Periostin as a Novel Factor Responsible for Ventricular Dilation

Abstract
Background— Periostin is highly expressed in the myocardium in patients with heart failure. However, no report has documented the function of periostin. To identify the function of periostin in the pathophysiology of heart failure, overexpression or loss of function of the periostin gene was examined by direct transfection into the rat heart. Methods and Results— Rats transfected with the periostin gene by the HVJ-liposome method showed left ventricular (LV) dilation as assessed by echocardiography, accompanied by an increase in periostin expression. Consistently significant differences were observed in LV pressure, LV end-diastolic pressure, LV dP/dtmax, and LV dP/dtmin at 6 and 12 weeks after transfection in rats transfected with the periostin gene, accompanied by a decrease in cardiac myocytes and an increase in collagen deposition. Importantly, periostin has the ability to inhibit the spreading of myocytes and the adhesion of cardiac fibroblasts with or without fibronectin. Markers of cardiac dysfunct...