title: Adult human cardiomyocytes coexpress vimentin and Ki67 in heart transplant rejection and in dilated cardiomyopathy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to investigate whether adult human cardiomyocytes may reexpress vimentin and whether this is linked to cellular activation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Myocardial samples of 81 heart transplant recipients (n=183) and patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (n=10) were investigated by immunohistochemistry with the use of the marker molecule vimentin, the muscle-specific protein desmin, and Ki67, a marker for cell activation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vimentin protein expression in cardiomyocytes was found in 28 samples of transplant recipients and 5 myocardial samples of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Coexpression of vimentin and Ki67 was found in 52 of 340 vimentin-positive cardiomyocytes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that the vimentin/Ki67 coexpression indicates cell activation processes as the result of different growth stimuli.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Behr
authors.forename: C H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Spes
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Pongratz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weiss
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meiser
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Uberfuhr
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Theisen
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Angermann
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D016193:G1 Phase; D006084:Graft Rejection / Q000378:metabolism*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D019394:Ki-67 Antigen / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D016192:Resting Phase, Cell Cycle; D014746:Vimentin / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D019394:Ki-67 Antigen; D014746:Vimentin