Myocardial Expression Is Increased in Patients with Impaired Cardiac Contractility and Sleep-Disordered Breathing

Heart failure and cardiovascular disease represent a significant burden on healthcare systems worldwide. Recent evidence associates an increased expression of the dual-specificity tyrosine phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1B (DYRK1B) with an impaired cardiac function in mice. However, there remains a paucity of data on myocardial expression in patients with cardiovascular disease in the context of other comorbidities. In our study, we examined mRNA expression in human right atrial appendage biopsies from 159 patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass surgery. Each patient was tested for sleep-disordered breathing the night prior to surgery. In this large representative study cohort with cardiovascular high-risk patients, we found that an impaired cardiac function as well as sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), including various oxidative stress parameters, were associated with an increased myocardial expression. A multivariate regression analysis revealed left ventricular ejection fraction and the presence of SDB as significant predictors of the myocardial expression independent of other clinical covariates. Based on these findings, DYRK1B represents a promising molecular target in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction as well in patients with sleep-disordered breathing.