scholarly journals Aerobic Exercise Attenuates Pressure Overload-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction through Promoting Skeletal Muscle Microcirculation and Increasing Muscle Mass

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ling-Yan Yuan ◽  
Pei-Zhao Du ◽  
Min-Min Wei ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Le Lu ◽  
...  

Background. Aerobic exercise has been proven to have a positive effect on cardiac function after hypertension; however, the mechanism is not entirely clarified. Skeletal muscle mass and microcirculation are closely associated with blood pressure and cardiac function. Objective. This study was designed to investigate the effects of aerobic exercise on the skeletal muscle capillary and muscle mass, to explore the possible mechanisms involved in exercise-induced mitigation of cardiac dysfunction in pressure overload mice. Methods. In this study, 60 BALB/C mice aged 8 weeks were randomly divided into 3 groups: control (CON), TAC, and TAC plus exercise (TAE) group and utilized transverse aortic constriction (TAC) to establish hypertensive model; meanwhile, treadmill training is used for aerobic exercise. After 5 days of recovery, mice in the TAE group were subjected to 10-week aerobic exercise. Carotid pressure and cardiac function were examined before mice were executed by Millar catheter and ultrasound, respectively. Muscle mass of gastrocnemius was weighed; cross-sectional area and the number of capillaries of gastrocnemius were detected by HE and immunohistochemistry, respectively. The mRNA and protein levels of VEGF in skeletal muscle were determined by RT-PCR and western blot, respectively. Results. We found that ① 10-week aerobic exercise counteracted hypertension and attenuated cardiac dysfunction in TAC-induced hypertensive mice; ② TAC decreased muscle mass of gastrocnemius and resulted in muscle atrophy, while 10-week aerobic exercise could reserve transverse aortic constriction-induced the decline of muscle mass and muscle atrophy; and ③ TAC reduced the number of capillaries and the protein level of VEGF in gastrocnemius, whereas 10-week aerobic exercise augmented the number of capillaries, the mRNA and protein levels of VEGF in mice were subjected to TAC surgery. Conclusions. This study indicates that 10-week aerobic exercise might fulfill its blood pressure-lowering effect via improving skeletal muscle microcirculation and increasing muscle mass.

2013 ◽  
Vol 304 (8) ◽  
pp. H1147-H1158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tara N. Rindler ◽  
Valerie M. Lasko ◽  
Michelle L. Nieman ◽  
Motoi Okada ◽  
John N. Lorenz ◽  
...  

The α2-isoform of the Na,K-ATPase (α2) is the minor isoform of the Na,K-ATPase expressed in the cardiovascular system and is thought to play a critical role in the regulation of cardiovascular hemodynamics. However, the organ system/cell type expressing α2 that is required for this regulation has not been fully defined. The present study uses a heart-specific knockout of α2 to further define the tissue-specific role of α2 in the regulation of cardiovascular hemodynamics. To accomplish this, we developed a mouse model using the Cre/loxP system to generate a tissue-specific knockout of α2 in the heart using β-myosin heavy chain Cre. We have achieved a 90% knockout of α2 expression in the heart of the knockout mice. Interestingly, the heart-specific knockout mice exhibit normal basal cardiac function and systolic blood pressure, and in addition, these mice develop ACTH-induced hypertension in response to ACTH treatment similar to control mice. Surprisingly, the heart-specific knockout mice display delayed onset of cardiac dysfunction compared with control mice in response to pressure overload induced by transverse aortic constriction; however, the heart-specific knockout mice deteriorated to control levels by 9 wk post-transverse aortic constriction. These results suggest that heart expression of α2 does not play a role in the regulation of basal cardiovascular function or blood pressure; however, heart expression of α2 plays a role in the hypertrophic response to pressure overload. This study further emphasizes that the tissue localization of α2 determines its unique roles in the regulation of cardiovascular function.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiyan Deng ◽  
Lei-Lei Ma ◽  
Fei-Juan Kong ◽  
Zengyong Qiao

The transverse aortic constriction (TAC) model surgery is a widely used disease model to study pressure overload–induced cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure in mice. The severity of adverse cardiac remodeling of the TAC model is largely dependent on the degree of constriction around the aorta, and the phenotypes of TAC are also different in different mouse strains. Few studies focus on directly comparing phenotypes of the TAC model with different degrees of constriction around the aorta, and no study compares the difference in C57BL/6N mice. In the present study, C57BL/6N mice aged 10 weeks were subjected to sham, 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC surgery for 4 weeks. We then analyzed the different phenotypes induced by 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC in c57BL/6N mice in terms of pressure gradient, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac function, heart failure situation, survival condition, and cardiac fibrosis. All C57BL/6N mice subjected to TAC surgery developed significantly hypertrophy. Mice subjected to 27G TAC had severe cardiac dysfunction, severe cardiac fibrosis, and exhibited characteristics of heart failure at 4 weeks post-TAC. Compared with 27G TAC mice, 26G TAC mice showed a much milder response in cardiac dysfunction and cardiac fibrosis compared to 27G TAC, and a very small fraction of the 26G TAC group exhibited characteristics of heart failure. There was no obvious cardiac dysfunction, cardiac fibrosis, and characteristics of heart failure observed in 25G TAC mice. Based on our results, we conclude that the 25G TAC, 26G TAC, and 27G TAC induced distinct phenotypes in C57BL/6N mice.


2020 ◽  
Vol 127 (Suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dogacan Yucel ◽  
Jop H Van Berlo ◽  
Preethy Parthiban

In response to cardiac injury or increased workload, the mammalian heart undergoes ventricular remodeling to maintain cardiac function. Initally, these changes are compensatory, although ultimately, they can lead to death of cardiomyocytes, ventricular dilation, and progression to heart failure. It is critical to understand the underlying mechanisms that regulate this transition, since it could identify new therapeutic targets. The role of the small GTPase Septin4 in the heart, and in regulating cardiac stress response is unknown. Previous research has implicated Septin 4 in regulation of Store Operated Calcium entry, as well as cell death regulation through a splice isoform (ARTS). We performed cardiac pressure overload in wild type controls and Septin 4 knockout (-/-) mice. Importantly, we did not detect differences in cardiac hypertrophy or function at baseline (57% ejection fraction in both groups). Four weeks following transverse aortic constriction (TAC), Septin4-/- mice showed improved cardiac function with higher ejection fraction (51%) compared to controls (40%), while the level of hypertrophy was similar. Furthermore, we detected reduced cleaved caspase-3 staining after TAC in Septin4-/- mice, due to inhibition of cardiomyocyte apoptosis in Septin4 -/- mice. Mechanistically, we detected increases in protein expression of both total and phosphorylated phospholamban and CaMKII in Septin4-/- mice, suggesting alterations in Calcium handling, and indicating compensatory signaling pathways were still active in Septin4-/- mice, while control mice were transitioning to heart failure. In conclusion, genetic deletion of Septin4 prevented cardiomyocyte death and protected mice from heart failure following cardiac pressure overload. Future research will focus on regulation of calcium handling in Septin4-/- mice to determine the exact mechanisms through which Septin4 plays a detrimental role in cardiac remodeling.


2020 ◽  
Vol 318 (2) ◽  
pp. H238-H251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuto Nakamura ◽  
Shunbun Kita ◽  
Yoshimitsu Tanaka ◽  
Shiro Fukuda ◽  
Yoshinari Obata ◽  
...  

A disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)12 is considered to promote cardiac dysfunction based on the finding that a small-molecule ADAM12 inhibitor, KB-R7785, ameliorated cardiac function in a transverse aortic constriction (TAC) model by inhibiting the proteolytic activation of heparin-binding-EGF signaling. However, this compound has poor selectivity for ADAM12, and the role of ADAM12 in cardiac dysfunction has not yet been investigated using genetic loss-of-function mice. We revealed that ADAM12 knockout mice showed significantly more advanced cardiac hypertrophy and higher mortality rates than wild-type mice 4 wk after TAC surgery. An ADAM12 deficiency resulted in significantly more expanded cardiac fibrosis accompanied by increased collagen-related gene expression in failing hearts. The results of a genome-wide transcriptional analysis suggested a strongly enhanced focal adhesion- and fibrosis-related signaling pathway in ADAM12 knockout hearts. The loss of ADAM12 increased the abundance of the integrinβ1 subunit and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β receptor types I and III, and this was followed by the phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase, Akt, mammalian target of rapamycin, ERK, and Smad2/3 in the heart, which resulted in cardiac dysfunction. The present results revealed that the loss of ADAM12 enhanced focal adhesion and canonical TGF-β signaling by regulating the abundance of the integrinβ1 and TGF-β receptors. NEW & NOTEWORTHY In contrast to a long-believed cardio-damaging role of a disintegrin and metalloproteinase (ADAM)12, cardiac hypertrophy was more severe, cardiac function was lower, and mortality was higher in ADAM12 knockout mice than in wild-type mice after transverse aortic constriction surgery. The loss of ADAM12 enhanced focal adhesion- and fibrosis-related signaling pathways in the heart, which may compromise cardiac function. These results provide insights for the development of novel therapeutics that target ADAM12 to treat heart failure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Junteng Zhou ◽  
Geer Tian ◽  
Yue Quan ◽  
Junli Li ◽  
Xiaojiao Wang ◽  
...  

P2X7 purinergic receptor (P2X7R) has been implicated in several cardiovascular diseases. However, whether it regulates cardiac fibrosis remains elusive. Herein, its involvement in the development of cardiac fibrosis was examined using a transverse aortic constriction (TAC) mice model and cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) hyperstimulated by TGF-β1 for 48 hours. Results showed that TAC and TGF-β1 treatment increased the expression of P2X7R. Silencing of P2X7R expression with siP2X7R ameliorated TGF-β1 effects on fibroblasts activation. Similarly, P2X7R inhibition by Brilliant Blue G (BBG) reduced mRNA and protein levels of profibrosis markers, while the P2X7R agonist BzATP accelerated the TGF-β1-induced CFs activation. Moreover, it was found that TGF-β1-induced CFs activation was mediated by the NLRP3/IL-1β inflammasome pathway. BBG or siP2X7R treatment suppressed NLRP3/IL-1β pathway signaling. In vivo, BBG significantly alleviated TAC-induced cardiac fibrosis, cardiac dysfunction, and NLRP3/IL-1β activation. Collectively, our findings imply that suppressing P2X7R may limit cardiac fibrosis and abnormal activation of CFs.


Circulation ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 116 (suppl_16) ◽  
Author(s):  
Monte Willis ◽  
Rongqin Ren ◽  
Cam Patterson

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) of the TGF-beta superfamily, have been implicated in multiple processes during cardiac development. Our laboratory recently described an unprecedented role for Bmper in antagonizing BMP-2, BMP-4, and BMP-6. To determine the role of Bmper on cardiac development in vivo, we created Bmper null (Bmper −/−) mice by replacing exons 1 and 2 with GFP. Since Bmper −/− mice are perinatally lethal, we determined pre-natal cardiac function of Bmper −/− mice in utero just before birth. By echocardiography, E18.5 Bmper −/− embryos had decreased cardiac function (24.2 +/− 8.1% fractional shortening) compared to Bmper +/− and Bmper +/+ siblings (52.2 +/− 1.6% fractional shortening) (N=4/group). To further characterize the role of Bmper on cardiac function in adult mice, we performed echocardiography on 8-week old male and female Bmper +/− and littermate control Bmper +/+. Bmper +/− mice had an approximately 15% decrease in anterior and posterior wall thickness compared to sibling Bmper +/+ mice at baseline (n=10/group). Cross-sectional areas of Bmper +/− cardiomyocytes were approximately 20% less than wild type controls, indicating cardiomyocyte hypoplasia in adult Bmper +/− mice at baseline. Histologically, no significant differences were identified in representative H&E and trichrome stained adult Bmper +/− and Bmper +/+ cardiac sections at baseline. To determine the effects of Bmper expression on the development of cardiac hypertrophy, both Bmper +/− and Bmper +/+ sibling controls underwent transaortic constriction (TAC), followed by weekly echocardiography. While a deficit was identified in Bmper +/− mice at baseline, both anterior and posterior wall thicknesses increased after TAC, such that identical wall thicknesses were identified in Bmper +/− and Bmper +/+ mice 1–4 weeks after TAC. Notably, cardiac function (fractional shortening %) and histological evaluation revealed no differences between Bmper +/− and Bmper +/+ any time after TAC. These studies identify for the first time that Bmper expression plays a critical role in regulating cardiac muscle mass during development, and that Bmper regulates the development of hypertrophy in response to pressure overload in vivo.


2015 ◽  
pp. 325-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. LIU ◽  
X. WANG ◽  
Z. MEI ◽  
J. GONG ◽  
X. GAO ◽  
...  

Stress serves as a risk factor in the etiology of hypertension. The present study was designed to decipher the effect and mechanism of chronic stress on the progression of pressure overload-induced cardiac dysfunction. We used abdominal aortic constriction (AAC) to induce pressure overload with or without chronic restraint stress to establish the animal models. Echocardiographic analysis showed pressure overload-induced cardiac dysfunction was worsened by chronic stress. Compared with the AAC rats, there is a significant increase in cardiac hypertrophy, injury, apoptosis and fibrosis of the AAC + stress rats. Furthermore, we found the secretion of norepinephrine (NE) increased after the AAC operation, while the level of NE was higher in the AAC + stress group. Cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts isolated from neonatal rats were cultured and separately treated with 1, 10, 100 μM NE. The higher concentration NE induced more cardiomyocytes hypertrophy and apoptosis, cardiac fibroblasts proliferation and collagen expression. These results revealed that high level of NE-induced cardiomyocytes hypertrophy and apoptosis, cardiac fibroblasts proliferation and collagen expression further contributes to the effect of chronic stress on acceleration of pressure overload-induced cardiac dysfunction.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinxin Wang ◽  
Jing Bai ◽  
Peng Duan ◽  
Hao Wang ◽  
Yang Li ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) severely impairs the health of diabetic patients. Previous studies have shown that the expression of inwardly rectifying potassium channel 6.1 (Kir6.1) in heart mitochondria is significantly reduced in type 1 diabetes. However, whether its expression and function are changed and what role it plays in type 2 DCM have not been reported. This study investigated the role and mechanism of Kir6.1 in DCM.Methods: The cardiac function in mice was analyzed by echocardiography, ELISA, hematoxylin and eosin staining, TUNEL and transmission electron microscopy. The mitochondrial function in cardiomyocytes was measured by the oxygen consumption rate and the mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm). Kir6.1 expression at the mRNA and protein levels was analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR and western blotting (WB), respectively. The protein expression of t-AKT, p-AKT, t-Foxo1, and p-Foxo1 was analyzed by WB.Results: We found that the cardiac function and the Kir6.1 expression in DCM mice were decreased. Kir6.1 overexpression improved cardiac dysfunction and upregulated the phosphorylation of AKT and Foxo1 in the DCM mouse model. Furthermore, Kir6.1 overexpression also improved cardiomyocyte dysfunction and upregulated the phosphorylation of AKT and Foxo1 in cardiomyocytes with insulin resistance. In contrast, cardiac-specific Kir6.1 knockout aggravated the cardiac dysfunction and downregulated the phosphorylation of AKT and Foxo1 in DCM mice. Furthermore, Foxo1 activation downregulated the expression of Kir6.1 and decreased the ΔΨm in cardiomyocytes. In contrast, Foxo1 inactivation upregulated the expression of Kir6.1 and increased the ΔΨm in cardiomyocytes. Chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that the Kir6.1 promoter region contains a functional Foxo1-binding site .Conclusions: Kir6.1 improves cardiac dysfunction in DCM, probably through the AKT-Foxo1 signaling pathway. Moreover, the crosstalk between Kir6.1 and the AKT-Foxo1 signaling pathway may provide new strategies for reversing the defective signaling in DCM.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Jianyong Qi ◽  
Qin Liu ◽  
Kaizheng Gong ◽  
Juan Yu ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
...  

Background. Cardiac hypertrophy occurs in many cardiovascular diseases. Apocynum tablet (AT), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in China to treat patients with hypertension. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of AT on the hypertension-induced cardiac hypertrophy remain elusive. The current study evaluated the effect and mechanisms of AT on cardiac hypertrophy.Methods. We created a mouse model of cardiac hypertrophy by inducing pressure overload with surgery of transverse aortic constriction (TAC) and then explored the effect of AT on the development of cardiac hypertrophy using 46 mice in 4 study groups (combinations of AT and TAC). In addition, we evaluated the signaling pathway of phosphorylation of ERK1/2, AKT, and protein expression of GATA4 in the cardioprotective effects of AT using Western blot.Results. AT inhibited the phosphorylation of Thr202/Tyr204 sites of ERK1/2, Ser473 site of AKT, and protein expression of GATA4 and significantly inhibited cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac fibrosis at 2 weeks after TAC surgery (P<0.05).Conclusions. We experimentally demonstrated that AT inhibits cardiac hypertrophy via suppressing phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and AKT.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (30) ◽  
pp. E7129-E7138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinichiro Sunamura ◽  
Kimio Satoh ◽  
Ryo Kurosawa ◽  
Tomohiro Ohtsuki ◽  
Nobuhiro Kikuchi ◽  
...  

Although postcapillary pulmonary hypertension (PH) is an important prognostic factor for patients with heart failure (HF), its pathogenesis remains to be fully elucidated. To elucidate the different roles of Rho-kinase isoforms, ROCK1 and ROCK2, in cardiomyocytes in response to chronic pressure overload, we performed transverse aortic constriction (TAC) in cardiac-specific ROCK1-deficient (cROCK1−/−) and ROCK2-deficient (cROCK2−/−) mice. Cardiomyocyte-specific ROCK1 deficiency promoted pressure-overload-induced cardiac dysfunction and postcapillary PH, whereas cardiomyocyte-specific ROCK2 deficiency showed opposite results. Histological analysis showed that pressure-overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis were enhanced in cROCK1−/− mice compared with controls, whereas cardiac hypertrophy was attenuated in cROCK2−/− mice after TAC. Consistently, the levels of oxidative stress were up-regulated in cROCK1−/− hearts and down-regulated in cROCK2−/− hearts compared with controls after TAC. Furthermore, cyclophilin A (CyPA) and basigin (Bsg), both of which augment oxidative stress, enhanced cardiac dysfunction and postcapillary PH in cROCK1−/− mice, whereas their expressions were significantly lower in cROCK2−/− mice. In clinical studies, plasma levels of CyPA were significantly increased in HF patients and were higher in patients with postcapillary PH compared with those without it. Finally, high-throughput screening demonstrated that celastrol, an antioxidant and antiinflammatory agent, reduced the expressions of CyPA and Bsg in the heart and the lung, ameliorating cardiac dysfunction and postcapillary PH induced by TAC. Thus, by differentially affecting CyPA and Bsg expressions, ROCK1 protects and ROCK2 jeopardizes the heart from pressure-overload HF with postcapillary PH, for which celastrol may be a promising agent.


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