Collagen in the normal and hypertrophied human ventricle

Abstract

Estimates of the collagen concentration in human ventricles have been made from measurements of the hydroxyproline concentration. In the normal heart the concentration of collagen was higher in the right ventricle than in the left ventricle. Age had no effect on the ventricular concentration of collagen. Hypertrophy in the absence of a valvar lesion was not associated with an increased concentration of collagen but, owing to the increased size of the ventricle, there was an increase in the estimated total mass of ventricular collagen. The concentration of collagen in the left ventricle of patients with aortic stenosis was higher than normal. Ventricular hypertrophy seems to be accompanied by an increase in the total mass of collagen whatever the cause. Whether the concentration changes or not depends on the proportion in which the mass of collagen increases relative to the mass of muscle cells.

Critical analysis of endomyocardial biopsies from patients suspected of having cardiomyopathy. I: Morphological and morphometric aspects.

“…33 Kunkel et al,5 however, found substantially higher levels of volume fraction of collagen in COCM than we have by applying a trichrome (Table 12) and also a few investigations of biopsy material (M Hiroe, unpublished data) a distinct difference in diameter was found between muscle fibres from the right and left ventricle. Ontogenetically the cells of the two ventricles are identical, and the anatomical borders remain largely undefined in the adult heart; understanding of this "physiological hypertrophy" is thought to be essential for the comprehension of "pathological hypertrophy".…”

Angiotensin and the remodelling of the myocardium.

“…An impressive increment in the volume (or concentration) of myocardium occupied by collagen (see Figure 2) has been seen in adults with aortic valvular stenosis (Anderson et al, 1979;Caspari et al, 1977;Hess et al, 1981;Oldershaw et al, 1980;Schaper & Schaper, 1983;Schwarz et al, 1978;St John Sutton et al, 1980), children with congenital aortic stenosis or coarctation of the aorta (Cheitlin et al, 1980), and adults with systemic hypertension (Pearlman et al, 1982;Tanaka et al, 1986). In each circumstance, the accumulation of collagen, or myocardial fibrosis, was not associated with epicardial coronary artery disease.…”

Impaired Cardiac Functional Reserve and Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Adult Sheep After Prenatal Dexamethasone Exposure

“…20 Hydroxyproline values were then converted to collagen content by multiplying by a factor of 7.46. 21 …”