Authors: Thomas G Martin, Arthur M Feldman, Monte S Willis, Jonathan A Kirk
Published: 2020-10-27
DOI: 10.1161/res.127.suppl_1.mp101
Source: Full article
Bcl2-associated athanogene-3 (BAG3) is a pro-autophagy co-chaperone highly expressed in the heart. Clinical studies show BAG3 haploinsufficiency and mutations are associated with heart failure (HF). However, these studies are largely observational and fail to go beyond the observed phenotype and study mechanism. One study in neonatal myocytes suggests a role for BAG3 in structural maintenance of the sarcomere. However, the structural and functional significance of BAG3 in adult myocytes is not known. We found that myofilament BAG3 expression decreases in human heart failure and is associated with impaired myofilament force-generating capacity (F