CORRELATION OF MYOCYTE PCNA ACTIVITY IN ENDOMYOCARDIAL BIOPSIES WITH LEFT VENTRICLE EJECTION FRACTION

LAGUENS RP; CABEZA MECKERT P; VIGLIANO CA; MERBILHAA R; GABE E

Ixia, Rhodes

Congreso; XVI World Congress of the ISHR.; 1998

International Society for Heart Research

Recent evidence has shown that myocytes are able of DNA synthesis. In order to find out if this synthesis ts vinculated with the functional capacity of the heart, we carríed out a study correlating the presence of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) activity in myocyte nuclei with the left ventricular ejection fraction at rest (LVEF), diastolic diameter and wall thickness. In endomyocardial biopsies from the right ventricle of 48 patients with dilated cardiomyopathies (mean age 43.1 years, range 14-68), PCNA activity was demonstrated by immunoperoxidase. In 19 of the 48 biopsies a PCNA activity was observed in the myocyte nuclei. The number of positive cells was variable for each patient ranging from up to 1/4 of positive cells to a few stained nuclei in the whole EMB. In the PCNA positive cases the LVEF was significantly higher (30.32% ± 3.58 SEM) than in the PCNA negative patients (21.45±2.02, p<0.03). No correlation was observed with age, diastolic diameter or wall thickness. This result, showing that those patients who present a more severe degree of heart failure do not shown evidence of myocyte proliferative activity, suggests that the ability of the myocyte to enter the cell cycle may provide a functional reserve for the heart.