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BJA Advance Access published online on March 3, 2009
British Journal of Anaesthesia, doi:10.1093/bja/aep011
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© The Board of Management and Trustees of the British Journal of Anaesthesia 2009. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Urotensin II receptor expression in human right atrium and aorta: effects of ischaemic heart disease

A. D. Leonard1, J. P. Thompson1, E. L. Hutchinson1, S. P. Young1, J. McDonald1, J. Swanevelder2 and D. G. Lambert1,*

1 Department of Cardiovascular Sciences (Pharmacology and Therapeutics Group), Division of Anaesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Management, University of Leicester, Leicester Royal Infirmary, Leicester LE1 5WW, UK
2 Department of Anaesthesia, Glenfield Hospital, Groby Road, Leicester LE3 9QP, UK

* Corresponding author. E-mail: dgl3{at}le.ac.uk

Background: Urotensin II (UII) and its receptor UT are involved in control of the cardiovascular system and are implicated in heart failure. We measured UT expression by quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) in atrial and aortic tissue, and plasma UII while simultaneously assessing cardiac function in 40 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery.

Methods: RNA extracted from atrial and aortic samples was probed with specific Q-PCR UT and housekeeper (glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, GAPDH) TaqMan® primers. Plasma UII was measured using radioimmunoassay. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measured using preoperative trans-thoracic echocardiography and ventriculography, and intraoperatively using transoesophageal echocardiography. Q-PCR data are expressed as difference in cycle threshold ({Delta}Ct=CtUT–CtGAPDH: high number indicates low expression).

Results: There was no difference in {Delta}Ct in either atrium or aorta between patients with normal (LVEF >50%) or those with impaired (LVEF <50%) preoperative systolic function. There was a weak negative correlation (r2=0.245, P=0.031) between intraoperative LVEF and {Delta}Ct in 19 patients possibly indicating down-regulation of UT with worsening LVEF. Atria expressed significantly more UT than aorta (P=0.011). In the absence of non-diseased controls, plasma UII was higher than a historical control group.

Conclusions: This is the first study to simultaneously measure UT (mRNA), UII, and cardiovascular function. Collectively, these pilot data may suggest a down-regulation of UT within the right atrium of patients with heart failure.

Keywords: heart, cardiopulmonary bypass; heart, failure; heart, myocardial function; model, G-protein-coupled receptor; monitoring, echocardiography; polymerase chain reaction; urotensins


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