Proteomic profiling of sudden cardiac death with acquired cardiac hypertrophy

BACKGROUND: Cardiac hypertrophy, which develops in middle-aged and older individuals as a consequence of hypertension and obesity, is an established risk factor for sudden cardiac death (SCD). However, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate SCD with acquired cardiac hypertrophy (SCH) from compensated cardiac hypertrophy (CCH), at autopsy. We aimed to elucidate the proteomic alteration in SCH, which can be a guideline for future postmortem diagnosis. METHODS: Cardiac tissues were sampled at autopsy. SCH group consisted of ischemic heart failure, hypertensive heart failure, and aortic stenosis. CCH group included cases of non-cardiac death with cardiac hypertrophy. The control group comprised cases of non-cardiac death without cardiac hypertrophy. All patients were aged > 40 years, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was not included in this study. We performed histological examination and shotgun proteomic analysis, followed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. RESULTS: Significant obesity and myocardial hypertrophy, and mild myocardial fibrosis were comparable in SCH and CCH cases compared to control cases. The proteomic profile of SCH cases was distinguishable from those of CCH and control cases, and many sarcomere proteins were increased in SCH cases. Especially, the protein and mRNA levels of MYH7 and MYL3 were significantly increased in SCH cases. CONCLUSION: This is the first report of cardiac proteomic analysis in SCH and CCH cases. The stepwise upregulation of sarcomere proteins may increase the risk for SCD in acquired cardiac hypertrophy before cardiac fibrosis progresses significantly. These findings can possibly aid in the postmortem diagnosis of SCH in middle-aged and older individuals. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00414-023-03038-6.