Relationship between the Expression Level of Calcium Handling Proteins of the Sarcoplasmic Reticulum of Cardiomyocytes and the Structural and Functional State of the Patient Hearts with Permanent Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

The relationship between the expression level of Ca 2+ -ATPase (SERCA2a) and calsequestrin (CASQ2) and the structural and functional characteristics of the heart of patients with permanent atrial fibrillation was studied. The study included 40 patients with persistent atrial fibrillation. Patients underwent radiofrequency ablation (RFA), during which a biopsy of myocardial tissue was taken from the left ventricle. Intracardiac hemodynamic parameters were recorded from standard echocardiographic positions. The content of SERCA2a and CASQ2 proteins in the myocardium was determined by immunoblotting. Correlation was found between the level of SERCA2a and CASQ2 in the myocardium and the size of the left atrium. Patients with higher values of end-diastolic and end-systolic heart volumes had high levels of SERCA2a. Lower rates of early (peak E) and late (peak A) diastolic filling of the left ventricle were associated with high SERCA2a expression. The level of expression of the calcium handling proteins Ca 2+ -ATPase and calsequestrin was associated with the structural and functional parameters of the heart of patients with permanent atrial fibrillation.