Abstract 390: Dysregulation of ATF2 in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Caused by FBXO32 Mutation

2016 ◽  
Vol 119 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadya Alyacoub ◽  
Salma Awad ◽  
Mohmad Kunhi ◽  
Walid Al-Habeeb ◽  
Coralie Poizat

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common form of cardiomyopathy causing systolic dysfunction and heart failure. Rare variants in more than 30 genes mostly encoding sarcomeric proteins and proteins of the extracellular matrix have been implicated in familial DCM to date. We recently identified a novel mutation (Gly243Arg) in FBXO32 causing familial DCM through abnormal SKP1/CUL/F-BOX (SCF) complex formation and defects in proteins regulating the autophagy/lysosome machinery (Al-Yacoub, Genome Biology, 2016). Objective: To explore in more details the mechanisms by which the defective SCF FBXO32 complex leads to the development of DCM. Methodology: Using a PCR-based microarray, we screened for mRNAs significantly dysregulated in the heart of the patient carrying the FBXO32 mutation compared to control and idiopathic human hearts. Subsequently, we validated dysregulation of a candidate gene using immunoblot analysis and tested the effect of the mutant or wild-type FBXO32 on the novel candidate identified in primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Results: We found a robust up-regulation in mRNA expression of the Activating transcription Factor 2 (ATF2), a member of the leucine zipper family of DNA binding proteins, which plays a critical role in cardiac development. ATF2 protein level was also strongly increased in the heart with the FBXO32 mutation compared to control hearts and to hearts of idiopathic origin. Expression of the mutant FBXO32 protein in primary cardiomyocytes enhanced ATF2 protein expression compared to cells expressing the wild-type FBXO32 protein. Since FBXO32 is member of the SCF complex and has ubiquitin ligase activity, experiments are now investigating whether FBXO32 directly regulates ATF2 protein stability and the role of ATF2 in autophagy flux regulation in dilated cardiomyopathy. Conclusion: Our results indicate that abnormal SCF activity due to the FBXO32 mutation stabilizes the AFT2 transcription factor and suggest a new mechanism by aberrant SCF activity causes DCM in human.

Circulation ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 130 (suppl_2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinodkumar Pillai ◽  
Sadhana Samant ◽  
Nagalingam Sundaresan ◽  
Gene Kim ◽  
Mahesh P Gupta

Background and objective: Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic drug widely used to treat variety of cancers. One of the serious side effects of doxorubicin is its toxicity to the heart. Previously, we have shown that overexpression of SIRT3 blocks the hypertrophic response of the heart to agonist treatments. This study was undertaken to investigate whether SIRT3 can also attenuate the doxorubicin-induced cardiac hypertrophic response in mice. Methods and results: Neonatal rat cardiomyocytes overexpressed with SIRT3 and treated with doxorubicin (10μM) showed 28% reduced mean fluorescent intensity for CM-H 2 DCFDA dye, compared to mock infected control cells treated with doxorubicin, thus suggesting that SIRT3 was capable of blocking doxorubicin-induced ROS synthesis in cardiomyocytes. To examine the cardioprotective effects of SIRT3 in doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in vivo ; we used a cumulative dose of 15mg/kg of doxorubicin for two different time points. One group of mice was treated intraperitoneally with 5mg/kg doxorubicin or an equal volume of saline every two weeks for a total of three doses. Transgenic mice having cardiac specific expression of SIRT3 (SIRT3-Tg) showed 33% reduced HW/BW ratio compared to control mice. Echocardiographic evaluation of hearts showed significantly reduced fractional shortening in control mice, compared to SIRT3-Tg mice (24.6 vs 34.7 %, P<0.05). SIRT3-Tg mice also showed significantly reduced fetal gene expression for ANF, βMHC and collagen-1 as determined by RT-PCR. Masson’s trichrome staining showed significantly reduced fibrosis in doxorubicin treated SIRT3-Tg mice compared to its control. Furthermore, electron microscopic analysis showed preserved mitochondrial and sarcomeres structures in doxorubicin treated SIRT3-Tg hearts, whereas in wild-type hearts these structures were highly disorganized. Second group of mice that received 15mg/kg dose for two weeks also showed similar results. Contrary to this, whole body SIRT3 knockout mice showed exacerbated cardiac hypertrophic response compared to wild-type mice in response to doxorubicin treatment. Conclusion: These results demonstrated that SIRT3 is an endogenous negative regulator of doxorubicin-induced cardiac hypertrophic response.


Cells ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. 1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hung-Yu Lin ◽  
Feng-Sheng Wang ◽  
Ya-Ling Yang ◽  
Ying-Hsien Huang

MicroRNA-29 (miR-29) has been shown to play a critical role in reducing inflammation and fibrosis following liver injury. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) occurs when fat is deposited (steatosis) in the liver due to causes other than excessive alcohol use and is associated with liver fibrosis. In this study, we asked whether miR-29a could reduce experimental high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity and liver fibrosis in mice. We performed systematical expression analyses of miR-29a transgenic mice (miR-29aTg mice) and wild-type littermates subjected to HFD-induced NAFLD. The results demonstrated that increased miR-29a not only alleviated HFD-induced body weight gain but also subcutaneous, visceral, and intestinal fat accumulation and hepatocellular steatosis in mice. Furthermore, hepatic tissue in the miR-29aTg mice displayed a weak fibrotic matrix concomitant with low fibrotic collagen1α1 expression within the affected tissues compared to the wild-type (WT) mice fed the HFD diet. Increased miR-29a signaling also resulted in the downregulation of expression of the epithelial mesenchymal transition-executing transcription factor snail, mesenchymal markers vimentin, and such pro-inflammation markers as il6 and mcp1 within the liver tissue. Meanwhile, miR-29aTg-HFD mice exhibited significantly lower levels of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ), mitochondrial transcription factor A TFAM, and mitochondria DNA content in the liver than the WT-HFD mice. An in vitro luciferase reporter assay further confirmed that miR-29a mimic transfection reduced fatty acid translocase CD36 expression in HepG2 cells. Conclusion: Our data provide new insights that miR-29a can improve HDF-induced obesity, hepatocellular steatosis, and fibrosis, as well as highlight the role of miR-29a in regulation of NAFLD.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer T. Niones ◽  
Daigo Takemoto

ABSTRACT Symbiotic association of epichloae endophytes ( Epichloë/Neotyphodium species) with cool-season grasses of the subfamily Pooideae confers bioprotective benefits to the host plants against abiotic and biotic stresses. While the production of fungal bioprotective metabolites is a well-studied mechanism of host protection from insect herbivory, little is known about the antibiosis mechanism against grass pathogens by the mutualistic endophyte. In this study, an Epichloë festucae mutant defective in antimicrobial substance production was isolated by a mutagenesis approach. In an isolated mutant that had lost antifungal activity, the exogenous DNA fragment was integrated into the promoter region of the vibA gene, encoding a homologue of the transcription factor VIB-1. VIB-1 in Neurospora crassa is a regulator of genes essential in vegetative incompatibility and promotion of cell death. Here we show that deletion of the vibA gene severely affected the antifungal activity of the mutant against the test pathogen Drechslera erythrospila . Further analyses showed that overexpressing vibA enhanced the antifungal activity of the wild-type isolate against test pathogens. Transformants overexpressing vibA showed an inhibitory activity on test pathogens that the wild-type isolate could not. Moreover, overexpressing vibA in a nonantifungal E. festucae wild-type Fl1 isolate enabled the transformant to inhibit the mycelial and spore germination of D. erythrospila . These results demonstrate that enhanced expression of vibA is sufficient for a nonantifungal isolate to obtain antifungal activity, implicating the critical role of VibA in antifungal compound production by epichloae endophytes.


2005 ◽  
Vol 289 (3) ◽  
pp. H1153-H1160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hernán García-Rivello ◽  
Julián Taranda ◽  
Matilde Said ◽  
Patricia Cabeza-Meckert ◽  
Martin Vila-Petroff ◽  
...  

The neuregulin receptor tyrosine kinase Erb-b4, initially linked to early cardiac development, is shown here to play a critical role in adult cardiac function. In wild-type mice, Erb-b4 protein localized to Z lines and to intercalated disks, suggesting a role in subcellular and intercellular communications of cardiomyocytes. Conditional inactivation of erb-b4 in ventricular muscle cells led to a severe dilated cardiomyopathy, characterized by thinned ventricular walls with eccentric hypertrophy, reduced contractility, and delayed conduction. This cardiac dysfunction may account for premature death in adult erb-b4-knockout mice. This study establishes a critical role for Erb-b4 in the maintenance of normal postnatal cardiac structure and function.


2016 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 379-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ze Zhong ◽  
Jia-qing Hu ◽  
Xin-dong Wu ◽  
Yong Sun ◽  
Jun Jiang

Myocardin-related transcription factor-A (MRTF-A) can transduce both biomechanical and humoral signals, which can positively modulate cardiac damage induced by acute myocardial infarction. However, the molecular mechanism that underlies the contribution that MRTF-A provides to the myocardium is not completely understood. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of MRTF-A on myocardium apoptosis and its mechanisms. Our experiment results showed that MRTF-A expression increased and Bcl-2 expression reduced during myocardial ischemia–reperfusion in rat. Meanwhile, primary cardiomyocytes were pretreated with wild-type MRTF-A or siRNA of MRTF-A before exposure to hypoxia. We found that overexpression of MRTF-A in myocardial cells inhibited apoptosis and the release of cytochrome c. MRTF-A enhanced Bcl-2, which contributes to MRTF-A interaction with Bcl-2 in the nuclei of cardiomyocytes. MRTF-A upregulation expression of Bcl-2 in cardiomyocytes induced by hypoxia was inhibited by PD98059, an ERK1/2 inhibitor. In conclusions, MRTF-A improved myocardial cell survival in a cardiomyocyte model of hypoxia-induced injury; this effect was correlated with the upregulation of anti-apoptotic gene Bcl-2 through the activation of ERK1/2.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (10) ◽  
pp. E2338-E2347 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chen-Ching Yuan ◽  
Katarzyna Kazmierczak ◽  
Jingsheng Liang ◽  
Zhiqun Zhou ◽  
Sunil Yadav ◽  
...  

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a devastating heart disease that affects about 1 million people in the United States, but the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this study, we aimed to determine the biomechanical and structural causes of DCM in transgenic mice carrying a novel mutation in the MYL2 gene, encoding the cardiac myosin regulatory light chain. Transgenic D94A (aspartic acid-to-alanine) mice were created and investigated by echocardiography and invasive hemodynamic and molecular structural and functional assessments. Consistent with the DCM phenotype, a significant reduction of the ejection fraction (EF) was observed in ∼5- and ∼12-mo-old male and female D94A lines compared with respective WT controls. Younger male D94A mice showed a more pronounced left ventricular (LV) chamber dilation compared with female counterparts, but both sexes of D94A lines developed DCM by 12 mo of age. The hypocontractile activity of D94A myosin motors resulted in the rightward shift of the force–pCa dependence and decreased actin-activated myosin ATPase activity. Consistent with a decreased Ca2+ sensitivity of contractile force, a small-angle X-ray diffraction study, performed in D94A fibers at submaximal Ca2+ concentrations, revealed repositioning of the D94A cross-bridge mass toward the thick-filament backbone supporting the hypocontractile state of D94A myosin motors. Our data suggest that structural perturbations at the level of sarcomeres result in aberrant cardiomyocyte cytoarchitecture and lead to LV chamber dilation and decreased EF, manifesting in systolic dysfunction of D94A hearts. The D94A-induced development of DCM in mice closely follows the clinical phenotype and suggests that MYL2 may serve as a new therapeutic target for dilated cardiomyopathy.


Circulation ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 132 (suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eleni Tseliou ◽  
Liu Weixin ◽  
Jackelyn Valle ◽  
Baiming Sun ◽  
Maria Mirotsou ◽  
...  

Introduction: Adult newts can regenerate amputated cardiac tissue (and whole limbs) without fibrosis, unlike adult mammals which lack such regenerative capacity. Exosomes are nanoparticles which mediate intercellular communication and play a critical role in therapeutic regeneration. Hypothesis: We isolated exosomes from a newt mesodermal cell line, and evaluated their bioactivity in rat models. Methods: A1 cells, derived from the amputated limb buds of Notopthalmus viridescense (Brockes JP, 1988), were expanded in culture. Exosomes were isolated by polyethylene glycol precipitation of A1-conditioned serum-free media (or media conditioned by human dermal fibroblasts [DF] as a control) followed by centrifugation. Bioactivity was tested in vitro on neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM), and in vivo on acute myocardial infarction in Wistar-Kyoto rats (250μg or 500μg of A1-exosomes or vehicle [placebo] injected intramyocardially). Functional and histological analyses were performed 3 weeks after therapy. Results: A1-conditioned media yielded ~2.8±1Billion particles/ml of 129±1.1 nm diameter. In vitro, A1-exosomes increased the proliferative capacity of NRVM compared to DF-exosomes (4.98±0.89% vs 0.77±0.33%, p=0.035). Priming of DFs with A1-exosomes increased SDF-1 secretion compared to DF-exosomes (755±117pg/ml vs.368±21pg/ml, p=0.03). In vivo, both A1-exosome doses increased cardiac function compared to placebo (EF= 46±1% in 250μg, 49±4% in 500μg vs 36±1% in placebo, p=0.045 by ANOVA). Scar size was markedly decreased (11±1% in 250μg, 9±2% in 500μg vs 18±2% in placebo, p=0.006 by ANOVA), and infarct wall thickness was increased after A1-exosome treatment (1.7±0.11mm in 250μg, 1.85±0.16mm in 500μg vs 1.17±0.11mm in Placebo, p=0.01 by ANOVA). Donor-specific antibodies were present at barely detectable levels in the serum of animals that had been injected with A1-exosomes. Conclusions: Newt exosomes stimulate rat cardiomyocyte proliferation and improve functional and structural outcomes in rats with myocardial infarction. Characterization of the RNA and protein content of newt exosomes, now in progress, may provide clues regarding conserved (or newt-unique) molecular mediators of therapeutic benefit.


2002 ◽  
Vol 156 (5) ◽  
pp. 905-919 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian C. Braz ◽  
Orlando F. Bueno ◽  
Leon J. De Windt ◽  
Jeffery D. Molkentin

Members of the protein kinase C (PKC) isozyme family are important signal transducers in virtually every mammalian cell type. Within the heart, PKC isozymes are thought to participate in a signaling network that programs developmental and pathological cardiomyocyte hypertrophic growth. To investigate the function of PKC signaling in regulating cardiomyocyte growth, adenoviral-mediated gene transfer of wild-type and dominant negative mutants of PKCα, βII, δ, and ε (only wild-type ζ) was performed in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Overexpression of wild-type PKCα, βII, δ, and ε revealed distinct subcellular localizations upon activation suggesting unique functions of each isozyme in cardiomyocytes. Indeed, overexpression of wild-type PKCα, but not βII, δ, ε, or ζ induced hypertrophic growth of cardiomyocytes characterized by increased cell surface area, increased [3H]-leucine incorporation, and increased expression of the hypertrophic marker gene atrial natriuretic factor. In contrast, expression of dominant negative PKCα, βII, δ, and ε revealed a necessary role for PKCα as a mediator of agonist-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, whereas dominant negative PKCε reduced cellular viability. A mechanism whereby PKCα might regulate hypertrophy was suggested by the observations that wild-type PKCα induced extracellular signal–regulated kinase1/2 (ERK1/2), that dominant negative PKCα inhibited PMA-induced ERK1/2 activation, and that dominant negative MEK1 (up-stream of ERK1/2) inhibited wild-type PKCα–induced hypertrophic growth. These results implicate PKCα as a necessary mediator of cardiomyocyte hypertrophic growth, in part, through a ERK1/2-dependent signaling pathway.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenjia Li ◽  
Lei Yin ◽  
Xiaolei Sun ◽  
Jian Wu ◽  
Zhen Dong ◽  
...  

Abstract Alpha-lipoic acid (α-LA), a well-known antioxidant, was proved to active ALDH2 in nitrate tolerance and diabetic animal model. However, the therapeutic advantage of α-LA for heart failure and related signaling pathway have not been explored. This study was designed to examine the role of α-LA–ALDH2 in heart failure injury and mitochondrial damage. ALDH2 knockout (ALDH2−/−) mice and primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs) were subjected to assessment of myocardial function and mitochondrial autophagy. Our data demonstrated α-LA significantly reduced the degree of TAC-induced LV hypertrophy and dysfunction in wild-type mice, not in ALDH2−/− mice. In molecular level, α-LA significantly restored ALDH2 activity and expression as well as increased the expression of a novel mitophagy receptor protein FUNDC1 in wild-type TAC mice. Besides, we confirmed that ALDH2 which was activated by α-LA governed the activation of Nrf1–FUNDC1 cascade. Our data suggest that α-LA played a positive role in protecting the heart against adverse effects of chronic pressure overload.


2013 ◽  
Vol 113 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ies Elzenaar ◽  
Inge van der Made ◽  
Wino J Wijnen ◽  
Elisabeth Ehler ◽  
Leon J De Windt ◽  
...  

The pathology of heart failure is characterized by poorly contracting and dilated ventricles. Although this is associated with lengthening of individual cardiomyocytes and loss of sarcomeres, the mechanism underlying these changes in cardiomyocyte structure remains to be elucidated. We have previously identified the transcription factor myocyte enhancer factor-2 (MEF2) as important trigger for adverse cardiomyocyte remodeling. Here, we use microarray analysis and gain- and loss- of function approaches to identify MEF2 target genes involved in structural remodeling of the cardiomyocyte. Isolated neonatal rat cardiomyocytes infected with adenoviruses expressing MEF2 underwent cellular elongation associated with loss of sarcomeric structure. Microarray analysis revealed myotonic dystrophy protein kinase (DMPK) as MEF2 target gene, which we verified by chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments. siRNA mediated knockdown of DMPK prevented MEF2-induced cardiomyocyte elongation and loss of sarcomeres. Interestingly, RT-PCR analysis of known DMPK splice variants demonstrated a relative increase of the DMPK E isoform in failing mouse hearts. To test the role of this specific splice isoform, we generated adenoviruses expressing DMPK E or a kinase dead mutant DMPK E. Overexpression of wildtype DMPK E, but not of the kinase dead mutant, in cardiomyocytes resulted in severe loss of sarcomeric structure. Moreover, quantitative PCR analysis showed a decrease in mRNA levels for several sarcomeric genes after overexpression of DMPK E. These genes are known targets of the transcription factor serum response factor (SRF) and DMPK is known to phosphorylate SRF. Therefore, we tested the effect of DMPK on SRF activity in luciferase experiments, which demonstrated that DMPK E is an inhibitor of SRF transcriptional activity. Our data indicate that MEF2 induces loss of sarcomeres, which is mediated by at least one specific splice variant of DMPK. Moreover, increased expression of this DMPK splice variant results in a decrease in sarcomeric gene expression, which possibly involves inhibition of SRF transcriptional activity. Together, these results assign a novel function to MEF2 and DMPK in adverse cardiomyocyte remodeling during heart failure development.


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