Abstract
AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is an important regulator of diverse cellular pathways in the setting of energetic stress. Whether AMPK plays a critical role in the metabolic and functional responses to myocardial ischemia and reperfusion remains uncertain. We examined the cardiac consequences of long-term inhibition of AMPK activity in transgenic mice expressing a kinase dead (KD) form of the enzyme. The KD mice had normal fractional shortening and no heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy, or fibrosis, although the in vivo left ventricular (LV) dP/dt was lower than that in WT hearts. During low-flow ischemia and postischemic reperfusion in vitro, KD hearts failed to augment glucose uptake and glycolysis, although glucose transporter content and insulin-stimulated glucose uptake were normal. KD hearts also failed to increase fatty acid oxidation during reperfusion. Furthermore, KD hearts demonstrated significantly impaired recovery of LV contractile function during postischemic reperfusion that was associated with a lower ATP content and increased injury compared with WT hearts. Caspase-3 activity and TUNEL-staining were increased in KD hearts after ischemia and reperfusion. Thus, AMPK is responsible for activation of glucose uptake and glycolysis during low-flow ischemia and plays an important protective role in limiting damage and apoptotic activity associated with ischemia and reperfusion in the heart.
Authors
Raymond R. Russell III, Ji Li, David L. Coven, Marc Pypaert, Christoph Zechner, Monica Palmeri, Frank J. Giordano, James Mu, Morris J. Birnbaum, Lawrence H. Young
Abstract
In vitro studies suggest that collecting duct–derived (CD-derived) endothelin-1 (ET-1) can regulate renal Na reabsorption; however, the physiologic role of CD-derived ET-1 is unknown. Consequently, the physiologic effect of selective disruption of the ET-1 gene in the CD of mice was determined. Mice heterozygous for aquaporin2 promoter Cre recombinase and homozygous for loxP-flanked exon 2 of the ET-1 gene (called CD-specific KO of ET-1 [CD ET-1 KO] mice) were generated. These animals had no CD ET-1 mRNA and had reduced urinary ET-1 excretion. CD ET-1 KO mice on a normal Na diet were hypertensive, while body weight, Na excretion, urinary aldosterone excretion, and plasma renin activity were unchanged. CD ET-1 KO mice on a high-Na diet had worsened hypertension, reduced urinary Na excretion, and excessive weight gain, but showed no differences between aldosterone excretion and plasma renin activity. Amiloride or furosemide reduced BP in CD ET-1 KO mice on a normal or high-Na diet and prevented excessive Na retention in salt-loaded CD ET-1 KO mice. These studies indicate that CD-derived ET-1 is an important physiologic regulator of renal Na excretion and systemic BP.
Authors
Dowhan Ahn, Yuqiang Ge, Peter K. Stricklett, Pritmohinder Gill, Deborah Taylor, Alisa K. Hughes, Masashi Yanagisawa, Lance Miller, Raoul D. Nelson, Donald E. Kohan
Abstract
In recent studies we demonstrated that systemic levels of protein-bound nitrotyrosine (NO2Tyr) and myeloperoxidase (MPO), a protein that catalyzes generation of nitrating oxidants, serve as independent predictors of atherosclerotic risk, burden, and incident cardiac events. We now show both that apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I), the primary protein constituent of HDL, is a selective target for MPO-catalyzed nitration and chlorination in vivo and that MPO-catalyzed oxidation of HDL and apoA-I results in selective inhibition in ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux from macrophages. Dramatic selective enrichment in NO2Tyr and chlorotyrosine (ClTyr) content within apoA-I recovered from serum and human atherosclerotic lesions is noted, and analysis of serum from sequential subjects demonstrates that the NO2Tyr and ClTyr contents of apoA-I are markedly higher in individuals with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Analysis of circulating HDL further reveals that higher NO2Tyr and ClTyr contents of the lipoprotein are each significantly associated with diminished ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux capacity of the lipoprotein. MPO as a likely mechanism for oxidative modification of apoA-I in vivo is apparently facilitated by MPO binding to apoA-I, as revealed by cross-immunoprecipitation studies in plasma, recovery of MPO within HDL-like particles isolated from human atheroma, and identification of a probable contact site between the apoA-I moiety of HDL and MPO. To our knowledge, the present results provide the first direct evidence for apoA-I as a selective target for MPO-catalyzed oxidative modification in human atheroma. They also suggest a potential mechanism for MPO-dependent generation of a proatherogenic dysfunctional form of HDL in vivo.
Authors
Lemin Zheng, Benedicta Nukuna, Marie-Luise Brennan, Mingjiang Sun, Marlene Goormastic, Megan Settle, Dave Schmitt, Xiaoming Fu, Leonor Thomson, Paul L. Fox, Harry Ischiropoulos, Jonathan D. Smith, Michael Kinter, Stanley L. Hazen
Abstract
Thrombo-occlusive cerebrovascular disease resulting in stroke and permanent neuronal loss is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Because of the unique properties of cerebral vasculature and the limited reparative capability of neuronal tissue, it has been difficult to devise effective neuroprotective therapies in cerebral ischemia. Our results demonstrate that systemic administration of human cord blood–derived CD34+ cells to immunocompromised mice subjected to stroke 48 hours earlier induces neovascularization in the ischemic zone and provides a favorable environment for neuronal regeneration. Endogenous neurogenesis, suppressed by an antiangiogenic agent, is accelerated as a result of enhanced migration of neuronal progenitor cells to the damaged area, followed by their maturation and functional recovery. Our data suggest an essential role for CD34+ cells in promoting directly or indirectly an environment conducive to neovascularization of ischemic brain so that neuronal regeneration can proceed.
Authors
Akihiko Taguchi, Toshihiro Soma, Hidekazu Tanaka, Takayoshi Kanda, Hiroyuki Nishimura, Hiroo Yoshikawa, Yoshitane Tsukamoto, Hiroyuki Iso, Yoshihiro Fujimori, David M. Stern, Hiroaki Naritomi, Tomohiro Matsuyama
Abstract
The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors are key regulators of cell cycle progression. Although implicated in carcinogenesis, they inhibit the proliferation of a variety of normal cell types, and their role in diverse human diseases is not fully understood. Here, we report that p27Kip1 plays a major role in cardiovascular disease through its effects on the proliferation of bone marrow–derived (BM-derived) immune cells that migrate into vascular lesions. Lesion formation after mechanical arterial injury was markedly increased in mice with homozygous deletion of p27Kip1, characterized by prominent vascular infiltration by immune and inflammatory cells. Vascular occlusion was substantially increased when BM-derived cells from p27–/– mice repopulated vascular lesions induced by mechanical injury in p27+/+ recipients, in contrast to p27+/+ BM donors. To determine the contribution of immune cells to vascular injury, transplantation was performed with BM derived from RAG–/– and RAG+/+ mice. RAG+/+ BM markedly exacerbated vascular proliferative lesions compared with what was found in RAG–/– donors. Taken together, these findings suggest that vascular repair and regeneration is regulated by the proliferation of BM-derived hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic cells through a p27Kip1-dependent mechanism and that immune cells largely mediate these effects.
Authors
Manfred Boehm, Michelle Olive, Andrea L. True, Martin F. Crook, Hong San, Xuan Qu, Elizabeth G. Nabel
Abstract
During atherogenesis, LDL is oxidized, generating various oxidation-specific neoepitopes, such as malondialdehyde-modified (MDA-modified) LDL (MDA-LDL) or the phosphorylcholine (PC) headgroup of oxidized phospholipids (OxPLs). These epitopes are recognized by both adaptive T cell–dependent (TD) and innate T cell–independent type 2 (TI-2) immune responses. We previously showed that immunization of mice with MDA-LDL induces a TD response and atheroprotection. In addition, a PC-based immunization strategy that leads to a TI-2 expansion of innate B-1 cells and secretion of T15/EO6 clonotype natural IgM antibodies, which bind the PC of OxPLs within oxidized LDL (OxLDL), also reduces atherogenesis. T15/EO6 antibodies inhibit OxLDL uptake by macrophages. We now report that immunization with MDA-LDL, which does not contain OxPL, unexpectedly led to the expansion of T15/EO6 antibodies. MDA-LDL immunization caused a preferential expansion of MDA-LDL–specific Th2 cells that prominently secreted IL-5. In turn, IL-5 provided noncognate stimulation to innate B-1 cells, leading to increased secretion of T15/EO6 IgM. Using a bone marrow transplant model, we also demonstrated that IL-5 deficiency led to decreased titers of T15/EO6 and accelerated atherosclerosis. Thus, IL-5 links adaptive and natural immunity specific to epitopes of OxLDL and protects from atherosclerosis, in part by stimulating the expansion of atheroprotective natural IgM specific for OxLDL.
Authors
Christoph J. Binder, Karsten Hartvigsen, Mi-Kyung Chang, Marina Miller, David Broide, Wulf Palinski, Linda K. Curtiss, Maripat Corr, Joseph L. Witztum
Abstract
Marfan syndrome is a connective tissue disorder caused by mutations in the gene encoding fibrillin-1 (FBN1). A dominant-negative mechanism has been inferred based upon dominant inheritance, mulitimerization of monomers to form microfibrils, and the dramatic paucity of matrix-incorporated fibrillin-1 seen in heterozygous patient samples. Yeast artificial chromosome–based transgenesis was used to overexpress a disease-associated mutant form of human fibrillin-1 (C1663R) on a normal mouse background. Remarkably, these mice failed to show any abnormalities of cellular or clinical phenotype despite regulated overexpression of mutant protein in relevant tissues and developmental stages and direct evidence that mouse and human fibrillin-1 interact with high efficiency. Immunostaining with a human-specific mAb provides what we believe to be the first demonstration that mutant fibrillin-1 can participate in productive microfibrillar assembly. Informatively, use of homologous recombination to generate mice heterozygous for a comparable missense mutation (C1039G) revealed impaired microfibrillar deposition, skeletal deformity, and progressive deterioration of aortic wall architecture, comparable to characteristics of the human condition. These data are consistent with a model that invokes haploinsufficiency for WT fibrillin-1, rather than production of mutant protein, as the primary determinant of failed microfibrillar assembly. In keeping with this model, introduction of a WT FBN1 transgene on a heterozygous C1039G background rescues aortic phenotype.
Authors
Daniel P. Judge, Nancy J. Biery, Douglas R. Keene, Jessica Geubtner, Loretha Myers, David L. Huso, Lynn Y. Sakai, Harry C. Dietz
Abstract
Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor γ (PPARγ), the molecular target of a class of insulin sensitizers, regulates adipocyte differentiation and lipid metabolism. A dominant negative P467L mutation in the ligand-binding domain of PPARγ in humans is associated with severe insulin resistance and hypertension. Homozygous mice with the equivalent P465L mutation die in utero. Heterozygous mice grow normally and have normal total adipose tissue weight. However, they have reduced interscapular brown adipose tissue and intra-abdominal fat mass, and increased extra-abdominal subcutaneous fat, compared with wild-type mice. They have normal plasma glucose levels and insulin sensitivity, and increased glucose tolerance. However, during high-fat feeding, their plasma insulin levels are mildly elevated in association with a significant increase in pancreatic islet mass. They are hypertensive, and expression of the angiotensinogen gene is increased in their subcutaneous adipose tissues. The effects of P465L on blood pressure, fat distribution, and insulin sensitivity are the same in both male and female mice regardless of diet and age. Thus the P465L mutation alone is sufficient to cause abnormal fat distribution and hypertension but not insulin resistance in mice. These results provide genetic evidence for a critical role for PPARγ in blood pressure regulation that is not dependent on altered insulin sensitivity.
Authors
Yau-Sheng Tsai, Hyo-Jeong Kim, Nobuyuki Takahashi, Hyung-Suk Kim, John R. Hagaman, Jason K. Kim, Nobuyo Maeda
Abstract
Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) cause death due to complications related to expansion and rupture. The underlying mechanisms that drive AAA development remain largely unknown. We recently described evidence for a shift toward T helper type 2 (Th2) cell responses in human AAAs compared with stenotic atheromas. To evaluate putative pathways in AAA formation, we induced Th1- or Th2-predominant cytokine environments in an inflammatory aortic lesion using murine aortic transplantation into WT hosts or those lacking the receptors for the hallmark Th1 cytokine IFN-γ, respectively. Allografts in WT recipients developed intimal hyperplasia, whereas allografts in IFN-γ receptor–deficient (GRKO) hosts developed severe AAA formation associated with markedly increased levels of MMP-9 and MMP-12. Allografts in GRKO recipients treated with anti–IL-4 antibody to block the characteristic IL-4 Th2 cytokine or allografts in GRKO hosts also congenitally deficient in IL-4 did not develop AAA and likewise exhibited attenuated collagenolytic and elastolytic activities. These observations demonstrate an important dichotomy between cellular immune responses that induce IFN-γ– or IL-4–dominated cytokine environments. The findings establish important regulatory roles for a Th1/Th2 cytokine balance in modulating matrix remodeling and have important implications for the pathophysiology of AAAs and arteriosclerosis.
Authors
Koichi Shimizu, Masayoshi Shichiri, Peter Libby, Richard T. Lee, Richard N. Mitchell
Abstract
Noninvasive imaging strategies will be critical for defining the temporal characteristics of angiogenesis and assessing efficacy of angiogenic therapies. The αvβ3 integrin is expressed in angiogenic vessels and represents a potential novel target for imaging myocardial angiogenesis. We demonstrated the localization of an indium-111–labeled (111In-labeled) αvβ3-targeted agent in the region of injury-induced angiogenesis in a chronic rat model of infarction. The specificity of the targeted αvβ3-imaging agent for angiogenesis was established using a nonspecific control agent. The potential of this radiolabeled αvβ3-targeted agent for in vivo imaging was then confirmed in a canine model of postinfarction angiogenesis. Serial in vivo dual-isotope single-photon emission–computed tomographic (SPECT) imaging with the 111In-labeled αvβ3-targeted agent demonstrated focal radiotracer uptake in hypoperfused regions where angiogenesis was stimulated. There was a fourfold increase in myocardial radiotracer uptake in the infarct region associated with histological evidence of angiogenesis and increased expression of the αvβ3 integrin. Thus, angiogenesis in the heart can be imaged noninvasively with an 111In-labeled αvβ3-targeted agent. The noninvasive evaluation of angiogenesis may have important implications for risk stratification of patients following myocardial infarction. This approach may also have significant clinical utility for noninvasively tracking therapeutic myocardial angiogenesis.
Authors
David F. Meoli, Mehran M. Sadeghi, Svetlana Krassilnikova, Brian N. Bourke, Frank J. Giordano, Donald P. Dione, Haili Su, D. Scott Edwards, Shuang Liu, Thomas D. Harris, Joseph A. Madri, Barry L. Zaret, Albert J. Sinusas
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ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)