Left-ventricular expression of interleukin-6 messenger-RNA higher in idiopathic dilated than in ischemic cardiomyopathy.
During end-stage heart failure, plasma levels of interleukin-6 (IL6) are elevated. This cytokine exerts a negative inotropic influence on the myocardium. The production site of IL6 is unclear. We examined the hypothesis that IL6 in end-stage heart-failure patients is produced in the myocardium itself and is differentially regulated according to etiology. Cardiac tissue was obtained from 27 patients (idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, (DCM) 9/6 m/f, age 46 +/- 14 y; ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM), 11/1 m/f, age 55 +/- 8 y) at the time of transplantation. The tissue was subjected to IL6 Northern-blot analysis. Signals were quantified by densitometric scanning after normalization to G3 PDH mRNA. Data were compared by Mann-Whitney test between DCM and ICM patients, divided by chamber origin. IL6 transcripts were found in all patients. In DCM, left-ventricular IL6 mRNA expression was higher than in ICM (p = 0.006). Median right-ventricular as well as left- and right-atrial IL6 mRNA expression was not significantly different in both groups. In summary, in end-stage heart failure, IL6 mRNA is consistently expressed in the myocardium. Left-ventricular expression is higher in DCM than in ICM. These data support the concept of a potentially reversible inflammatory component in the etiology of DCM which is more pronounced than in patients with ICM of comparable clinical severity.
Plenz
G
G
Department of Cell Biology and Ultrastructural Research, Institute for Arteriosclerosis Research, Westfalian Wilhelms University, Münster, Germany.
Song
Z F
ZF
Reichenberg
S
S
Tjan
T D
TD
Robenek
H
H
Deng
M C
MC
D000328:Adult; D009202:Cardiomyopathies; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D015850:Interleukin-6; D012333:RNA, Messenger