Absence of cystatin C involvement in ventricular remodelling and heart failure

Abstract

Cystatin C (CysC) is a protease encoded by housekeeping genes. Although its prognostic value in heart failure (HF) is well known, it is debatable whether this value is due to the greater accuracy of CysC in calculating the glomerular filtration rate or to its involvement in pathological ventricular remodeling. The aim of this study was to determine whether CysC expression changes in the myocardium of fetuses of different ages and in the myocardium of adults with various cardiovascular diseases, as well as to analyze the correlation between its serum concentrations and cardiac structure and morphology in a patient group with HF. Patients and methodsWe analyzed the correlations (Pearson's r and Spearman's test) between the serum CysC levels and echocardiographic parameters of 351 patients with HF. We also performed immunohistochemical staining for CysC, metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) and desmin in 9 cardiac tissue samples from autopsies of 4 fetuses of different gestational ages and 5 healthy adults or adults with cardiovascular disease. ResultsFor the patients with HF, there was no correlation between the CysC concentrations and the cardiac parameters measured by 2D echocardiography. The immunohistochemistry showed a weak background staining for CysC in all samples, regardless of age and the presence or absence of cardiovascular diseases. ConclusionsOur results suggest that CysC does not have a significant role in the pathological remodeling of the left ventricle in HF.