiveness, there are some concerns about the use of topical products due to differences in dogs’ hair coats that may affect efficacy, adverse effects of shampooing or bathing after application on efficacy, possible toxic effects of products on non-target species, or cosmetic concerns (Dryden and Payne, 2004 and Malik et al., 2010). Therefore, an orally administered acaricide may be preferable for many pet owners. Afoxolaner is a novel insecticide–acaricide administered orally in a chewable formulation (Nexgard®, Merial) designed to treat and control fleas and ticks on dogs. This paper describes an experimental study that was performed to demonstrate the efficacy of afoxolaner against I.

Especially the expression of integrin-α6 seems to be an interesti

Especially the expression of integrin-α6 seems to be an interesting hallmark in these changes. However, the detected changes (mostly an up-regulation) in mRNA expression were not reflected at the protein level and location, as detected by an IHC approach. This indicates that either the protein regulation is more complex than just based on mRNA expression or the histochemical approach was not able to detect the subtle integrin changes induced by LVAD support, or both. In

summary, HSP targets despite previous reports on changes in integrin expression after LVAD support, suggesting a role as anchoring proteins in reverse remodeling, the changes observed in the present study on integrin expression and basal membrane protein expression showed no or in most cases only marginal changes. However, this does not exclude a role for these molecules in remodeling as such. The set of tissues pre- and post-LVAD tissues analyzed in this study is unique in its composition and availability. However, the group of LVAD patients studied was relatively small and this makes statistical analysis on the influence of medication, age, and gender difficult. No significant differences were observed in patients (both DCM and IHD) that received additional treatment or not. Also, the duration of support varied (55–548 days), which might have influenced the data. However, the changes in expression Bortezomib of integrins

(if observed at all) did not show any significant correlation with time of support (data not shown). A final limitation is the availability of control heart

tissue. We used myocardial tissues from autopsy hearts from patients without cardiac problems and Phosphoprotein phosphatase non-used donor hearts. No differences were observed in integrin expression between both controls in this study. The pre- and post-LVAD myocardial tissues were directly fixed or frozen after operation and were therefore relatively fresh. Still, we cannot totally exclude that this has influenced the comparison between LVAD tissues and controls. Dr. M.F.M. Van Oosterhout was supported by the Nederlandse Hartstichting (Dutch Heart Foundation); project number 2004T31. “
“Anatomical coronary dominance is defined by the origin of the posterior descending artery (PDA). Left coronary dominance has been shown to be associated with aortic valve disorders in multiple studies [1], [2], [3] and [4]. More recently, the relation between arterial dominance and coronary artery disease (CAD) has been described, including the severity of CAD and prognosis after an acute coronary syndrome [5], [6] and [7]. In patients presenting with acute coronary syndrome, left coronary dominance was independently associated with increased long-term mortality This could imply that, on the long term, there will be a relative decrease of patients with left arterial dominance in the population.