idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
New research findings from the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) show that both atria undergo profound changes in cases of persistent atrial fibrillation. Until now, the left atrium was considered the primary site of the disease. The results of the international study were published in the journal Cardiovascular Research.
Atrial fibrillation is the most common persistent heart rhythm disorder worldwide. According to the German Heart Foundation, approximately 1.8 million people in Germany alone are affected. Atrial fibrillation is caused by chaotic electrical activity in the atria. As a result, the heart beats irregularly and often too fast. Many patients suffer from palpitations, shortness of breath, reduced physical performance, or exhaustion. The so-called persistent form of atrial fibrillation is particularly problematic, as the arrhythmia no longer resolves on its own. Over time, this leads to structural and functional changes in the heart tissue. The condition significantly increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, and premature mortality. Until now, research and treatment have focused primarily on the left atrium and the pulmonary veins that drain into it, which are considered major triggers of atrial fibrillation.
A research team led by Prof. Dr. Niels Voigt, Professor of Molecular Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), and Dr. Christof Lenz, Head of the Proteomics Service Unit at the Faculty of Medicine at Georg-August-University Göttingen, in collaboration with Dr. Aiste Liutkute, a postdoctoral researcher in Prof. Voigt’s research group, investigated whether and to what extent the right atrium is also affected by long-term atrial fibrillation. The study shows that the right atrium also undergoes profound remodeling processes and increasingly resembles the left atrium.
“The results suggest that persistent atrial fibrillation must be understood as a disease of both atria,” says Dr. Liutkute, the study’s first author. “This could also explain why established therapies are often not permanently successful in cases of long-standing atrial fibrillation.”
The findings could also be relevant for clinical treatment. Current therapeutic methods procedures focus primarily on the left atrium. “Our data suggest that in the future, both atria may need to be taken into account to a greater extent,” says Dr. Lenz.
The results have been published in the journal “Cardiovascular Research.”
Original publication:
Liutkute A, Berrandou TE, et al. Mass spectrometric proteome profiling using a deep spectral library reveals homogenization of right and left atrial proteomes in persistent atrial fibrillation patients. Cardiovascular Research (2026) DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvag076
The Approach
The research team analyzed tissue samples from the right and left atria of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation, which had been collected during heart surgery. Samples from non-transplanted donor hearts with no known cardiac arrhythmias served as the control group.
Using state-of-the-art mass spectrometry techniques, the scientists examined thousands of proteins simultaneously to identify disease-related changes in heart tissue. Mass spectrometry is a high-resolution analytical method that allows molecules to be precisely identified and quantified based on their mass. This makes it possible to determine which proteins are present in heart muscle cells and how their composition changes in the presence of disease. For the study, the researchers first created a comprehensive reference library of the human heart proteome. The proteome refers to the totality of all proteins in a tissue or cell. Proteins perform central functions in the body and provide insight into which biological processes are active in the cells. In addition to the proteome analyses, the team examined the scarring of heart tissue under a microscope, confirmed notable protein changes using biochemical methods, and identified blood markers that indicate stress on the heart.
The Results
The analyses show that, in cases of persistent atrial fibrillation, the right atrium exhibits pathological changes similar to those in the left atrium. In both atria, the researchers found increased tissue scarring, a breakdown of important heart muscle structures, and clear signs of cellular stress and remodeling processes. These changes impair normal electrical signal transmission in the heart and may contribute to the persistence of atrial fibrillation. At the same time, many of the molecular differences that normally exist between the right and left atria disappeared. For instance, the right atrium lost typical protein markers that normally characterize its specific function and increasingly took on features of the left atrium, including proteins associated with altered energy metabolism and structural remodeling of heart muscle cells.
The study was conducted at the UMG in collaboration with international partners.
Prof. Dr. Niels Voigt, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Phone +49 551 / 39- 65174, niels.voigt@med.uni-goettingen.de
Liutkute A, Berrandou TE, et al. Mass spectrometric proteome profiling using a deep spectral library reveals homogenization of right and left atrial proteomes in persistent atrial fibrillation patients. Cardiovascular Research (2026) DOI: 10.1093/cvr/cvag076
Dr. Christof Lenz, Head of the Proteomics Service Unit, Dr. Aiste Liutkute, postdoctoral researcher, ...
Copyright: umg/eva meyer-besting
Dr. Aiste Liutkute, Prof. Dr. Niels Voigt, and Dr. Christof Lenz collaborated to investigate whether ...
Copyright: umg/eva meyer-besting
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten
Medizin
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse, Kooperationen
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
