Transcriptome of TGF-β family, TGF-β receptors, and TGF-β receptor-activated signaling pathways in advanced coronary artery disease (CAD) and post-MI patients

Abstract

Introduction: Transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β) is one of the most important cytokines which participate in fibrotic processes, including post-MI fibrosis. The purpose of this research was to determine TGF-β family gene expression profiles in the myocardium of patient after a myocardial infarction and to compare the results to a trancriptome in multivessel coronary artery disease (with no history of MI) and a subject with normal coronary vessels.
Material and methods: After a statistical analysis of 22,283 transcripts analyzed using HG-U133A Affymetrix microarrays, the differentiating transcripts were, i.e. ENG, TGF-BRII and NPR1 (ANP-GC-A).
Results: Although in the post-MI myocardium the differentiating genes were overexpressed, they were downregulated in the myocardium with no MI history, thus suggesting a role for TGF-b in post-infarction cardiac remodeling.
Conclusions: The preliminary and, in our opinion, interesting semi-quantitative results of the oligonucleotide microarray technique need confirmation through a quantitative real time-polymerase chain reaction (QRT-PCR), as well as being based on a larger group of patients.