Besides its role as a mechanical pump, the human heart serves as an endocrine organ, where known and as yet unknown hormones are produced. It is very likely that these hormones play an important role in cardiovascular regulation. In this study, a new endogenous vasoactive substance, coenzyme A glutathione disulfide (CoASSG), was isolated and identified in myocardial tissue. Human myocardial tissue was extracted with perchloric acid and fractionated by size exclusion-, displacement-, anion-exchange- and reversed-phase chromatography. In one fraction purified to homogeneity, CoASSG was identified by matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass-spectrometry, post-source decay MALDI-mass spectrometry and enzymatic structure analysis. Furthermore, CoASSG was also isolated from human cardiac specific granules. CoASSG has potent vasoconstrictive and proliferative effects. Therefore, CoASSG may affect myocardial function as an endocrine or autocrine substance after being released from myocardial specific granules.
