CD36 is a membrane glycoprotein expressed on platelets, monocytes, macrophages, and several other cell types that was recently demonstrated to be involved in platelet activation in response to oxidized phospholipids, including oxidized LDL. Although the role of CD36 in other vascular cells has not been well defined, previous studies have demonstrated that cd36-knockout (cd36–/–) mice have prolonged thrombosis times after vascular injury, which can be protective in the state of hyperlipidemia. Here, we found significantly less ROS in the vessel walls of cd36–/– mice compared with WT after chemically induced arterial injury, suggesting that CD36 may contribute to ROS generation in the VSMCs themselves. Gene expression analysis revealed that the antioxidant enzymes peroxiredoxin-2 (Prdx2) and heme oxygenase-1 were upregulated in cd36–/– VSMCs. Molecular dissection of the pathway in isolated mouse VSMCs revealed CD36 ligand-dependent induction of Fyn phosphorylation, with subsequent phosphorylation and degradation of the redox-sensitive transcription factor Nrf2. Chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments further showed that Nrf2 directly occupied the Prdx2 promoter. The importance of this pathway was evidenced by increased ROS generation in prdx2–/– mice and decreased thrombosis times in both prdx2–/– and nrf2–/– mice after vascular injury. These data suggest that CD36-mediated downregulation of antioxidant systems in VSMCs may contribute to its prothrombotic, proinflammatory, and atherogenic effects.
Wei Li, Maria Febbraio, Sekhar P. Reddy, Dae-Yeul Yu, Masayuki Yamamoto, Roy L. Silverstein
Denghong Zhang, Riccardo Contu, Michael V.G. Latronico, Jianlin Zhang, Roberto Rizzi, Daniele Catalucci, Shigeki Miyamoto, Katherine Huang, Marcello Ceci, Yusu Gu, Nancy D. Dalton, Kirk L. Peterson, Kun-Liang Guan, Joan Heller Brown, Ju Chen, Nahum Sonenberg, Gianluigi Condorelli
In clinical trials, aldosterone antagonists reduce cardiovascular ischemia and mortality by unknown mechanisms. Aldosterone is a steroid hormone that signals through renal mineralocorticoid receptors (MRs) to regulate blood pressure. MRs are expressed and regulate gene transcription in human vascular cells, suggesting that aldosterone might have direct vascular effects. Using gene expression profiling, we identify the pro-proliferative VEGF family member placental growth factor (PGF) as an aldosterone-regulated vascular MR target gene in mice and humans. Aldosterone-activated vascular MR stimulated Pgf gene transcription and increased PGF protein expression and secretion in the mouse vasculature. In mouse vessels with endothelial damage and human vessels from patients with atherosclerosis, aldosterone enhanced expression of PGF and its receptor, FMS-like tyrosine kinase 1 (Flt1). In atherosclerotic human vessels, MR antagonists inhibited PGF expression. In vivo, aldosterone infusion augmented vascular remodeling in mouse carotids following wire injury, an effect that was lost in Pgf–/– mice. In summary, we have identified PGF as what we believe to be a novel downstream target of vascular MR that mediates aldosterone augmentation of vascular injury. These findings suggest a non-renal mechanism for the vascular protective effects of aldosterone antagonists in humans and support targeting the vascular aldosterone/MR/PGF/Flt1 pathway as a therapeutic strategy for ischemic cardiovascular disease.
Iris Z. Jaffe, Brenna G. Newfell, Mark Aronovitz, Najwa N. Mohammad, Adam P. McGraw, Roger E. Perreault, Peter Carmeliet, Afshin Ehsan, Michael E. Mendelsohn
Cyclophilin D (which is encoded by the Ppif gene) is a mitochondrial matrix peptidyl-prolyl isomerase known to modulate opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (MPTP). Apart from regulating necrotic cell death, the physiologic function of the MPTP is largely unknown. Here we have shown that Ppif–/– mice exhibit substantially greater cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and reduction in myocardial function in response to pressure overload stimulation than control mice. In addition, Ppif–/– mice showed greater hypertrophy and lung edema as well as reduced survival in response to sustained exercise stimulation. Cardiomyocyte-specific transgene expression of cyclophilin D in Ppif–/– mice rescued the enhanced hypertrophy, reduction in cardiac function, and rapid onset of heart failure following pressure overload stimulation. Mechanistically, the maladaptive phenotype in the hearts of Ppif–/– mice was associated with an alteration in MPTP-mediated Ca2+ efflux resulting in elevated levels of mitochondrial matrix Ca2+ and enhanced activation of Ca2+-dependent dehydrogenases. Elevated matrix Ca2+ led to increased glucose oxidation relative to fatty acids, thereby limiting the metabolic flexibility of the heart that is critically involved in compensation during stress. These findings suggest that the MPTP maintains homeostatic mitochondrial Ca2+ levels to match metabolism with alterations in myocardial workload, thereby suggesting a physiologic function for the MPTP.
John W. Elrod, Renee Wong, Shikha Mishra, Ronald J. Vagnozzi, Bhuvana Sakthievel, Sanjeewa A. Goonasekera, Jason Karch, Scott Gabel, John Farber, Thomas Force, Joan Heller Brown, Elizabeth Murphy, Jeffery D. Molkentin
Mammalian sterile 20-like kinase 1 (Mst1) is a mammalian homolog of Drosophila Hippo, the master regulator of cell death, proliferation, and organ size in flies. It is the chief component of the mammalian Hippo pathway and promotes apoptosis and inhibits compensatory cardiac hypertrophy, playing a critical role in mediating heart failure. How Mst1 is regulated, however, remains unclear. Using genetically altered mice in which expression of the tumor suppressor Ras-association domain family 1 isoform A (Rassf1A) was modulated in a cell type–specific manner, we demonstrate here that Rassf1A is an endogenous activator of Mst1 in the heart. Although the Rassf1A/Mst1 pathway promoted apoptosis in cardiomyocytes, thereby playing a detrimental role, the same pathway surprisingly inhibited fibroblast proliferation and cardiac hypertrophy through both cell-autonomous and autocrine/paracrine mechanisms, playing a protective role during pressure overload. In cardiac fibroblasts, the Rassf1A/Mst1 pathway negatively regulated TNF-α, a key mediator of hypertrophy, fibrosis, and resulting cardiac dysfunction. These results suggest that the functional consequence of activating the proapoptotic Rassf1A/Mst1 pathway during pressure overload is cell type dependent in the heart and that suppressing this mechanism in cardiac fibroblasts could be detrimental.
Dominic P. Del Re, Takahisa Matsuda, Peiyong Zhai, Shumin Gao, Geoffrey J. Clark, Louise Van Der Weyden, Junichi Sadoshima
Excess lipid accumulation in the heart is associated with decreased cardiac function in humans and in animal models. The reasons are unclear, but this is generally believed to result from either toxic effects of intracellular lipids or excessive fatty acid oxidation (FAO). PPARγ expression is increased in the hearts of humans with metabolic syndrome, and use of PPARγ agonists is associated with heart failure. Here, mice with dilated cardiomyopathy due to cardiomyocyte PPARγ overexpression were crossed with PPARα-deficient mice. Surprisingly, this cross led to enhanced expression of several PPAR-regulated genes that mediate fatty acid (FA) uptake/oxidation and triacylglycerol (TAG) synthesis. Although FA oxidation and TAG droplet size were increased, heart function was preserved and survival improved. There was no marked decrease in cardiac levels of triglyceride or the potentially toxic lipids diacylglycerol (DAG) and ceramide. However, long-chain FA coenzyme A (LCCoA) levels were increased, and acylcarnitine content was decreased. Activation of PKCα and PKCδ, apoptosis, ROS levels, and evidence of endoplasmic reticulum stress were also reduced. Thus, partitioning of lipid to storage and oxidation can reverse cardiolipotoxicity despite increased DAG and ceramide levels, suggesting a role for other toxic intermediates such as acylcarnitines in the toxic effects of lipid accumulation in the heart.
Ni-Huiping Son, Shuiqing Yu, Joseph Tuinei, Kotaro Arai, Hiroko Hamai, Shunichi Homma, Gerald I. Shulman, E. Dale Abel, Ira J. Goldberg
Mutations in sarcomere protein genes can cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a disorder characterized by myocyte enlargement, fibrosis, and impaired ventricular relaxation. Here, we demonstrate that sarcomere protein gene mutations activate proliferative and profibrotic signals in non-myocyte cells to produce pathologic remodeling in HCM. Gene expression analyses of non-myocyte cells isolated from HCM mouse hearts showed increased levels of RNAs encoding cell-cycle proteins, Tgf-β, periostin, and other profibrotic proteins. Markedly increased BrdU labeling, Ki67 antigen expression, and periostin immunohistochemistry in the fibrotic regions of HCM hearts confirmed the transcriptional profiling data. Genetic ablation of periostin in HCM mice reduced but did not extinguish non-myocyte proliferation and fibrosis. In contrast, administration of Tgf-β–neutralizing antibodies abrogated non-myocyte proliferation and fibrosis. Chronic administration of the angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist losartan to mutation-positive, hypertrophy-negative (prehypertrophic) mice prevented the emergence of hypertrophy, non-myocyte proliferation, and fibrosis. Losartan treatment did not reverse pathologic remodeling of established HCM but did reduce non-myocyte proliferation. These data define non-myocyte activation of Tgf-β signaling as a pivotal mechanism for increased fibrosis in HCM and a potentially important factor contributing to diastolic dysfunction and heart failure. Preemptive pharmacologic inhibition of Tgf-β signals warrants study in human patients with sarcomere gene mutations.
Polakit Teekakirikul, Seda Eminaga, Okan Toka, Ronny Alcalai, Libin Wang, Hiroko Wakimoto, Matthew Nayor, Tetsuo Konno, Joshua M. Gorham, Cordula M. Wolf, Jae B. Kim, Joachim P. Schmitt, Jefferey D. Molkentin, Russell A. Norris, Andrew M. Tager, Stanley R. Hoffman, Roger R. Markwald, Christine E. Seidman, Jonathan G. Seidman
Inappropriate excess of the steroid hormone aldosterone, which is a mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) agonist, is associated with increased inflammation and risk of cardiovascular disease. MR antagonists are cardioprotective and antiinflammatory in vivo, and evidence suggests that they mediate these effects in part by aldosterone-independent mechanisms. Here we have shown that MR on myeloid cells is necessary for efficient classical macrophage activation by proinflammatory cytokines. Macrophages from mice lacking MR in myeloid cells (referred to herein as MyMRKO mice) exhibited a transcription profile of alternative activation. In vitro, MR deficiency synergized with inducers of alternatively activated macrophages (for example, IL-4 and agonists of PPARγ and the glucocorticoid receptor) to enhance alternative activation. In vivo, MR deficiency in macrophages mimicked the effects of MR antagonists and protected against cardiac hypertrophy, fibrosis, and vascular damage caused by L-NAME/Ang II. Increased blood pressure and heart rates and decreased circadian variation were observed during treatment of MyMRKO mice with L-NAME/Ang II. We conclude that myeloid MR is an important control point in macrophage polarization and that the function of MR on myeloid cells likely represents a conserved ancestral MR function that is integrated in a transcriptional network with PPARγ and glucocorticoid receptor. Furthermore, myeloid MR is critical for blood pressure control and for hypertrophic and fibrotic responses in the mouse heart and aorta.
Michael G. Usher, Sheng Zhong Duan, Christine Y. Ivaschenko, Ryan A. Frieler, Stefan Berger, Günther Schütz, Carey N. Lumeng, Richard M. Mortensen
Hypertension is an underlying risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Despite this, its pathogenesis remains unknown in most cases. Recently, the transient receptor potential (TRP) channel family was associated with the development of several cardiovascular diseases linked to hypertension. The melastatin TRP channels TRPM4 and TRPM5 have distinct properties within the TRP channel family: they form nonselective cation channels activated by intracellular calcium ions. Here we report the identification of TRPM4 proteins in endothelial cells, heart, kidney, and chromaffin cells from the adrenal gland, suggesting that they have a role in the cardiovascular system. Consistent with this hypothesis, Trpm4 gene deletion in mice altered long-term regulation of blood pressure toward hypertensive levels. No changes in locomotor activity, renin-angiotensin system function, electrolyte and fluid balance, vascular contractility, and cardiac contractility under basal conditions were observed. By contrast, inhibition of ganglionic transmission with either hexamethonium or prazosin abolished the difference in blood pressure between Trpm4–/– and wild-type mice. Strikingly, plasma epinephrine concentration as well as urinary excretion of catecholamine metabolites were substantially elevated in Trpm4–/– mice. In freshly isolated chromaffin cells, lack of TRPM4 was shown to cause markedly more acetylcholine-induced exocytotic release events, while neither cytosolic calcium concentration, size, nor density of vesicles were different. We therefore conclude that TRPM4 proteins limit catecholamine release from chromaffin cells and that this contributes to increased sympathetic tone and hypertension.
Ilka Mathar, Rudi Vennekens, Marcel Meissner, Frieder Kees, Gerry Van der Mieren, Juan E. Camacho Londoño, Sebastian Uhl, Thomas Voets, Björn Hummel, An van den Bergh, Paul Herijgers, Bernd Nilius, Veit Flockerzi, Frank Schweda, Marc Freichel
Mechanistic target of rapamycin (MTOR) plays a critical role in the regulation of cell growth and in the response to energy state changes. Drugs inhibiting MTOR are increasingly used in antineoplastic therapies. Myocardial MTOR activity changes during hypertrophy and heart failure (HF). However, whether MTOR exerts a positive or a negative effect on myocardial function remains to be fully elucidated. Here, we show that ablation of Mtor in the adult mouse myocardium results in a fatal, dilated cardiomyopathy that is characterized by apoptosis, autophagy, altered mitochondrial structure, and accumulation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E–binding protein 1 (4E-BP1). 4E-BP1 is an MTOR-containing multiprotein complex-1 (MTORC1) substrate that inhibits translation initiation. When subjected to pressure overload, Mtor-ablated mice demonstrated an impaired hypertrophic response and accelerated HF progression. When the gene encoding 4E-BP1 was ablated together with Mtor, marked improvements were observed in apoptosis, heart function, and survival. Our results demonstrate a role for the MTORC1 signaling network in the myocardial response to stress. In particular, they highlight the role of 4E-BP1 in regulating cardiomyocyte viability and in HF. Because the effects of reduced MTOR activity were mediated through increased 4E-BP1 inhibitory activity, blunting this mechanism may represent a novel therapeutic strategy for improving cardiac function in clinical HF.
Denghong Zhang, Riccardo Contu, Michael V.G. Latronico, Jian Ling Zhang, Roberto Rizzi, Daniele Catalucci, Shigeki Miyamoto, Katherine Huang, Marcello Ceci, Yusu Gu, Nancy D. Dalton, Kirk L. Peterson, Kun-Liang Guan, Joan Heller Brown, Ju Chen, Nahum Sonenberg, Gianluigi Condorelli