Absence of cystatin C involvement in ventricular remodelling and heart failure

• Published in: Revista clínica espanõla (English edition) 2016-03, Vol.216 (2), p.55-61
• Main Authors: Pérez-Calvo, J.I., Castiella Muruzábal, T., Búcar Barjud, M., Josa Laorden, C., Sánchez Marteles, M., Lacambra Blasco, I., Asensio López, M.C., Pascual Figal, D.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cistatina C; Cisteín proteasas; Cystatin C; Cystein proteases; Genes de mantenimiento; Heart failure; Housekeeping genes; Insuficiencia cardiaca; Remodelado ventricular; Ventricular remodeling
• ISSN: 2254-8874; 2254-8874
• DOI: 10.1016/j.rceng.2015.12.002

Cystatin C (CysC) is a protease encoded by housekeeping genes. Although its prognostic value in heart failure (HF) is well known, it is debatable whether this value is due to the greater accuracy of CysC in calculating the glomerular filtration rate or to its involvement in pathological ventricular remodeling. The aim of this study was to determine whether CysC expression changes in the myocardium of fetuses of different ages and in the myocardium of adults with various cardiovascular diseases, as well as to analyze the correlation between its serum concentrations and cardiac structure and morphology in a patient group with HF. We analyzed the correlations (Pearson's r and Spearman's test) between the serum CysC levels and echocardiographic parameters of 351 patients with HF. We also performed immunohistochemical staining for CysC, metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and desmin in 9 cardiac tissue samples from autopsies of 4 fetuses of different gestational ages and 5 healthy adults or adults with cardiovascular disease. For the patients with HF, there was no correlation between the CysC concentrations and the cardiac parameters measured by 2D echocardiography. The immunohistochemistry showed a weak background staining for CysC in all samples, regardless of age and the presence or absence of cardiovascular diseases. Our results suggest that CysC does not have a significant role in the pathological remodeling of the left ventricle in HF. La cistatina C (CisC) es una proteasa codificada por genes de mantenimiento («housekeeping genes»). Aunque su valor pronóstico en la insuficiencia cardiaca (IC) es bien conocido, se debate si es debido a su mayor precisión en la estimación del filtrado glomerular, o a su implicación en el remodelado ventricular patológico. El propósito de este estudio fue comprobar si la expresión de CisC se modificaba en el miocardio de fetos de diferentes edades y en el de adultos con diversas enfermedades cardiovasculares, así como analizar la correlación entre sus concentraciones séricas y la estructura y morfología cardiaca en un grupo de pacientes con IC. Se analizaron las correlaciones (test de Pearson y Spearman) entre la CisC sérica y los parámetros ecocardiográficos de 351 pacientes con IC. También se realizó una tinción inmunohistoquímica para CisC, metaloproteinasa 9 (MMP-9) y desmina en 9 muestras de tejido cardiaco procedentes de las autopsias de 4 fetos con diferente edad gestacional y 5 adultos sanos o con enfermedad cardiovascular.