Procollagen type III amino terminal peptide and myocardial fibrosis: A study in hypertensive patients with and without left ventricular hypertrophy.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES:

An exaggerated accumulation of type I and type III fibrillar collagens occurs throughout the free wall and interventricular septum of patients with primary hypertension and left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). In the present study the serum concentration of procollagen type III amino terminal peptide (PIIIP) was measured to determine the value of this peptide as a potential marker of ventricular fibrosis in hypertensive patients, particularly those with LVH.

METHODS:

The study population consisted of patients with never-treated mild to moderate essential hypertension and 30 normotensive control subjects. Clinical, echocardiographic, electrocardiographic and biochemical parameters were assessed in all patients.

RESULTS:

Heart rate, body mass index and levels of blood pressure were increased in hypertensives, particularly those with LVH, compared to normotensive controls. Posterior wall thickness, left ventricular (LV) mass and LV mass index, and serum PIIIP concentration were also increased in hypertensives, with significant differences between the two hypertensive groups. The ratio between maximal early and late transmitral flow velocity measured during diastole was lower in hypertensives, particularly those with LVH, than in normotensive controls.

CONCLUSIONS:

The increase in PIIIP indicates that type III collagen synthesis increases in hypertensives, particularly those with LVH, implying that alterations in the heart in hypertension are the result not solely of hypertrophied LV muscle, but also of increased collagen deposition within the ventricular wall and around the coronary vessels. Thus, measurement of serum PIIIP could be a practical and useful tool in the non-invasive assessment of myocardial remodeling in hypertension.

• Authors: Carlos dos Santos Moreira, Fátima Serejo, Paula Alcântara, Vítor Ramalhinho, J Braz Nogueira
• Journal: Revista portuguesa de cardiologia : orgao oficial da Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia = Portuguese journal of cardiology : an official journal of the Portuguese Society of Cardiology (Rev Port Cardiol) Vol. 34 Issue 5 Pg. 309-14 (May 2015) ISSN: 2174-2030 [Electronic] Portugal
• PMID: 25958256 (Publication Type: Journal Article)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2014 Sociedade Portuguesa de Cardiologia. Published by Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• Peptide Fragments
• Procollagen
• procollagen Type III-N-terminal peptide

Topics

• Aged
• Aged, 80 and over
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Fibrosis (blood, complications)
• Humans
• Hypertension (blood, complications)
• Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular (blood, complications)
• Male
• Myocardium (pathology)
• Peptide Fragments (blood)
• Procollagen (blood)