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Circulating Acylcarnitines Associated with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Severity: an Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
Mark Jansen1,2,3,4, A F Schmidt5,6,7,8,9, J J M Jans10,6
1Department of Genetics, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands. m.jansen-48@umcutrecht.nl.
Insights
Certain acylcarnitines may serve as biomarkers for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) severity. Elevated levels of specific acylcarnitines correlate with increased heart wall thickness and reduced ejection fraction in HCM patients.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Genetics
- Biomarker Discovery
- Metabolomics
Background:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a prevalent genetic heart condition marked by myocardial hypertrophy.
- HCM presents with variable clinical severity, potentially leading to outflow tract obstruction, heart failure, and sudden cardiac death.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate circulating acylcarnitines as potential biomarkers for assessing HCM severity.
- To explore the association between specific acylcarnitines and clinical parameters of HCM.
Main Methods:
- An exploratory cross-sectional study involving 124 MYBPC3 founder variant carriers.
- Utilized elastic net and multivariable linear regression to analyze acylcarnitine levels in relation to HCM severity and cardiac metrics.
- Categorized participants into severe HCM, mild HCM, and phenotype-negative groups.
Main Results:
- Eight acylcarnitines were identified as associated with HCM severity.
- Several acylcarnitines (C3, C4, C6-DC, C8:1, C16, C18, C18:2) were significantly elevated in severe HCM compared to controls.
- Acylcarnitines C6-DC and C8:1 showed significant correlations with maximum wall thickness, and C6-DC with ejection fraction.
Conclusions:
- Circulating acylcarnitines show promise as biomarkers for evaluating HCM severity.
- Further prospective studies are necessary to establish the prognostic value of these acylcarnitine biomarkers.
Abstract:
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a relatively common genetic heart disease characterised by myocardial hypertrophy. HCM can cause outflow tract obstruction, sudden cardiac death and heart failure, but severity is highly variable. In this exploratory cross-sectional study, circulating acylcarnitines were assessed as potential biomarkers in 124 MYBPC3 founder variant carriers (59 with severe HCM, 26 with mild HCM and 39 phenotype-negative [G + P-]). Elastic net logistic regression identified eight acylcarnitines associated with HCM severity. C3, C4, C6-DC, C8:1, C16, C18 and C18:2 were significantly increased in severe HCM compared to G + P-, and C3, C6-DC, C8:1 and C18 in mild HCM compared to G + P-. In multivariable linear regression, C6-DC and C8:1 correlated to log-transformed maximum wall thickness (coefficient 5.01, p = 0.005 and coefficient 0.803, p = 0.007, respectively), and C6-DC to log-transformed ejection fraction (coefficient -2.50, p = 0.004). Acylcarnitines seem promising biomarkers for HCM severity, however prospective studies are required to determine their prognostic value.
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