Gene expression profiling reveals potential prognostic biomarkers associated with the progression of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed countries, especially considering the present demographic tendencies in those populations. We identified biologically relevant transcripts that are significantly altered in the early phase of myocardial infarction (MI) and are associated with the development of post-myocardial infarction HF. We collected peripheral blood samples from patients (n=111) with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) at four time points (admission, discharge, 1 month after MI, and 6 months after MI). Control group comprised patients (n=46) with a stable coronary artery disease and without a history of myocardial infarction. Affymetrix HuGene 1.0 ST arrays were used to analyze mRNA levels in periperal blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from the study and control groups. Samples from the first three time points were compared with the samples from the same patients collected 6 months after MI (stable phase) and with the control group. Additionaly, based on plasma NT-proBNP level and left ventricular ejection fraction parameters the STEMI patients were divided into HF and non-HF groups.We attempted to identify transcripts whose differential expression on the 1st day of myocardial infarction predicted which patients would develop symptoms of HF during the 6 months of follow-up. For this purpose, we compared the microarray results for samples collected on admission for the HF group versus the non-HF group.