Gene expression analysis of human tissue from patients with cardiomyopathies: a new tool for guiding therapies in the future?

The complete sequencing of the human genome led to the development of a number of new molecular technologies. DNA microarrays represent an exciting new tool for gene expression analysis in human tissue. Measurements of the expressions of many thousands of genes in parallel is possible now. Microarrays may be used for various applications in medicine. They can be used to find novel prognostic and predictive markers as well as new disease classifications into clinically relevant subgroups. While there has been great progress in cancer research in this field, there are significantly less expression data available concerning the heart. In order to identify genes and pathways involved in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathies, we have looked recently for alterations at cellular and molecular levels in heart tissue from cardiomyopathy patients. We showed that a special group of genes is differentially regulated in dilated cardiomyopathy. The first results in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy also showed similar findings. The surgeon's role in the clinical application of gene expression profiling is crucial. He provides a link between the patient and the laboratory scientists playing a significant role in focusing research on the clinically relevant problems. Gene expression profiles may help to better characterize the course and prognosis of the individual patient in the future. The long-term goal is to find a tool that will help to guide medical and surgical therapies in cardiomyopathies and other heart diseases.