Protein profiling of human atrial and ventricular musculature: the effect of normoxaemia and hypoxaemia in congenital heart diseases.

Samples of myocardial tissue were obtained during surgical intervention from children operated for different types of congenital heart disease (tetralogy of Fallot, ventricular and atrial septal defect). Sarcoplasmic, contractile and collagenous proteins were isolated by stepwise extraction from the both right ventricular and atrial musculature. It has been found that: a) the concentration of contractile proteins is significantly higher in the ventricles, b) the concentration of collagenous proteins is significantly higher in the atrium, c) the concentration of sarcoplasmic proteins was not different, d) in children with chronic hypoxia the above atrio-ventricular differences persisted. Moreover, the proportion of the soluble collagenous fraction in the atria was significantly increased.