title: Transforming growth factor β1 and coronary intimal hyperplasia in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Congenital heart defects or the process of their repair leads to an increased risk for adult cardiovascular disease compared with the general population. Intimal hyperplasia is a preatherosclerotic lesion that may be produced as a consequence of transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) pathway activation. We studied the presence of intimal hyperplasia in arteries from a pediatric population with congenital heart disease (CHD) and TGF-β1 expression to enlighten its possible role in the genesis of these lesions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Coronary arteries from 10 controls and 98 CHD patients (54% cyanotic type, 32% surgically repaired) were stained, and the presence and degree of intimal thickening were analyzed. The expression of TGF-β1 was studied by immunohistochemistry.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The difference between the presence of coronary intimal hyperplasia in patients with cyanotic (35; 66.1%) and noncyanotic CHD (29; 64.3%) was not significant. However, surgically repaired CHD presented a higher rate of coronary intimal hyperplasia (80%) than did the group without surgical intervention (47.3%), P = 0.0002. The immunostaining for TGF-β1 analyzed in samples of patients with cyanotic and noncyanotic CHD showed no significant differences. However, TGF-β1 expression was more intense on the intimal layer of patients with surgically repaired CHD than on that of those without surgery (intimal area positive for TGF-β1, 50.43% vs 15.91%, respectively; Mann-Whitney U test P = 0.0005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high incidence of intimal hyperplasia in patients with surgically repaired CHD is correlated with TGF-β1 expression and may contribute to the development of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease in CHD patients.
authors: Instituto de Investigaciones Cardiológicas Prof. Dr. Alberto C. Taquini, ININCA-UBA-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors: Roberto A
authors: RA
authors: Guerri-Guttenberg
authors: Rocío
authors: R
authors: Castilla
authors: Gabriela C
authors: GC
authors: Francos
authors: Angélica
authors: A
authors: Müller
authors: Giuseppe
authors: G
authors: Ambrosio
authors: José
authors: J
authors: Milei
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003331:Coronary Vessels / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D006965:Hyperplasia / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D017539:Tunica Intima / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1