Detection of Soluble ED-A(+) Fibronectin and Evaluation as Novel Serum Biomarker for Cardiac Tissue Remodeling

Background and Aims. Fibronectin containing the extra domain A (ED-A+ Fn) was proven to serve as a valuable biomarker for cardiac remodeling. The study was aimed at establishing an ELISA to determine ED-A+ Fn in serum of heart failure patients. Methods. ED-A+ Fn was quantified in serum samples from 114 heart failure patients due to ischemic (ICM, ) and dilated (DCM, ) cardiomyopathy as well as hypertensive heart disease (HHD, ) compared to healthy controls (). Results. In comparison to healthy volunteers, heart failure patients showed significantly increased levels of ED-A+ Fn (). In particular in ICM patients there were significant associations between ED-A+ Fn serum levels and clinical parameters, for example, increased levels with rising NYHA class (), a negative correlation with left ventricular ejection fraction (, : −0.353), a positive correlation with left atrial diameter (, : 0.431), and a strong positive correlation with systolic pulmonary artery pressure (, : 0.485). In multivariate analysis, ED-A+ Fn was identified as an independent predictor of an ischemic heart failure etiology. Conclusions. The current study could clearly show that ED-A+ Fn is a promising biomarker in cardiovascular diseases, especially in heart failure patients due to an ICM. We presented a valid ELISA method, which could be applied for further studies investigating the value of ED-A+ Fn.ISSN:0278-0240ISSN:1875-863