Transcriptional changes associated with advancing stages of heart failure underlie atrial and ventricular arrhythmogenesis

Background

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of mortality and is associated with cardiac remodeling. Vulnerability to atrial fibrillation (AF) has been shown to be greater in the early stages of HF, whereas ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation develop during late stages. Here, we explore changes in gene expression that underlie the differential development of fibrosis and structural alterations that predispose to atrial and ventricular arrhythmias.

Objective

To study transcriptomic changes associated with the development of cardiac arrhythmias in early and late stages of heart failure.

Methods

Dogs were tachy-paced from right ventricle (RV) for 2–3 or 5–6 weeks (early and late HF). We performed transcriptomic analysis of right atria (RA) and RV isolated from control dogs and those in early and late HF. Transcripts with mean relative log2-fold change ≥2 were included in the differential analysis with significance threshold adjusted to p<0.05.

Results

Early HF remodeling was more prominent in RA with enrichment of extracellular matrix, circulatory system, wound healing and immune response pathways; many of these processes were not present in RA in late HF. RV showed no signs of remodeling in early HF but enrichment of extracellular matrix and wound healing in late HF.

Conclusion

Our transcriptomic data indicate significant fibrosis-associated transcriptional changes in RA in early HF and in RV in late HF, with strong atrial predominance. These alterations in gene expression are consistent with the development of arrhythmogenesis in atria in early but not late HF and in the ventricle in late but not early HF.