title: ECM remodeling in hypertensive heart disease.
abstract: Hypertensive heart disease (HHD) occurs in patients that clinically have both diastolic and systolic heart failure and will soon become the most common cause of heart failure. Two key aspects of heart failure secondary to HHD are the relatively highly prevalent LV hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis, caused by changes in the local and systemic neurohormonal environment. The fibrotic state is marked by changes in the balance between MMPs and their inhibitors, which alter the composition of the ECM. Importantly, the fibrotic ECM impairs cardiomyocyte function. Recent research suggests that therapies targeting the expression, synthesis, or activation of the enzymes responsible for ECM homeostasis might represent novel opportunities to modify the natural progression of HHD.
authors.affiliation: Cardiovascular Research Institute and Department of Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14642, USA. bradford_berk@urmc.rochester.edu
authors.forename: Bradford C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Berk
authors.forename: Keigi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujiwara
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lehoux
mesh_terms: D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005355:Fibrosis; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D020257:Ventricular Remodeling