Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heart muscle disease associated with an increased risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). Cytokeratin 18-based proteins, such as M30 and M65 antigens, are known cell-death biomarkers. M30 antigen is released from cells during apoptosis, and M65 antigen is released during cell death from any cause, such as apoptosis or necrosis. We aimed to study the expression of M30 and M65 antigens in peripheral blood obtained by 46 HCM patients and compare with 27 age- and sex-matched patients without HCM. We also investigated the CK18 expression in myocardium from postmortem HCM hearts. M30 and M65 antigens were significantly increased in the HCM vs. non-HCM group (Μ30: 338 ± 197 U/uL vs. 206 ± 166 U/uL, p = 0.003; M65: 428 ± 224 U/uL vs. 246 ± 214 U/uL, p = 0.001), and HCM patients with a higher expression of these markers (M30: 417 ± 208 vs. 271 ± 162 U/uL, p = 0.011; M65: 518 ± 242 vs. 351 ± 178 U/uL, p = 0.011) had a higher risk for SCD. In HCM, both apoptosis and necrosis are increased, but particularly necrosis (M30/M65 ratio: 0.75 ± 0.09 vs. 0.85 ± 0.02, p < 0.001). CK18 is expressed in the HCM myocardium (1.767 ± 0.412 vs. 0.537 ± 0.383, % of area, p = 0.0058). Therefore, M30 and M65 antigens may be novel biomarkers in HCM.
Keywords: M30 antigen; M65 antigen; biomarkers; cell death; cytokeratin-18; hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.