Transcriptomic Comparison of Human Peripartum and Dilated Cardiomyopathy Identifies Differences in Key Disease...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Genomics
• Molecular Biology

Background:

• Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is a rare heart failure during pregnancy.
• A subset of PPCM patients develop end-stage heart failure similar to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare gene expression profiles of end-stage PPCM with female DCM and healthy donors.
• To identify shared and unique molecular pathways in PPCM and DCM.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of two independent RNA-seq datasets from left ventricles.
• Differential gene expression, enrichment analysis, and cellular deconvolution.

Main Results:

• PPCM and DCM share metabolic and extracellular matrix remodeling pathways.
• PPCM exhibits enriched Golgi vesicle biogenesis pathways, not seen in DCM.
• Immune cell population changes are less pronounced in PPCM than in DCM, which shows significant pro-inflammatory T cell activity.

Conclusions:

• End-stage PPCM and DCM share common heart failure mechanisms.
• Unique pathways, including Golgi vesicle biogenesis, may distinguish PPCM.
• Distinct immune responses are observed between PPCM and DCM.