Faculty Detail   
Name SILVIO HECTOR LITOVSKY
Professor 		 
Campus Address HSB 175G Zip 6823
Phone  (205) 996-5410
E-mail  slitovsky@uabmc.edu
Other websites
    

Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Clinical Pathology  Anatomic Pathology Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cardiovascular Ctr  Comprehensive Cardiovascular Ctr Professor
Center  Minority Health & Research Center  Minority Health & Research Center Professor
Center  Nephrology Research & Training Center  Nephrology Research & Training Center Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Molecular and Cellular Pathology Program 

Biographical Sketch 
Following clinical cardiology training in Buenos Aires, Argentina under Drs. Mauricio Rosenbaum and Marcelo Elizari, I arrived to the Masonic Medical Research Laboratory in Utica, New York where Dr. Charles Antzelevitch and I described the electrophysiological heterogeneity in the active properties of the canine myocardium. Specifically, we described a prominent transient outward current in the epicardium that is largely missing in the endocardium. These findings were later confirmed in the human heart. This and other heterogeneities that were described later, likely contribute to the genesis of several important electrophysiologic syndromes, such as Brugada syndrome and long QT syndrome.
After completion of a pathology residency in SUNY HSC at Syracuse, cardiovascular pathology fellowships at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology under Dr. Renu Virmani, The Jesse Edwards Registry of Cardiovascular Disease under Drs. Jack Titus and Alan Rose, and the Cardiac Registry at Boston Children’s Hospital under Dr. Richard Van Praagh, I joined the research group at the University of Texas Houston and Texas Heart Institute led by Drs. James Willerson and Ward Casscells. We worked in the fields of influenza and atherosclerosis describing a possible mechanism for the deleterious effect of influenza on the outcomes of atherosclerosis, the likely contribution of peri-adventitial fat on the plaque inflammation, plaque calcification and on models of stem cell treatment of coronary ischemia and infarction in the dog. I arrived at UAB in 2004 and I was able to combine service work in the autopsy and heart biopsy service, teaching as the co-director of the cardiovascular module and research collaborating with several outstanding UAB investigators. In addition, I have been the treasurer of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology since 2007 and Alabama State Commissioner for the College of American Pathologists since 2008.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
Society of Cardiovascular Pathology, United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Cardiac Electrophysiologic Society, College of American Pathologists     
 

Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Description
We study with Dr. Dell’Italia’s group the effect of volume overload pathologies like mitral regurgitation on the myocytes structure even before the global function of the heart deteriorates. We are studying the Purkinje fibers distribution in dogs and pigs to try to gain further insight into the findings of Dr. Ideker and collaborators who described significant differences between the ventricular fibrillation of animals where the Purkinje fiber is restricted to the subendocardium (e.g. dog) and animals with transmural Purkinje distribution (e.g. swine). The periadventitial fat is being studied with Drs. Hardy and Garvey for adiponectin and inflammation in surgical samples obtained by the cardiothoracic group to gain insight into the mechanisms of acute coronary syndromes. The preferential anatomic distribution of arrhythmias arising in the left ventricular ostium is being studied in heart specimens obtained at autopsy with Drs. Kay and Yamada. These two investigators have highlighted the importance of arrhythmias arising in the base of the heart, in close continuity with the aortic and mitral valves. With Dr. Michael Allon we study the potential effect of preoperative histology of the vascular anastomotic tissue on the outcomes of arteriovenous fistulas and grafts used in hemodialysis. With Dr. Greg Walcott we study the effect of electrical shocks and different electrodes on the myocardium.

Selected Publications 
Ruzsics B, Suranyi P, Kiss P, Brott BC, Litovsky SH, Denney TS, Aban I, Simor T, Elgavish GA,Gupta H. Myocardial strain in sub-acute peri-infarct myocardium. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging 2009;25:151-9
 		 18855121 
Reilly SD, Litovsky SH, Steinkampf MP, Caulfield JB. Statins improve atherosclerotic plaque morphology. Texas Heart Inst J 2008;35:99-103
 		 18612439 
Sethuraman S, Amirian JH, Litovsky SH, Smalling RW, Emelianov SY. Spectroscopic intravascular photoacoustic imaging to differentiate atherosclerotic plaques. Opt Express 2008;16:3362-7
 		 18542427 
Sharma PP, Payvar S, Litovsky SH. Histomorphometric analysis of intramyocardial vessels in primary and senile amyloidosis: epicardium versus endocardium. Cardiovas Pathol 2008;17:65-71
 		 18329550 
Perin EC, Silva GB, Assad JA, Vela D, Buja LM, Sousa AL, Litovsky SH, Lin J, Vaughn WK, Coulter S, Fernandes MR, Willerson JT. Comparison of intracoronary and transendocardial delivery of allogeneic mesenchymal cells in a canine model of acute myocardial infarction. J Mol Cell Cardiol 2008;44:486-95  18061611 
Vela D, Buja LM, Madjid M, Burke A, Naghavi M, Willerson JT, Casscells SW, Litovsky SH. Periadventitial fat in atherosclerosis: an adipose subset with potential diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2007;131:481-7   17516753 
Howard JH, Litovsky SH, Tallaj JA, Liu X, Holman WL. Xenograft calcification in Reiter’s syndrome. The Journal of Heart Valve Disease 2007;16:159-61

 		 17484465 
Madjid M, Vela D, Khalili-Tabrizi H, Casscells SW, Litovsky SH. Systemic infections cause exaggerated inflammation in atherosclerotic human coronary arteries: A clue to the triggering effect of acute infections on acute coronary syndromes. Texas Heart Inst J. 2007;34:11-18

 		 17420787 
Knight CS, Litovsky SH, Bennett Pearce F, Faye-Petersen O. Pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum associated with congenitally corrected transposition. Presentation of a case and review of the literature. Pediatr Cardiol 2006;27:741-5

 		 17091327 
Litovsky SH, Henderson J, Tallaj JA, McGiffin DC, Rayburn BK, Pamboukian SV, Benza RL, Bourge RC, Kirklin JK, Pinderski LJ: Acute takeoff of the right coronary artery with long intra-aortic wall course presenting as chronic occlusion in a patient with end-stage heart failure. J Heart Lung Transplant 2006;25:740-2

 		 16730585 
George JF, Pinderski LJ, Litovsky SH, Kirklin JK. Of mice and men; mouse models for investigation of the molecular mechanism of post-transplant coronary artery disease. J Heart Lung Transplant 2005, 24:2003-14  16364842 
Brazdeikis A, Chu CW, Cherukuri P, Litovsky SH, Naghavi M. Changes in magnetocardiogram patterns of infracted-reperfused myocardium after injection of superparamagnetic contrast media. Neurol Clin Neurophysiol 2004:16   16012681 
Silva GV, Litovsky SH, Assad JA, Sousa AL, Martin BJ, Vela D, Coulter SC, Lin J, Ober J, Vaughn WK, Branco RV, Oliveira EM, He R, Geng YJ, Willerson JT, Perin EC. Mesenchymal stem cell differentiate into an endothelial phenotype, enhance vascular density, and improve heart function in a canine chronic ischemic model. Circulation 2005;111:150-6  15642764 
Cherukuri P, Bachilo SM, Litovsky SH, Weisman RB. Near-infrared fluorescence microscopy of single- walled carbon nanotubes in phagocytic cells. J Am Chem. Soc. 2004;126:15638-9  15571374 
Madjid M, Zarrabi A, Litovsky S, Willerson JT, Casscells W. Finding vulnerable atherosclerotic plaques: Is it worth the effort? Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2004;24:1775-82  15308556 
Madjid M, Aboshady I, Awan I, Litovsky SH, Casscells SW. Influenza and cardiovascular disease: is there a causal relationship? Tex Heart Inst J 2004:31:4-13  15061620 
Madjid M, Naghavi M, Litovsky SH, Casscells SW. Influenza and cardiovascular disease: A new opportunity for prevention and the need for further studies. Circulation 2003;108:2730-6  14610013 
Naghavi M, Falk E, Libby P, Virmani R, Casscells W, Litovsky SH, Madjid M, Moreno P, Zarrabi A, Badimon J, Muller J, Pasterkamp G, Shah P, Schwartz R, Stone P, Raggi P, Waxman S, Mehran R, Fitzgerald P, Siscovick D, Aikawa M, Becker C, Chesebro J, de Korte C, Hansson G, Farb A, Fayad Z, Galis Z, Jackson C, Lodder R, Navab M, Rekher M, Saloner D, Stefanadis C, Yuan C, Bahr R, Grundy S, Serruys P, Zipes D, Airaksinen J, Priori S, Koening W, Ridker P, Willerson JT. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies (part II). Circulation 2003;108:1772-8  14557340 
Naghavi M, Falk E, Libby P, Virmani R, Casscells W, Litovsky SH, Madjid M, Moreno P, Zarrabi A, Badimon J, Muller J, Pasterkamp G, Shah P, Schwartz R, Stone P, Raggi P, Waxman S, Mehran R, Fitzgerald P, Siscovick D, Aikawa M, Becker C, Chesebro J, de Korte C, Hansson G, Farb A, Fayad Z, Galis Z, Jackson C, Lodder R, Navab M, Rekher M, Saloner D, Stefanadis C, Yuan C, Bahr R,Grundy S, Serruys P, Zipes D, Airaksinen J, Priori S, Koening W, Ridker P, Willerson JT. From vulnerable plaque to vulnerable patient: a call for new definitions and risk assessment strategies (part I). Circulation 2003;108:1664-72   14530185 
Naghavi M, Madjid M, Gul K, Siadaty MS, Litovsky S, Willerson JT, Casscells SW. Thermography basket catheter: In vivo measurements of the temperature of atherosclerotic plaques for detection of vulnerable plaques. Catheter Cardiovasc Interv 2003:59:52-9   12720241 
Litovsky SH, Madjid M, Zarrabi A, Casscells SW, Willerson JT, Naghavi M. Superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) based method for quantifying recruitment of monocytes to mouse atherosclerotic lesions in vivo: enhancement by tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-1β and interferon-γ. Circulation, 2003;107:1545-9
 		 12654614 
Naghavi M, Wyde P, Litovsky SH, Madjid M, Akhtar A, Naguib S, Siadaty MS, Sanati S, Casscells SW. Influenza infection exerts prominent inflammatory and thrombotic effects on the atherosclerotic plaques of ApoE- deficient mice. Circulation, 2003;107:762-8  12578882 
Madjid M, Naghavi M, Malik BA, Litovsky SH, Willerson JT, Casscells SW. Thermal detection of vulnerable plaque. American Journal of Cardiology, 2002,90(10, Suppl. 3):L36-L39  12459426 
Naghavi M, John R, Naguib S, Siadaty MS, Grasu R, Kurian KC, van Winkle WB, Soller B, Litovsky SH, Madjid M, Willerson JT, Casscells SW. pH heterogeneity of human and rabbit atherosclerotic plaques; a new insight into detection of vulnerable plaque. Atherosclerosis 2002;164:27-35  12119190 
Vizcaino A, Campbell J, Litovsky SH, Van Praagh R. Single origin of the right and left pulmonary artery branches from the ascending aorta with a nonbranching main pulmonary artery. Ped Cardiol 2002;23:230-4   11889544 
Crispino JD, Lodish MB, Thurberg BL, Litovsky SH, Collins T, Molkentin JD, Orkin SH. Proper coronary vascular development and heart morphogenesis depend on interaction of GATA-1 with FOG cofactors. Genes Dev 2001;15:839-44  11297508 
Tevosian SG, Deconinck AE, Tanaka M, Schinke M, Litovsky SH, Izumo S, Fujiwara Y, Orkin SH. FOG-2, a cofactor for GATA transcription factors, is essential for heart morphogenesis and development of coronary vessels from epicardium. Cell 2000;101:729-39  10892744 
Litovsky SH, Ostfeld I, Bjornstad PG, Van Praagh R, Geva T. Truncus arteriosus with anomalous pulmonary venous connection. Am J Cardiol 1999;83:801-804, A10  10080446 
Litovsky SH, Rose AG. Clinicopathologic heterogeneity in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with regard to age, asymmetric septal hypertrophy and concentric hypertrophy. Arch Pathol Lab Med 1998;122:434-441  9593345 
Sicouri S, Moro S, Litovsky SH, Elizari M, Antzelevitch C. Chronic amiodarone reduces transmural dispersion of repolarization in the canine heart. J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol 1997;8:1269-1279

 		 9395170 
Kolodgie FD, Farb A, Litovsky SH, Narula J, Jeffers LA Lee SJ, Virmani R. Myocardial protection of contractile function after global ischemia by physiologic estrogen replacement in the ovariectomized rat. J Mol Cell Cardiol 1997; 29:2403-2414  9299364 
Litovsky SH, Burke AP, Virmani R. Giant cell myocarditis: An entity distinct from sarcoidosis characterized by multiphasic myocyte destruction by cytotoxic T-cells and histiocytic giant cells. Mod Pathol 1996; 9:1126-1134  8972471 
Litovsky SH, Farb A, Burke AP, Rabin IY, Herderick EE, Smialek J, Virmani R. Effect of age, race, body habitus, heart weight and atherosclerosis on coronary artery dimensions in young males. Atherosclerosis 1996; 123:243-250  8782855 
Burke AP, Litovsky SH, Virmani R. Lipomatous hypertrophy of the atrial septum presenting as a right atrial mass. Am J Surg Pathol 1996; 20:678-685  8651346 
Bittar FF, Feldbaum DM, Kohman LJ, Litovsky SH, Veit LJ. Effect of early versus delayed hypoxic environment on neonatal rabbits. J Surg Res 1994; 57: 264-267  8028333 
Litovsky SH and Antzelevitch C. Transient outward current prominent in epicardium but not endocardium. Circ Res 1988:62:116-26  2826039 
Litovsky SH and Antzelevitch C. Rate-Dependence of action potential duration and refractoriness in canine ventricular endocardium differs from that in epicardium. The role of the transient outward current. JACC 1989;14:1053-63

 		 2551947 
Litovsky SH, Antzelevitch C. Differences in the electrophysiologic response of ventricular subendocardium and the subepicardium to acetylcholine and isoproterenol. A direct effect of acetylcholine in ventricular myocardium. Circ Res 1990;67:615-27  2397572 
Acharya D, Litovsky S, Papapietro SE, Pamboukian SV, Tallaj JA: Coronary artery fistula after cardiac transplantation. Circulation 2012;126:2144-5   2309087 
Antzelevitch C, Sicouri S, Litovsky SH, Lukas A, Di Diego JM, Gintant GA. Heterogeneity within the ventricular wall. Circ Res 1991:69:1427-49  1659499 
Litovsky SH, Choy M, Park J, Parrish M, Waters B, Nagashima M, Van Praagh R, Van Praagh S. Absent pulmonary valve with tricuspid atresia or severe tricuspid stenosis: report of three cases and review of the literature. Pediatr Dev Pathol 2000;3:353-366  1089251 
Van Praagh R, Litovsky SH. Pathology and embryology of common atrioventricular canal. Progress in Pediatric Cardiology 1999;10:115-127   
Madjid M, Naghavi M, Litovsky SH, Casscells SW. Influenza as a bioweapon. J R Soc Med 2003;96:345-6   
Madjid M, Litovsky S, Vela D, Casscells SW. Influenza vaccination: An emerging opportunity to prevent cardiovascular disease. International Congress Series, 2004, 1263:678-81   
Vela D, Buja LM, Litovsky SH. In reply. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2007;131:1766-7

 		  
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Keywords
Periadventitial Fat, Volume Overload, Purkinje Fibers, Left Ventricular Ostium, arteriovenous fistula, arteriovenous graft