Myocardial Fibrosis as an etiology and a predictor for prognosis in Atrial Fibrillation and

2022 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K17594
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 53020:Cardiology-related
• Research Institution: Kyoto University
• Principal Investigator: Kawaji Tetsuma 京都大学, 医学研究科, 客員研究員 (50791761)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Keywords: 心房細動 / 線維化 / 炎症

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We conducted comprehensive measurements of inflammatory biomarkers that suggest an association with fibrosis in a small sample of patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. Among various biomarkers, we detected specific biomarkers that correlated with the extent of low-voltage areas (left atrial fibrosis), namely IL-17A (positive correlation) and IFN-γ (negative correlation), suggesting that the IL-17A/IFN-γ ratio is the most indicative value reflecting fibrosis. Subsequently, we immobilized the biomarkers to TGF-β and performed numerical quantification. An overall increase in TGF-β was observed over time. It was also found that this progression was particularly rapid in cases of atrial fibrillation recurrence.

Free Research Field

不整脈

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

AFと末梢血バイオマーカーとの関連としては、MRIで左心房の遅延造影が高度であった症例では末梢血TGF-β1が有意に高かったことや、左心房の低電位領域の重症度が末梢血やmicroRNA-21と相関することが報告されている。しかし、いずれも一つのバイオマーカーにおける線維化や予後との関連性の報告がほとんどであり、線維化に特異的なバイオマーカーの抽出やその変動や心筋代謝変化に関する詳細な検討がされていない。本研究は複数の末梢血バイオマーカーの変動や心筋代謝変化からAFの線維化のメカニズムを解明し、治療法の開発に寄与することができる可能性がある