Abstract
Adenosine has been described as playing a role in the control of inflammation, but it has not been certain which of its receptors mediate this effect. Here, we generated an A2B adenosine receptor–knockout/reporter gene–knock-in (A2BAR-knockout/reporter gene–knock-in) mouse model and showed receptor gene expression in the vasculature and macrophages, the ablation of which causes low-grade inflammation compared with age-, sex-, and strain-matched control mice. Augmentation of proinflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-α, and a consequent downregulation of IκB-α are the underlying mechanisms for an observed upregulation of adhesion molecules in the vasculature of these A2BAR-null mice. Intriguingly, leukocyte adhesion to the vasculature is significantly increased in the A2BAR-knockout mice. Exposure to an endotoxin results in augmented proinflammatory cytokine levels in A2BAR-null mice compared with control mice. Bone marrow transplantations indicated that bone marrow (and to a lesser extent vascular) A2BARs regulate these processes. Hence, we identify the A2BAR as a new critical regulator of inflammation and vascular adhesion primarily via signals from hematopoietic cells to the vasculature, focusing attention on the receptor as a therapeutic target.
Authors
Dan Yang, Ying Zhang, Hao G. Nguyen, Milka Koupenova, Anil K. Chauhan, Maria Makitalo, Matthew R. Jones, Cynthia St. Hilaire, David C. Seldin, Paul Toselli, Edward Lamperti, Barbara M. Schreiber, Haralambos Gavras, Denisa D. Wagner, Katya Ravid
Abstract
For over a century, there has been intense debate as to the reason why some cardiac stresses are pathological and others are physiological. One long-standing theory is that physiological overloads such as exercise are intermittent, while pathological overloads such as hypertension are chronic. In this study, we hypothesized that the nature of the stress on the heart, rather than its duration, is the key determinant of the maladaptive phenotype. To test this, we applied intermittent pressure overload on the hearts of mice and tested the roles of duration and nature of the stress on the development of cardiac failure. Despite a mild hypertrophic response, preserved systolic function, and a favorable fetal gene expression profile, hearts exposed to intermittent pressure overload displayed pathological features. Importantly, intermittent pressure overload caused diastolic dysfunction, altered β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) function, and vascular rarefaction before the development of cardiac hypertrophy, which were largely normalized by preventing the recruitment of PI3K by βAR kinase 1 to ligand-activated receptors. Thus stress-induced activation of pathogenic signaling pathways, not the duration of stress or the hypertrophic growth per se, is the molecular trigger of cardiac dysfunction.
Authors
Cinzia Perrino, Sathyamangla V. Naga Prasad, Lan Mao, Takahisa Noma, Zhen Yan, Hyung-Suk Kim, Oliver Smithies, Howard A. Rockman
Abstract
Functional and biochemical data have suggested a role for the cytochrome P450 arachidonate monooxygenases in the pathophysiology of hypertension, a leading cause of cardiovascular, cerebral, and renal morbidity and mortality. We show here that disruption of the murine cytochrome P450, family 4, subfamily a, polypeptide 10 (Cyp4a10) gene causes a type of hypertension that is, like most human hypertension, dietary salt sensitive. Cyp4a10–/– mice fed low-salt diets were normotensive but became hypertensive when fed normal or high-salt diets. Hypertensive Cyp4a10–/– mice had a dysfunctional kidney epithelial sodium channel and became normotensive when administered amiloride, a selective inhibitor of this sodium channel. These studies (a) establish a physiological role for the arachidonate monooxygenases in renal sodium reabsorption and blood pressure regulation, (b) demonstrate that a dysfunctional Cyp4a10 gene causes alterations in the gating activity of the kidney epithelial sodium channel, and (c) identify a conceptually novel approach for studies of the molecular basis of human hypertension. It is expected that these results could lead to new strategies for the early diagnosis and clinical management of this devastating disease.
Authors
Kiyoshi Nakagawa, Vijaykumar R. Holla, Yuan Wei, Wen-Hui Wang, Arnaldo Gatica, Shouzou Wei, Shaojun Mei, Crystal M. Miller, Dae Ryong Cha, Edward Price, Roy Zent, Ambra Pozzi, Matthew D. Breyer, Youfei Guan, John R. Falck, Michael R. Waterman, Jorge H. Capdevila
Abstract
We investigated the mechanisms by which inhibitors of prostaglandin G/H synthase-2 (PGHS-2; known colloquially as COX-2) increase the incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke. These inhibitors are believed to exert both their beneficial and their adverse effects by suppression of PGHS-2–derived prostacyclin (PGI2) and PGE2. Therefore, the challenge remains to identify a mechanism whereby PGI2 and PGE2 expression can be suppressed while avoiding adverse cardiovascular events. Here, selective inhibition, knockout, or mutation of PGHS-2, or deletion of the receptor for PGHS-2–derived PGI2, was shown to accelerate thrombogenesis and elevate blood pressure in mice. These responses were attenuated by COX-1 knock down, which mimics the beneficial effects of low-dose aspirin. PGE2 biosynthesis is catalyzed by the coordinate actions of COX enzymes and microsomal PGE synthase-1 (mPGES-1). We show that deletion of mPGES-1 depressed PGE2 expression, augmented PGI2 expression, and had no effect on thromboxane biosynthesis in vivo. Most importantly, mPGES-1 deletion affected neither thrombogenesis nor blood pressure. These results suggest that inhibitors of mPGES-1 may retain their antiinflammatory efficacy by depressing PGE2, while avoiding the adverse cardiovascular consequences associated with PGHS-2–mediated PGI2 suppression.
Authors
Yan Cheng, Miao Wang, Ying Yu, John Lawson, Colin D. Funk, Garret A. FitzGerald
Abstract
Genetic deficiency or inhibition of cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) leads to a marked increase in plasma levels of large HDL-2 particles. However, there is concern that such particles may be dysfunctional in terms of their ability to promote cholesterol efflux from macrophages. Recently, the ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCG1, a macrophage liver X receptor (LXR) target, has been shown to stimulate cholesterol efflux to HDL. We have assessed the ability of HDL from subjects with homozygous deficiency of CETP (CETP-D) to promote cholesterol efflux from macrophages and have evaluated the role of ABCG1 and other factors in this process. CETP-D HDL-2 caused a 2- to 3-fold stimulation of net cholesterol efflux compared with control HDL-2 in LXR-activated macrophages, due primarily to an increase in lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase–mediated (LCAT-mediated) cholesteryl ester formation in media. Genetic knockdown or overexpression of ABCG1 showed that increased cholesterol efflux to CETP-D HDL was ABCG1 dependent. LCAT and apoE contents of CETP-D HDL-2 were markedly increased compared with control HDL-2, and increased cholesterol esterification activity resided within the apoE-HDL fraction. Thus, CETP-D HDL has enhanced ability to promote cholesterol efflux from foam cells in an ABCG1-dependent pathway due to an increased content of LCAT and apoE.
Authors
Fumihiko Matsuura, Nan Wang, Wengen Chen, Xian-Cheng Jiang, Alan R. Tall
Abstract
Insulin resistance markedly increases cardiovascular disease risk in people with normal glucose tolerance, even after adjustment for known risk factors such as LDL, triglycerides, HDL, and systolic blood pressure. In this report, we show that increased oxidation of FFAs in aortic endothelial cells without added insulin causes increased production of superoxide by the mitochondrial electron transport chain. FFA-induced overproduction of superoxide activated a variety of proinflammatory signals previously implicated in hyperglycemia-induced vascular damage and inactivated 2 important antiatherogenic enzymes, prostacyclin synthase and eNOS. In 2 nondiabetic rodent models — insulin-resistant, obese Zucker (fa/fa) rats and high-fat diet–induced insulin-resistant mice — inactivation of prostacyclin synthase and eNOS was prevented by inhibition of FFA release from adipose tissue; by inhibition of the rate-limiting enzyme for fatty acid oxidation in mitochondria, carnitine palmitoyltransferase I; and by reduction of superoxide levels. These studies identify what we believe to be a novel mechanism contributing to the accelerated atherogenesis and increased cardiovascular disease risk occurring in people with insulin resistance.
Authors
Xueliang Du, Diane Edelstein, Silvana Obici, Ninon Higham, Ming-Hui Zou,, Michael Brownlee
Abstract
GATA transcription factors play critical roles in restricting cell lineage differentiation during development. Here, we show that conditional inactivation of GATA-6 in VSMCs results in perinatal mortality from a spectrum of cardiovascular defects, including interrupted aortic arch and persistent truncus arteriosus. Inactivation of GATA-6 in neural crest recapitulates these abnormalities, demonstrating a cell-autonomous requirement for GATA-6 in neural crest–derived SMCs. Surprisingly, the observed defects do not result from impaired SMC differentiation but rather are associated with severely attenuated expression of semaphorin 3C, a signaling molecule critical for both neuronal and vascular patterning. Thus, the primary function of GATA-6 during cardiovascular development is to regulate morphogenetic patterning of the cardiac outflow tract and aortic arch. These findings provide new insights into the conserved functions of the GATA-4, -5, and -6 subfamily members and identify GATA-6 and GATA-6–regulated genes as candidates involved in the pathogenesis of congenital heart disease.
Authors
John J. Lepore, Patricia A. Mericko, Lan Cheng, Min Min Lu, Edward E. Morrisey, Michael S. Parmacek
Abstract
An α1-adrenergic receptor (α1-AR) antagonist increased heart failure in the Antihypertensive and Lipid-Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT), but it is unknown whether this adverse result was due to α1-AR inhibition or a nonspecific drug effect. We studied cardiac pressure overload in mice with double KO of the 2 main α1-AR subtypes in the heart, α1A (Adra1a) and α1B (Adra1b). At 2 weeks after transverse aortic constriction (TAC), KO mouse survival was only 60% of WT, and surviving KO mice had lower ejection fractions and larger end-diastolic volumes than WT mice. Mechanistically, final heart weight and myocyte cross-sectional area were the same after TAC in KO and WT mice. However, KO hearts after TAC had increased interstitial fibrosis, increased apoptosis, and failed induction of the fetal hypertrophic genes. Before TAC, isolated KO myocytes were more susceptible to apoptosis after oxidative and β-AR stimulation, and β-ARs were desensitized. Thus, α1-AR deletion worsens dilated cardiomyopathy after pressure overload, by multiple mechanisms, indicating that α1-signaling is required for cardiac adaptation. These results suggest that the adverse cardiac effects of α1-antagonists in clinical trials are due to loss of α1-signaling in myocytes, emphasizing concern about clinical use of α1-antagonists, and point to a revised perspective on sympathetic activation in heart failure.
Authors
Timothy D. O’Connell, Philip M. Swigart, M.C. Rodrigo, Shinji Ishizaka, Shuji Joho, Lynne Turnbull, Laurence H. Tecott, Anthony J. Baker, Elyse Foster, William Grossman, Paul C. Simpson
Abstract
Having identified renin in cardiac mast cells, we assessed whether its release leads to cardiac dysfunction. In Langendorff-perfused guinea pig hearts, mast cell degranulation with compound 48/80 released Ang I–forming activity. This activity was blocked by the selective renin inhibitor BILA2157, indicating that renin was responsible for Ang I formation. Local generation of cardiac Ang II from mast cell–derived renin also elicited norepinephrine release from isolated sympathetic nerve terminals. This action was mediated by Ang II-type 1 (AT1) receptors. In 2 models of ischemia/reperfusion using Langendorff-perfused guinea pig and mouse hearts, a significant coronary spillover of renin and norepinephrine was observed. In both models, this was accompanied by ventricular fibrillation. Mast cell stabilization with cromolyn or lodoxamide markedly reduced active renin overflow and attenuated both norepinephrine release and arrhythmias. Similar cardioprotection was observed in guinea pig hearts treated with BILA2157 or the AT1 receptor antagonist EXP3174. Renin overflow and arrhythmias in ischemia/reperfusion were much less prominent in hearts of mast cell–deficient mice than in control hearts. Thus, mast cell–derived renin is pivotal for activating a cardiac renin-angiotensin system leading to excessive norepinephrine release in ischemia/reperfusion. Mast cell–derived renin may be a useful therapeutic target for hyperadrenergic dysfunctions, such as arrhythmias, sudden cardiac death, myocardial ischemia, and congestive heart failure.
Authors
Christina J. Mackins, Seiichiro Kano, Nahid Seyedi, Ulrich Schäfer, Alicia C. Reid, Takuji Machida, Randi B. Silver, Roberto Levi
Abstract
Previous work showed that calmodulin (CaM) and Ca2+-CaM–dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) are somehow involved in cardiac hypertrophic signaling, that inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptors (InsP3Rs) in ventricular myocytes are mainly in the nuclear envelope, where they associate with CaMKII, and that class II histone deacetylases (e.g., HDAC5) suppress hypertrophic gene transcription. Furthermore, HDAC phosphorylation in response to neurohumoral stimuli that induce hypertrophy, such as endothelin-1 (ET-1), activates HDAC nuclear export, thereby regulating cardiac myocyte transcription. Here we demonstrate a detailed mechanistic convergence of these 3 issues in adult ventricular myocytes. We show that ET-1, which activates plasmalemmal G protein–coupled receptors and InsP3 production, elicits local nuclear envelope Ca2+ release via InsP3R. This local Ca2+ release activates nuclear CaMKII, which triggers HDAC5 phosphorylation and nuclear export (derepressing transcription). Remarkably, this Ca2+-dependent pathway cannot be activated by the global Ca2+ transients that cause contraction at each heartbeat. This novel local Ca2+ signaling in excitation-transcription coupling is analogous to but separate (and insulated) from that involved in excitation-contraction coupling. Thus, myocytes can distinguish simultaneous local and global Ca2+ signals involved in contractile activation from those targeting gene expression.
Authors
Xu Wu, Tong Zhang, Julie Bossuyt, Xiaodong Li, Timothy A. McKinsey, John R. Dedman, Eric N. Olson, Ju Chen, Joan Heller Brown, Donald M. Bers
Copyright © 2025 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)