Valvular heart disease: shifting the focus to the myocardium.

Adverse cardiac remodelling is the main determinant of patient prognosis in degenerative valvular heart disease (VHD). However, to give an indication for valvular intervention, current guidelines include parameters of cardiac chamber dilatation or function which are subject to variability, do not directly reflect myocardial structural changes, and, more importantly, seem to be not sensitive enough in depicting early signs of myocardial dysfunction before irreversible myocardial damage has occurred. To avoid irreversible myocardial dysfunction, novel biomarkers are advocated to help refining indications for intervention and risk stratification.

AHNAK, a novel component of the dysferlin protein complex, redistributes to the cytoplasm with dysferlin during skeletal muscle regeneration.

Mutations in dysferlin cause limb girdle muscular dystrophy 2B, Miyoshi myopathy and distal anterior compartment myopathy. Dysferlin is proposed to play a role in muscle membrane repair. To gain functional insight into the molecular mechanisms of dysferlin, we have searched for dysferlin-interacting proteins in skeletal muscle.