Real-time PCR analysis of cardiac samples

Abstract

A proper understanding of the workings of the heart requires an appreciation of the engines that make cardiac excitation and contraction possible. These ion channels, pumps and exchangers are all central to this process, and are in turn regulated by many other proteins which assist them in governing membrane current flow. Further regulation is provided by the autonomic nervous system, which exerts a profound effect on cardiac function as a whole by controlling the activity of proteins that affect both heart rate and contractility. Pathologies often arise as a result of aberrant or inappropriate protein expression and the subsequent destruction of equilibrium. As such, the profiling of protein expressions in both diseased and normal states can yield important clues as to how diseases evolve. Moreover, it can allow researchers to identify proteins critical to the development of certain pathologies, and target them for pharmacological intervention. A first step in this process can be the careful study and comparison of the RNA expression profiles of diseased and normal hearts. Comparing RNA levels is often used, as the expression of a given protein often follows closely the expression of its RNA. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.