Background: It remains unclear whether tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin-6 (IL-6) are secreted from the failing heart and whether there is a relationship between the transcardiac gradients of these cytokines and left ventricular (LV) remodeling.
Aims: This study evaluated the relationship between transcardiac gradients of cytokines and LV volume and function in congestive heart failure patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM).
Methods and results: We measured the plasma levels of TNF-alpha and IL-6 in the aortic root (Ao) and the coronary sinus (CS) in 60 patients with DCM. There was no difference in plasma IL-6 between the Ao and the CS. However, the plasma TNF-alpha level was significantly higher in the CS than that in the Ao. There was a significant correlation between the transcardiac gradient of plasma TNF-alpha and the LV end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI) and LV ejection fraction. According to stepwise multivariate analyses, the transcardiac increase of TNF-alpha showed an independent and significantly positive relationship with a large LVEDVI.
Conclusions: These results indicate that the elevated plasma TNF-alpha is partly derived from the failing heart in patients with DCM and that TNF-alpha plays a potential role in structural LV remodeling in patients with DCM.