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The role of apoptosis in dilated cardiomyopathy
J Schaper1, S Lorenz-Meyer, K Suzuki
1Max-Planck-Institute, Department of Experimental Cardiology, Bad Nauheim, Germany. j.schaper@kerckhoff.mpg.de
Insights
Apoptosis, programmed cell death, may contribute to heart failure in dilated cardiomyopathy. Further research is needed to confirm its role and establish reliable measurement methods for this cardiac disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Cell Biology
- Pathology
Background:
- Dilated cardiomyopathy is a progressive cardiac failure of unknown origin.
- Apoptosis (programmed cell death) is a potential contributor to heart failure.
- Previous studies on apoptosis rates in dilated cardiomyopathy show wide variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role and rate of apoptosis in dilated cardiomyopathy.
- To address the variability in reported apoptosis rates.
- To evaluate the significance of apoptosis in the progression of heart failure.
Main Methods:
- Review of methods for apoptosis detection: electron microscopy, TUNEL, Hoechst dye, annexin V, and gel electrophoresis (laddering).
- Discussion of limitations and reliability of individual methods for apoptosis quantification in tissue sections.
- Emphasis on the need for combined techniques (e.g., TUNEL with electron microscopy) for accurate assessment.
Main Results:
- No specific quantitative results presented in the abstract.
- Methods for apoptosis detection have limitations, contributing to inconsistent findings.
- Apoptosis is significant in acute ischemia and hibernating myocardium.
Conclusions:
- The precise role and rate of apoptosis in dilated cardiomyopathy progression remain to be definitively established.
- Technical challenges in apoptosis detection contribute to variability in research findings.
- Further validated research is required to understand apoptosis's significance in dilated cardiomyopathy.
Abstract:
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a cardiac disease of unknown origin which is characterized by the gradual development of cardiac failure. Apoptosis, i.e. suicidal programmed cell death, may play a role in the development of heart failure. Only few studies have been carried out until now that describe the rate of apoptosis in human hearts with dilated cardiomyopathy. The numbers reported vary widely. This is also true for studies in different other cardiac diseases such as myocardial infarction or hibernating myocardium. The methods used to identify apoptosis include electron microscopy, labeling of the DNA fragments (TUNEL), staining with the Hoechst dye, annexin V labeling and documentation of DNA fragmentation using gel electrophoresis (laddering). None of these methods are totally reliable in tissue sections in which apoptosis is not a frequent event when they are not combined with another technique, e.g. TUNEL with electron microscopy or laddering. This has, however, only rarely been done. These technical difficulties may be the reason for the wide variation in the rate of apoptosis reported. From our own data we conclude that apoptosis plays a significant role in acute ischemia and in hibernating myocardium but its significance in the progression to heart failure in dilated cardiomyopathy has still to be established.