{rfName}
At

Indexed in

License and use

Icono OpenAccess

Altmetrics

Share

June 23, 2014
Publications
>
Article

Atrial fibrosis in a chronic murine model of obstructive sleep apnea: mechanisms and prevention by mesenchymal stem cells

Publicated to:Respiratory Research. 15 (54): 54- - 2014-04-28 15(54), DOI: 10.1186/1465-9921-15-54

Authors: Ramos, Pablo; Rubies, Cira; Torres, Marta; Batlle, Montserrat; Farre, Ramon; Brugada, Josep; Montserrat, Josep M; Almendros, Isaac; Mont, Lluis

Affiliations

Inst Invest Biomed August Pi & Sunyer IDIBAPS, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Fac Med, IDIBAPS CIBERES, Unitat Biofis & Bioengn, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin, IDIBAPS CIBERES Barcelona, Unitat Son Servei Pneumol, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - Author
Univ Barcelona, Hosp Clin, Thorax Inst, Unitat Fibril Iacio Auricular, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain - Author
Universitat de Barcelona - Author
See more

Abstract

OSA increases atrial fibrillation (AF) risk and is associated with poor AF treatment outcomes. However, a causal association is not firmly established and the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. The aims of this work were to determine whether chronic obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) induces an atrial pro-arrhythmogenic substrate and to explore whether mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are able to prevent it in a rat model of OSA.A custom-made setup was used to mimic recurrent OSA-like airway obstructions in rats. OSA-rats (n?=?16) were subjected to 15-second obstructions, 60 apneas/hour, 6 hours/day during 21 consecutive days. Sham rats (n?=?14) were placed in the setup but no obstructions were applied. In a second series of rats, MSC were administered to OSA-rats and saline to Sham-rats. Myocardial collagen deposit was evaluated in Picrosirius-red stained samples. mRNA expression of genes involved in collagen turnover, inflammation and oxidative stress were quantified by real time PCR. MMP-2 protein levels were quantified by Western Blot.A 43% greater interstitial collagen fraction was observed in the atria, but not in the ventricles, of OSA-rats compared to Sham-rats (Sham 8.32?±?0.46% vs OSA 11.90?±?0.59%, P?

Keywords

animal modelanimal-modelatrial fibrillationcardiac fibrosiscardiovascular-diseasedeterminantsdysfunctionfibrillationinflammationmesenchymal stem cellsprogressiontransplantationAnimal modelAnimalsAtrial fibrillationCardiac fibrosisCells, culturedChronic diseaseDisease models, animalFibrosisHeart atriaMaleMesenchymal stem cell transplantationMesenchymal stem cellsObstructive sleep apneaRat modelRatsRats, inbred lewRats, sprague-dawleySleep apnea, obstructive

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Respiratory Research due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2014, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Pulmonary and Respiratory Medicine.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations provided by WoS (ESI, Clarivate), it yields a value for the citation normalization relative to the expected citation rate of: 1.32. This indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Weighted Average of Normalized Impact by the Scopus agency: 1.11 (source consulted: FECYT Feb 2024)
  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 14.56 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-16, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 44
  • Scopus: 33
  • Europe PMC: 31

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-16:

  • The use, from an academic perspective evidenced by the Altmetric agency indicator referring to aggregations made by the personal bibliographic manager Mendeley, gives us a total of: 82.
  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 83 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

  • The Total Score from Altmetric: 0.5.
  • The number of mentions on the social network X (formerly Twitter): 2 (Altmetric).

It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

  • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

Leadership analysis of institutional authors

This work has been carried out with international collaboration, specifically with researchers from: England.

There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (Ramos Ardanaz, Pablo) and Last Author (Almendros Lopez, Isaac).