title: Relationships Between Clinical Characteristics and Decreased Plakoglobin and Connexin 43 Expressions in Myocardial Biopsies From Patients With Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy.
abstract: Reduced expressions of plakoglobin and connexin 43 have been reported in the myocardium of patients with arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC). However, the relationships between these expression abnormalities and the clinical features of ARVC remain unknown.The expressions of plakoglobin and connexin 43 in myocardial biopsy specimens from 10 patients with confirmed ARVC, and 13 control patients without ARVC (non-ARVC; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, n = 7; dilated cardiomyopathy, n = 6), were examined by immunostaining to evaluate the relationships between these expressions and the clinical characteristics of ARVC. The ratios of plakoglobin/N-cadherin and of plakoglobin/connexin 43 expressions were significantly lower in the ARVC group than in the control group. Significantly more patients had decreased plakoglobin expression in the ARVC group than in the control group (9/10 versus 7/13; P = 0.0376). Sustained ventricular tachycardia occurred more frequently in patients with ARVC and with decreased expressions of both plakoglobin and connexin 43 than in those with decreased expression of plakoglobin alone (5/5 versus 1/4, P = 0.048).Decreased expressions of both connexin 43 and plakoglobin in the myocardium might be associated with the development of arrhythmia in ARVC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
authors.forename: Takeo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Hiroaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: Saburo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kusumoto
authors.forename: Satoki
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fukae
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Koga
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Yuji
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Koide
authors.forename: Kuniko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.forename: Tomayoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Maemura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D019571:Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D001706:Biopsy; D018031:Connexin 43 / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009206:Myocardium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D051185:gamma Catenin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D018031:Connexin 43; D051185:gamma Catenin