Soluble CD-117 (c-kit) Level in the Coronary Sinus Vein Correlate with the Severity of Systolic Dysfunction

Abstract

Background: The discovery of in-vivo cardiac stem cells has changed our understanding of the heart’s natural response to injury and dysfunction. Recent studies show that CD-117 (c-kit) positive progenitor cells are crucial in the differentiation of cardiac stem cells in response to injury. Methods: We recruited 18 patients undergoing electrophysiology studies and collected blood samples from the coronary sinus at the time of procedure. Plasma levels of soluble CD-117 (sCD117) were assessed by ELISA. Regression and correlation analyses were done to correlate ejection fraction (EF) with levels of sCD117. The cohort was also split into 2 groups based on EF of less than or above 30%. Unpaired T test was done comparing levels in these two groups. Results: Quadratic best fit line showed a trend towards higher levels of sCD117 as EF decreased (Figure 1a). Pearson correlation showed an R value of -0.5931 which was significant with p50.009. When patients were split into groups based on EF less than or above 30% there was a significant difference in levels of sCD-117, (EF!30% (n56) mean 25.03 ng/ml [CI 17.96-32.09] and EF$30% (n512) mean 15.89 ng/ml[CI 13.34-18.44], two tailed p-value of 0.0022). Box plots for the distributions of the cohorts are shown in Figure 1b. Conclusions: Increases in sCD-117 levels in the coronary sinus correlate with the severity of systolic dysfunction. This may be linked to recruitment of cardiac progenitor cells and a mechanism for reversal of injury.