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Cianci V, Forzese E, Sapienza D, Cianci A, Ieni A, Germanà A, Guerrera MC, Omero F, Speranza D, Cracò A, Asmundo A, Gualniera P, Mondello C. Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Post-Mortem Assessment: A Systematic Review. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2467. [PMID: 38473714 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052467] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2024] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/19/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a genetic disorder characterized by the progressive fibro-fatty replacement of the right ventricular myocardium, leading to myocardial atrophy. Although the structural changes usually affect the right ventricle, the pathology may also manifest with either isolated left ventricular myocardium or biventricular involvement. As ARVC shows an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance with variable penetrance, the clinical presentation of the disease is highly heterogeneous, with different degrees of severity and patterns of myocardial involvement even in patients of the same familiar group with the same gene mutation: the pathology spectrum ranges from the absence of symptoms to sudden cardiac death (SCD) sustained by ventricular arrhythmias, which may, in some cases, be the first manifestation of an otherwise silent pathology. An evidence-based systematic review of the literature was conducted to evaluate the state of the art of the diagnostic techniques for the correct post-mortem identification of ARVC. The research was performed using the electronic databases PubMed and Scopus. A methodological approach to reach a correct post-mortem diagnosis of ARVC was described, analyzing the main post-mortem peculiar macroscopic, microscopic and radiological alterations. In addition, the importance of performing post-mortem genetic tests has been underlined, which may lead to the correct identification and characterization of the disease, especially in those ARVC forms where anatomopathological investigation does not show evident morphostructural damage. Furthermore, the usefulness of genetic testing is not exclusively limited to the correct diagnosis of the pathology, but is essential for promoting targeted screening programs to the deceased's family members. Nowadays, the post-mortem diagnosis of ARVC performed by forensic pathologist remains very challenging: therefore, the identification of a clear methodological approach may lead to both a reduction in under-diagnoses and to the improvement of knowledge on the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vincenzo Cianci
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Elena Forzese
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Daniela Sapienza
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Alessio Cianci
- Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli-IRCCS, Largo A. Gemelli 8, 00168 Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Ieni
- Department of Human Pathology in Adult and Developmental Age "Gaetano Barresi", Section of Pathology, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Antonino Germanà
- Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Via Palatucci Snc, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
| | - Maria Cristina Guerrera
- Zebrafish Neuromorphology Lab, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Via Palatucci Snc, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy
| | - Fausto Omero
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Human Pathology "G.Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Desirèe Speranza
- Medical Oncology Unit, Department of Human Pathology "G.Barresi", University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Annalisa Cracò
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Morphological and Functional Imaging, Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Unit, University Hospital Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Alessio Asmundo
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Patrizia Gualniera
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Cristina Mondello
- Department of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, Section of Legal Medicine, University of Messina, Via Consolare Valeria, 1, 98125 Messina, Italy
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Spectrum of Rare and Common Genetic Variants in Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy Patients. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12081043. [PMID: 36008935 PMCID: PMC9405889 DOI: 10.3390/biom12081043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a rare inherited disorder, whose genetic cause is elusive in about 50–70% of cases. ACM presents a variable disease course which could be influenced by genetics. We performed next-generation sequencing on a panel of 174 genes associated with inherited cardiovascular diseases on 82 ACM probands (i) to describe and classify the pathogenicity of rare variants according to the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics both for ACM-associated genes and for genes linked to other cardiovascular genetic conditions; (ii) to assess, for the first time, the impact of common variants on the ACM clinical disease severity by genotype-phenotype correlation and survival analysis. We identified 15 (likely) pathogenic variants and 66 variants of uncertain significance in ACM-genes and 4 high-impact variants in genes never associated with ACM (ABCC9, APOB, DPP6, MIB1), which deserve future consideration. In addition, we found 69 significant genotype-phenotype associations between common variants and clinical parameters. Arrhythmia-associated polymorphisms resulted in an increased risk of arrhythmic events during patients’ follow-up. The description of the genetic framework of our population and the observed genotype-phenotype correlation constitutes the starting point to address the current lack of knowledge in the genetics of ACM.
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