METHODS AND RESULTS: Endomyocardial biopsies were stained for
EMMPRIN and CyPA in addition to standard histology (HE, Trichrom) and immunohistological stainings (MHC-II, CD68, CD3). 39 (38.2%) biopsies met the immunohistological criteria of an inflammatory
cardiomyopathy.
EMMPRIN, which was predominantly expressed on cardiomyocytes, was slightly (but significantly) upregulated in non inflammatory
cardiomyopathies compared to normal histopathological findings and highly upregulated in inflammatory
cardiomyopathy compared to both non inflammatory
cardiomyopathy and normal histopathology. In contrast, CyPA reveals no enhanced expression in non inflammatory
cardiomyopathies and a highly enhanced expression in inflammatory
cardiomyopathy, where it is closely associated with leucocytes infiltrates. We found a strong correlation between both
EMMPRIN and CyPA with the expression of
MHC-II molecules (correlation coefficient 0.475 and 0.527, p<0.05). Moreover, we found a correlation for both
EMMPRIN and CyPA with CD68 (correlation coefficient 0.393 and 0.387, p<0.05) and CD3 (correlation coefficient 0.360 and 0.235, p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: