Myocardial expression of heat shock protein 70i protects early postoperative right ventricular function in cyanotic tetralogy of Fallot

Right ventricular dysfunction occurs after tetralogy of Fallot repair and may relate to greater myocardial vulnerability to ischemia-reperfusion injury in cyanotic patients. The inducible form of heat shock protein 70 (HSP-70i), a molecular chaperone, is upregulated in response to cellular stress and limits myocardial injury against ischemia-reperfusion. We evaluated the myocardial expression of HSP-70i and its relation to right ventricular function and clinical outcome in patients with tetralogy of Fallot undergoing corrective surgery.

The association of HSP-70i expression with improved right ventricular function and systemic perfusion suggests an important cardioprotective effect of HSP-70i in cyanotic tetralogy of Fallot.

Twenty patients with tetralogy of Fallot were studied: 10 cyanotic (group Cy) and 10 noncyanotic (group noCy). Western blot was used to quantify HSP-70i from resected right ventricular outflow tract myocardium at baseline and subsequent ischemic time. Biventricular function was quantified by tissue Doppler echocardiography and compared with that of 15 age-matched healthy children. Postoperative systemic perfusion was assessed by mixed venous oxygen saturation, oxygen extraction ratio, and lactate.

Group Cy had thicker septum (median 0.85 vs 0.66 cm; P = .01) and longer crossclamp time (median 100.0 vs 67.5 minutes; P = .004). There were no difference in HSP-70i between groups at baseline (4.12 vs 3.44 relative optical density; P = .45) or subsequent ischemic time. Preoperative biventricular systolic function was reduced in patients with tetralogy compared with controls with further postoperative right ventricular impairment. Group Cy had higher troponin-I levels (median 16.5 vs 11.1 ng/mL; P = .04) and inotrope scores (14.0 vs 6.5; P = .05) but no differences in ventricular function, mixed venous oxygen saturation, oxygen extraction ratio, and lactate between groups. In group Cy, baseline HSP-70i correlated with better postoperative right ventricular function (rho = 0.80; P = .009), mixed venous oxygen saturation (rho = 0.68; P = .04), and oxygen extraction ratio (rho = -0.71; P = .03). These relationships were absent in group noCy. Conclusions: The association of HSP-70i expression with improved right ventricular function and systemic perfusion suggests an important cardioprotective effect of HSP-70i in cyanotic tetralogy of Fallot.