Proteomic analysis of the myocardium from organ donors and patients with chronic chagasic, idiopathic and ischemic cardiomyopathy: approaches by DIGE and LC-MS/MS

• Grant number: 10/50821-2
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: July 01, 2010
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Immunology
• Principal Investigator: Edecio Cunha Neto
• Grantee: Edecio Cunha Neto
• Host Institution: Instituto do Coração Professor Euryclides de Jesus Zerbini (INCOR). Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP). Secretaria da Saúde (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Chagas disease cardiomyopathy (CCC) has an intense inflammatory infiltrate in cardiac tissue, and patients with CCC have a poorer prognosis compared to patients with other non-inflammatory etiology of cardiomyopathy such as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (IC). Preliminary results of protein expression using two-dimensional electrophoresis with fluorescent labeling (DIGE) and mass spectrometry, show that patients with CCC have several proteins with altered expression in the myocardium in comparison with patients with IDC, IC and subjects without cardiomyopathy, including proteins involved in energy metabolism, response to stress, apoptosis, among others. Thus, in order to deepen the analysis of protein expression in the myocardium of patients with CCC, IDC, IC and individuals without cardiomyopathy, we intend to perform protein separation by two-dimensional electrophoresis followed by analysis in liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). This analysis will allow us to detect a much larger number of proteins, including those with lower expression. Studies also show that male patients with CCC have a shorter survival compared with patients with CCC, from the same functional class for heart failure, but female. Thus, we also intend to perform a differential proteomic analysis between these patients, using both technologies: DIGE and LC-MS/MS. This analysis may provide insight to mechanisms associated with differential evolution for both sexes. Thus, we believe that the study of protein expression in the myocardium of patients with CCC, IDC, IC and individuals without cardiomyopathies could suggest the reason why patients with CCC have a poorer prognosis as compared to patients with other cardiomyopathies, or even could indicate new targets for therapeutic intervention in patients with Chagas disease and heart failure. (AU)