January 2016

Inflammatory heart disease (myocarditis) is a primary cause of heart failure and sudden cardiac death in young adults. So far, little is known about the immune system’s role in the development of this type of heart disease. A team of researchers led by Prof. Ziya Kaya and Prof. Hugo Katus from the University of Heidelberg report in the scientific journal PNAS that HMGB1 (high mobility group box 1), a key modulator of the inflammatory response, and its receptor, RAGE (receptor for advanced glycation end products) play an important role in the development and progression of myocarditis. In a mouse model, they were able to demonstrate that the absence of a RAGE receptor leads to a marked reduction in cardiac inflammation. In addition, increased local HMGB1 expression in heart muscle biopsies as well as increased systemic HMGB1 and sRAGE levels in patients with acute myocarditis indicates that both of those proteins play a clinically relevant role in the pathogenesis of the disease. These findings could lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for treating inflammatory heart disease.

Link to the Paper