TGF-β1 signal pathway in the regulation of inflammation in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Objective: To observe the expression changes of inflammatory markers TGF-β1, Smad3 and IL-6 in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), and to explore the significance of TGF-β1 signaling pathway in the structural remodeling of AF.

Methods: The expression of TGF-β1, Smad3 and IL-6 in 50 cases with AF and 30 normal cases were detected by RT-PCR and ELISA.

Results: The TGF-β1, Smad3 and IL-6 mRNA and protein expression levels in patients with AF were significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.