Expression of Circulating miR-21 and -29 and their Association with Myocardial Fibrosis in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by myocardial hypertrophy, fibrosis, and sarcomeric disarray. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression levels of circulating miR-21 and -29 in patients with HCM and their association with clinical characteristics and myocardial fibrosis. METHODS: In this case-control study, 27 subjects with HCM, 13 subjects with hypertensive cardiomyopathy, and 10 control subjects were enrolled. Evaluation of patients' functional capacity was made by the six-minute walk test. Echocardiographic measurements of left ventricle systolic and diastolic function were conducted. Cardiac magnetic resonance late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) -through a semiquantitative evaluation- was used in the assessment of myocardial fibrosis extent in HCM patients. The expression of miR-21 and -29 in peripheral blood samples of all patients was measured via the method of quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Circulating levels of miR-21 were higher in both hypertensive and HCM (p<0.001) compared to controls, while expression of miR-29 did not differ between the three studied groups. In patients with HCM and LGE-detected myocardial fibrosis in more than 4 out of 17 myocardial segments, delta CT miR-21 values were lower than in patients with myocardial LGE in 3 or fewer myocardial segments (2.71 ± 1.06 deltaCT vs. 3.50 ± 0.55 deltaCT, p<0.04), indicating the higher expression of circulating miR-21 in patients with more extensive myocardial fibrosis. CONCLUSION: MiR-21 was overexpressed in patients with HCM and hypertensive cardiomyopathy. Importantly, in patients with HCM, more extensive myocardial fibrosis was associated with higher levels of miR-21.

Is there a Role for Anti-IL-5 Therapies in Eosinophilic Fasciitis?

Introduction: Eosinophilic Fasciitis (EF) is a rare disease, originally proposed as "diffuse fasciitis with eosinophilia" by Shulman in 1974. Symptoms of EF include peripheral eosinophilia accompanied by symmetrical inflammation of the subcutaneous fascia and muscle, usually locating in the upper arms or thighs. There is no approved standard of care treatment. Methods: Taking into account that eosinophils may be pathogenetically involved in EF, we performed a review on Medline focusing on anti-Interleukin-5 (IL-5) therapies in EF. Results: Only one case of a patient with EF has been reported who was successfully treated with reslizumab, an anti-IL-5 therapy. The patient had EF refractory to the commonly used immunosuppressive treatment but when reslizumab was added, the patient experienced remission of her symptoms. Discussion: The exact aetiology of EF is still unclear, and many therapeutic approaches have been tested. Commonly used immunosuppressive agents, such as corticosteroids are not always effective and associate with significant side effects. Eosinophils seem to have a role in the pathogenesis of the disease; anti-eosinophilic therapies targeting IL-5/IL-5 Receptor could be an attractive alternative for the treatment of the disease.