title: Soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor levels identify a subgroup of heart failure patients with increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  We studied whether the presence of cardiomyocyte apoptosis (CA) in explanted failing hearts is related to previous exposure to the proinflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha).
  
  
  METHODS
  Serum levels of TNF-alpha and its soluble type two receptors (sTNFRII) were measured with ELISAs in 15 cardiac transplant recipients. CA was quantified with TUNEL assay in the explanted failing hearts and autopsy samples from six normal hearts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The number of CA was significantly higher in explanted failing hearts than in normal hearts (0.041% vs. 0.007%, p<0.01). In heart failure patients, serum TNF-alpha was highly variable and did not correlate with CA. In contrast, serum sTNFRII showed a significant correlation (Pearson's r=0.74, p=0.002) with the amount of CA in explanted hearts. sTNFRII level >4500 pg/ml identified seven patients with 2.7 times higher percentage of CA than the other heart failure patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increased levels of sTNFRII identify a heart failure patient subgroup with high CA activity.
authors: Department of Anatomy, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
authors: Antti
authors: A
authors: Saraste
authors: Liisa-Maria
authors: LM
authors: Voipio-Pulkki
authors: Päivi
authors: P
authors: Heikkilä
authors: Petri
authors: P
authors: Laine
authors: Markku S
authors: MS
authors: Nieminen
authors: Kari
authors: K
authors: Pulkki
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology*; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor / Q000097:blood*; D012995:Solubility; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018124:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha