Although great advances have been made, the problem of irreversible myocardium loss due to the limited regeneration capacity of cardiomyocytes has not been fully solved. The morbidity and mortality of heart disease still remain high. There are many therapeutic strategies for treating heart disease, while low efficacy and high cost remain challenging. Abundant evidence has shown that both acute and chronic inflammations play a crucial role in heart regeneration and repair following injury. Macrophages, a primary component of inflammation, have attracted much attention in cardiac research in recent decades. The detailed mechanisms of the roles of macrophages in heart regeneration and repair are not completely understood, in part because of their complex subsets, various functions, and intercellular communications. The purpose of this review is to summarize the progress made in the understanding of macrophages, including recent reports on macrophage differentiation, polarization and function, and involvement in heart regeneration and repair. Also, we discuss progress in treatments, which may suggest directions for future research.

Background/Aims: Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play a critical role in the regulation of gene transcription, cardiac development, and diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the inhibition of HDACs improves cardiac remodeling and its underlying mechanisms in a mouse myocardial infarction (MI) model. Methods: The HDAC inhibitor trichostatin A (TSA, 0.1 mg/kg/day) was administered via daily intraperitoneal injections for 8 consecutive weeks after MI in C57/BL mice. Echocardiography and tissue histopathology were used to assess cardiac function. Cultured neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts (NRCFs) were subjected to simulated hypoxia in vitro. Autophagic flux was measured using the tandem fluorescent mCherry-GFP-LC3 assay. Western blot was used to detect autophagic biomarkers. Results: After 8 weeks, the inhibition of HDACs in vivo resulted in improved cardiac remodeling and hence better ventricular function. MI was associated with increased LC3-II expression and the accumulation of autophagy adaptor protein p62, indicating impaired autophagic flux, which was reversed by TSA treatment. Cultured NRCFs exhibited increased cell death after simulated hypoxia in vitro. Increased cell death was associated with markedly increased numbers of autophagosomes but not autolysosomes, as assessed by punctate dual fluorescent mCherry-green fluorescent protein tandem-tagged light chain-3 expression, indicating that hypoxia resulted in impaired autophagic flux. Importantly, TSA treatment reversed hypoxia-induced impaired autophagic flux and led to a 40% decrease in cell death. This was accompanied by improved mitochondrial membrane potential. The beneficial effects of TSA therapy were abolished by RNAi intervention targeting LAMP2; likewise, in vivo delivery of chloroquine abolished the TSA-mediated cardioprotective effects. Conclusion: Our results provide evidence that the HDAC inhibitor TSA prevents cardiac remodeling after MI and is dependent on restoring autophagosome processing of cardiac fibroblasts.

Despite the great progress made in the treatment for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), the morbidity and mortality of CVDs remains high due to the lack of effective treatment strategy. Inflammation is a central pathophysiological feature of the heart in response to both acute and chronic injury, while the molecular basis and underlying mechanisms remains obscure. Interleukin (IL)‐13, a pro‐inflammatory cytokine, has been known as a critical mediator in allergy and asthma. Recent studies appraise the role of IL‐13 in CVDs, revealing that IL‐13 is not only involved in more obvious cardiac inflammatory diseases such as myocarditis but also relevant to acute or chronic CVDs of other origins, such as myocardial infarction and heart failure. The goal of this review is to summarize the advancement in our knowledge of the regulations and functions of IL‐13 in CVDs and to discuss the possible mechanisms of IL‐13 involved in CVDs. We highlight that IL‐13 may be a promising target for immunotherapy in CVDs.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common arrhythmia worldwide, a major cause of heart failure and stroke, and carries a significant healthcare burden. Atrial cardiomyopathy (ACM) provides the structural and electrophysiological basis for AF, while metabolic dysregulation, particularly insulin resistance (IR), is increasingly recognized as a key factor exacerbating atrial remodeling. However, due to the complexity and high cost of IR measurement procedures, no reliable, user-friendly, and practical tool supporting AF risk stratification has yet been identified in clinical practice. To address this gap, we conducted a literature search in various databases and found an increasing body of research indicating that the triglyceride–glucose index (TyG index) is a simpler, more cost-effective alternative for identifying adverse metabolic profiles and the AF risk. This narrative review describes the existing literature and explores the potential mechanisms underlying changes in the TyG index and its clinical applications, while also discussing the challenges facing the use of this index and future research directions. In summary, the current evidence suggests that the TyG index is a promising but not yet established risk assessment biomarker for AF.