title: Markers of fibrosis, inflammation, and remodeling pathways in heart failure.
abstract: Ventricular remodeling occurs progressively in untreated patients after large myocardial infarction and in those with cardiomyopathy. The pathologic changes of increased left ventricular (LV) volume and perturbation in the LV chamber geometry involve not only the myocytes, but also the non-myocyte cells and the extracellular matrix. Inflammation, fibrosis, neuro-hormonal activation, and ongoing myocardial damage are the mechanisms underlying remodeling. The detection of an ongoing remodeling process by means of biomarkers such as cytokines, troponins, neurohormones, metalloproteinases, galectin-3, ST-2 and others, may hold a clinical value and could, to some extent, drive the therapeutical strategy in patients after a myocardial infarction or with heart failure. For this reason, there is an increasing interest in the development of new biomarkers and a great number of laboratory tests have been recently proposed, whose clinical usefulness, however, is not fully established yet.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Italy; Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: passino@ftgm.it.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Passino
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barison
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vergaro
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gabutti
authors.affiliation: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borrelli
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione G. Monasterio CNR-Regione Toscana, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Emdin
authors.affiliation: Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Aldo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Clerico
mesh_terms: D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000378:metabolism*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers
keywords: Fibrosis; Heart failure; Remodeling