Current concepts of the role of copper in the pathogenesis of heart failure.
- 1 I. interní klinika
- 2 III. interní-kardiologická klinika, Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady a 3. lékařská fakulta Univerzity Karlovy, Praha, Česká republika
Studies on changes in serum copper levels in patients in the acute and chronic phases of myocardial infarction have turned attention to the participation and role of copper ions in the pathophysiology of heart failure. The cause of changes in the serum copper levels of heart failure patients after myocardial infarction is not known yet. Several hypotheses have been proposed, which could explain the relationship between copper metabolism and the pathophysiology of heart failure. An attractive hypothesis has suggested a role of copper ions in catecholamine synthesis. According to another hypothesis, alterations in copper levels in heart failure patients could be explained by the close correlation between copper metabolism and the synthesis of acute phase proteins, and ceruloplasmin in particular. Heart failure is associated both with increased synthesis and reduced degradation of ceruloplasmin; these changes correlate closely with changes in serum copper levels. In addition to its transport function, ceruloplasmin plays a not negligible enzymatic role and is also involved in protecting cells against adverse consequences of oxidative processes. It is just oxidative processes with excessive formation of free oxygen radicals, combined with inflammation, which are currently believed to be major factors in the pathogenesis of heart failure.
Keywords: Serum copper levels; Acute phase proteins; Inflammation; Heart failure
Published: May 1, 2005 Show citation