Functional analysis of desensitization of the beta-adrenoceptor signalling pathway in rat cardiac tissues following chronic isoprenaline infusion.
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1. This study examined beta-adrenoceptor signalling in cardiac tissues following infusion of isoprenaline (400 microg kg(-1) h(-1)) or vehicle to rats for 14 days. 2. Isoprenaline infusion caused marked hypertrophy of atria and ventricles and reduced the resting rate of spontaneously beating right atria and the basal force of left atrial contraction. 3. In spontaneously beating right atria, concentration-response curves to isoprenaline and forskolin were shifted 7.9 and 3.2 fold to the right following treatment whereas responses to the cyclic AMP analogue 5,6-dichloro-1-beta-D-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole-3', 5'-cyclic monophosphorothioate were unchanged. 4. In electrically driven left atria, concentration-response curves to isoprenaline and forskolin were shifted 4 fold to the right and maximum responses reduced. Responses to dibutyryl cyclic AMP were shifted 3.2 fold to the right but those to Ca2+ were unchanged. 5. Inotropic responses of left and right ventricular papillary muscles to isoprenaline were abolished and markedly reduced respectively by isoprenaline treatment. Responses to forskolin were shifted 5 fold to the right. Responses to dibutyryl cyclic AMP were shifted to the right 3.2 and 2 fold in left and right ventricular papillary muscles. Responses to isobutyl methyl xanthine were shifted to the right 15.8 and 6.3 fold in left and right papillary muscles whereas those to Ca2+ were not significantly altered. 6. This study indicates differences in beta-adrenoceptor desensitization in different regions of the heart following chronic infusion of isoprenaline. Chronotropic responses showed impaired signalling between the receptor and adenylate cyclase whereas inotropic responses exhibited additional desensitization at the level of cyclic AMP dependent protein kinase. (+info)
Modulation of the pacemaker current If by beta-adrenoceptor subtypes in ventricular myocytes isolated from hypertensive and normotensive rats.
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OBJECTIVE: Both beta 1- and beta 2-adrenoceptors (beta 1-AR and beta 2-AR) are functionally present in human and rat ventricular myocytes. The two receptor subtypes are differently regulated during the development of myocardial hypertrophy and failure. I(f) is expressed in human and rat ventricular myocytes. In hypertrophied myocytes isolated from old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) the density is much larger than in age-matched normotensive Wistar Kyoto (WKY). Due to the possible relevance of I(f) as an arrhythmogenic mechanism in the rat and human ventricle, we studied and compared the effects of beta 1-AR and beta 2-AR stimulation on I(f) in both hypertrophied and normal left ventricular myocytes of 18-month old SHR and WKY. METHODS: The whole-cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique was employed. Noradrenaline (NA, 1 microM) was used to stimulate beta 1-AR and isoprenaline (ISO, 1 microM) in the presence of the beta 1-AR antagonist CGP 20712A (0.1 microM) to stimulate beta 2-AR. RESULTS: In SHR, NA increased I(f) by causing a 10.8 +/- 0.9 mV (n = 10) positive shift in the voltage of maximal activation (V1/2); this effect was completely reversed by CGP 20712A. beta 2-AR stimulation was effective in seven out of 13 cells tested, where it caused a small positive shift in V1/2 (4.0 +/- 1.7 mV). Cyclopentyladenosine (CPA), a selective A1-receptor agonist, reversed the effect of NA; the antiadrenergic action of CPA was abolished in cells pre-incubated with pertussis toxin (PTX) to block inhibitory G proteins (Gi). In PTX-treated cells the shift in V1/2 caused by both beta 2-AR (9.6 +/- 1.7 mV, n = 6, p < 0.05) and beta 1-AR (17.6 +/- 1.9 mV, n =7, p < 0.05) was significantly greater than in control cells. Both beta-AR subtypes modulated I(f) activation also in WKY: beta 1-AR shifted V1/2 by 16.0 +/- 1.4 mV (n = 15) and beta 2-AR by 4.2 +/- 1.1 mV (n = 7). However, in PTX-treated WKY cells only the beta 2-AR effect was potentiated (shift in V1/2: 11.4 +/- 1.4 mV, n = 9, p < 0.01), while the beta 1-AR response was unchanged (18.9 +/- 4.2 mV, n = 5, n.s.). CONCLUSIONS: I(f) expressed in SHR hypertrophied ventricular myocytes is modulated by catecholamines mainly through the stimulation of the beta 1-AR subtype. The beta 1-AR response is, however, significantly lower than that observed in myocytes from normotensive rats, probably as a consequence of the presence of an increased inhibitory activity of Gi proteins. This post-receptorial control may be seen as a mechanism to limit the arrhythmogenicity of beta-AR stimulation in myocardial hypertrophy and failure. (+info)
G alpha 13 stimulates gene expression and increases cell size in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes.
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OBJECTIVES: Constitutively-active G alpha 13 causes permissive cell types to proliferate or undergo phenotypic transformation implying a role for G13 in the control of cell growth. Cardiac myocytes are terminally-differentiated cells which respond to growth stimuli by increasing in size rather than by cell division. The objective of this study was to determine whether constitutively-active G alpha 13 is able to induce a hypertrophic phenotype in cardiac myocytes. METHODS: Cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes were transiently transfected with an expression vector (pRC/RSV) encoding wild-type G alpha 13 or constitutively-active G alpha 13Q226L. Effects on transcription were monitored by co-transfected luciferase (LUX) reporter genes under the control of promoters responsive to hypertrophic stimuli. Cell size was determined by planimetry. RESULTS: Transfection of neonatal myocytes with G alpha 13Q226L, but not wild-type G alpha 13, stimulated ANF638LUX and ANF3003LUX expression to 3.0 +/- 0.3- and 4.3 +/- 0.6-fold of the control, respectively. Likewise, G alpha 13Q226L stimulated vMLC250LUX and vMLC2700LUX expression to 3.9 +/- 1.0- and to 7.7 +/- 1.7-fold of controls, respectively, but there was relatively little effect of G alpha 13Q226L on c-fos-SRE- and beta-MHC promoter activity. The effects of G alpha 13Q226L on ANF3003LUX were inhibited by expression of C3 exoenzyme. Wild-type G alpha 13 and G alpha 13Q226L increased myocyte area from 869 +/- 43 micron 2 in control tranfections to 1287 +/- 64 micron 2 and 1278 +/- 59 microns, respectively. CONCLUSION: We conclude that G alpha 13Q226L is able to induce gene expression and morphological changes associated with a hypertrophic response in cardiac myocytes and that the transcriptional effects may be mediated through a Rho-dependent mechanism. (+info)
Insulin resistance in patients with cardiac hypertrophy.
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OBJECTIVE: Animal studies suggest that left ventricular hypertrophy might be associated with insulin resistance and alterations in glucose transporters. We have previously demonstrated myocardial insulin resistance in patients with post-ischemic heart failure. The aim was to investigate whether myocardial insulin resistance could be demonstrated in human cardiac hypertrophy in the absence of hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease. METHODS: Eleven normotensive nondiabetic patients with cardiac hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis and angiographically normal coronary arteries were compared to 11 normal volunteers. Myocardial glucose uptake (MGU) was measured with positron emission tomography and [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose during fasting (low insulinemia) or during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (physiologic hyperinsulinemia). Myocardial biopsies were obtained in order to investigate changes in insulin-independent (GLUT-1) and insulin-dependent (GLUT-4) glucose transporters. RESULTS: During fasting, plasma insulin (7 +/- 1 vs. 6 +/- 1 mU/l) and MGU (0.12 +/- 0.05 vs. 0.11 +/- 0.04 mumol/min/g) were comparable in patients and controls. By contrast, during clamp, MGU was markedly reduced in patients (0.48 +/- 0.02 vs. 0.70 +/- 0.03 mumol/min/g, p < 0.01) despite similar plasma insulin levels (95 +/- 6 vs. 79 +/- 6 mU/l). A decreased GLUT-4/GLUT-1 ratio was shown by Western blot analysis in patients. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin resistance seems to be a feature of the hypertrophied heart even in the absence of hypertension, coronary artery disease and diabetes and may be explained, at least in part, by abnormalities in glucose transporters. (+info)
Coordinate induction of energy gene expression in tissues of mitochondrial disease patients.
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We have examined the transcript levels of a variety of oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and associated bioenergetic genes in tissues of a patient carrying the myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) A3243G mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutation and the skeletal muscles of 14 patients harboring other pathogenic mtDNA mutations. The patients' tissues, which harbored 88% or more mutant mtDNA, had increased levels of mtDNA transcripts, increased nuclear OXPHOS gene transcripts including the ATP synthase beta subunit and the heart-muscle isoform of the adenine nucleotide translocator, and increased ancillary gene transcripts including muscle mitochondrial creatine phosphokinase, muscle glycogen phosphorylase, hexokinase I, muscle phosphofructokinase, the E1alpha subunit of pyruvate dehydrogenase, and the ubiquinone oxidoreductase. A similar coordinate induction of bioenergetic genes was observed in the muscle biopsies of severe pathologic mtDNA mutations. The more significant coordinated expression was found in muscle from patients with the MELAS, myoclonic epilepsy with ragged red fibers, and chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia deletion syndromes, with ragged red muscle fibers and mitochondrial paracrystalline inclusions. High levels of mutant mtDNAs were linked to a high induction of the mtDNA and nuclear OXPHOS genes and of several associated bioenergetic genes. These observations suggest that human tissues attempt to compensate for OXPHOS defects associated with mtDNA mutations by stimulating mitochondrial biogenesis, possibly mediated through redox-sensitive transcription factors. (+info)
Activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases in cardiovascular hypertrophy and remodeling.
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Extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) and c-jun NH2-terminal kinases (JNKs), which belong to the family of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs), play a key role in the regulation of cell growth or apoptosis or various gene expressions. In spite of the critical importance of MAPKs for cell function in vitro, the role of MAPKs in the pathophysiology of the cardiovascular system in vivo is poorly understood. Recently, we have examined the activities of MAPKs in various cardiovascular disease models. JNKs activity is chronically enhanced in cardiac hypertrophy of hypertensive rats or angiotensin II-infused rats, which is followed by the increase in activator protein-1 (AP-1) activity composed of c-Fos and c-Jun proteins. In chronic hypertensive rats, vascular ERKs and JNKs activities are continuously increased compared with normotensive rats, with the development of vascular thickening. Furthermore, balloon injury rapidly and transiently activates vascular ERKs and JNKs, followed by the activation of AP-1. This activation of ERKs and JNKs in injured artery is in part mediated by angiotensin AT1 receptor. Thus, the enhanced activation of JNKs or ERKs occurs in various cardiovascular disease models, supporting the notion that MAPKs may be a useful target for treatment of cardiovascular hypertrophy and remodeling. (+info)
Heart-specific activation of LTK results in cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyocyte degeneration and gene reprogramming in transgenic mice.
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Leukocyte tyrosine kinase (LTK) is a receptor-type protein tyrosine kinase belonging to the insulin receptor superfamily. To elucidate its biological role, we generated transgenic mice expressing LTK under the control of cytomegarovirus enhancer and beta-actin promoter. The transgenic mice exhibited growth retardation and most of the transgenic mice died within several months after birth. Interestingly, although LTK was expressed in several major organs, the activation (tyrosine-phosphorylation, kinase activity, and multimerization) of LTK was observed selectively in the heart, where LTK was localized on intracellular membrane, presumably on endoplasmic reticulum. Echocardiography showed that the transgenic heart underwent severe concentric hypertrophy, which resulted in reduced cardiac output, low blood pressure, and increased heart rate. Histological examination of the heart exhibited focal degeneration of cardiomyocytes. These histological changes were considered to be due to apoptosis, based on the finding that the sarcolemmas of the degenerative cardiomyocytes were well preserved. In addition, expression of fetal genes, such as atrial natriuretic peptide and skeletal alpha-actin, was markedly induced in the transgenic heart. These results indicate that a certain tissue-specific mechanism of activating LTK exists in the heart and that the activated LTK resulted in cardiac hypertrophy, cardiomyocyte degeneration and gene reprogramming. These findings will provide novel insights into the activating mechanism and biological role of LTK in vivo. (+info)
Regulation of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo by the stress-activated protein kinases/c-Jun NH(2)-terminal kinases.
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Cardiac hypertrophy often presages the development of heart failure. Numerous cytosolic signaling pathways have been implicated in the hypertrophic response in cardiomyocytes in culture, but their roles in the hypertrophic response to physiologically relevant stimuli in vivo is unclear. We previously reported that adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of SEK-1(KR), a dominant inhibitory mutant of the immediate upstream activator of the stress-activated protein kinases (SAPKs), abrogates the hypertrophic response of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes to endothelin-1 in culture. We now report that gene transfer of SEK-1(KR) to the adult rat heart blocks SAPK activation by pressure overload, demonstrating that the activity of cytosolic signaling pathways can be inhibited by gene transfer of loss-of-function mutants in vivo. Furthermore, gene transfer of SEK-1(KR) inhibited pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy, as determined by echocardiography and several postmortem measures including left ventricular (LV) wall thickness, the ratio of LV weight to body weight, cardiomyocyte diameter, and inhibition of atrial natriuretic factor expression. Our data suggest that the SAPKs are critical regulators of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo, and therefore may serve as novel drug targets in the treatment of hypertrophy and heart failure. (+info)