Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor receptor expression on human cardiomyocytes from end-stage heart failure patients.
BACKGROUND
In remodelling ventricles, the progression of heart failure is associated with structural changes involving the extra-cellular matrix (ECM) and the cytoskeleton of cardiomyocytes, associated with fibrosis, cellular damage and death. The role of some cytokines and haematopoietic growth factors in the mechanism of both damage and regeneration of cardiac tissue during acute myocardial infarction has been demonstrated. Following heart damage, the development of scarred tissue was considered to be the only outcome, since myocytes were considered to be terminally differentiated cells. However, recent studies in animal models and adult human hearts have shown that myocytes can proliferate under the modulation of several factors.


OBJECTIVE
To assess Granulocyte Macrophage-Colony Stimulating Factor (GM-CSF) receptor expression in healthy and diseased human hearts, and to evaluate the possible role of GM-CSF and its receptor in the regeneration of cardiac tissue in chronic cardiomyopathy.


RESULTS
GM-CSFR expression in human cardiac tissue from explanted hearts of ten patients with end-stage heart failure and in cardiac biopsies from eight normal human hearts was studied by immunohistochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology assays. Our results demonstrated an increase in GM-CSFR in cardiomyocytes from end-stage heart failure tissues as compared to normal control tissues.


CONCLUSIONS
We hypothesize that GM-CSF plays a role in apoptotic and/or ECM deposition processes as well as in cytoskeleton modification in the myocardium.
Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology and Pathology "L. Califano", "Federico II" University, Via S. Pansini, 5, Ed. 19, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Loredana
L
Postiglione
Stefania
S
Montagnani
Paolo
P
Ladogana
Clotilde
C
Castaldo
Gaetano
G
Di Spigna
Eugenia Maria
EM
Bruno
Mimmo
M
Turano
Luca
L
De Santo
Giuseppe
G
Cudemo
Sergio
S
Cocozza
Oreste
O
de Divitiis
Guido
G
Rossi
D000328:Adult; D017209:Apoptosis; D001681:Biological Assay; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000503:physiopathology*; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000503:physiopathology*; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000473:pathology*; D016187:Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
D016187:Receptors, Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor