Reduced Plasma Cardiac Myosin-Binding Protein-C Concentrations in Cats with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Evidence from Chronic, Treated Disease

Abstract

Simple Summary Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common heart disease in cats and can be associated with changes in genes, including MYBPC3, a gene that provides instructions for making cardiac myosin-binding protein C (cMyBP-C), a protein important for normal heart muscle function. Changes in cMyBP-C have been studied as an indicator of heart muscle injury in humans, but its role in feline heart disease is not well understood. This study investigated circulating cMyBP-C concentrations in healthy cats and cats with different stages of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to determine its potential value in assessing heart disease. Cats with chronic, treated hypertrophic cardiomyopathy had lower cMyBP-C concentrations than healthy cats and cats with subclinical disease. This finding differs from the increased cMyBP-C levels reported in sudden heart muscle injury. Although cMyBP-C showed potential as an additional indicator of heart disease, it was less accurate than N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), a blood test currently used to assess heart problems in cats. These findings suggest that cMyBP-C may provide complementary information but cannot replace existing tests at present. Further studies are needed to understand the biological role of cMyBP-C in feline heart disease.