Right ventricular (RV) failure is a serious common clinical problem that is poorly understood. Therefore, for failing and nonfailing hearts, we examined the distinctive inotropic responses induced in the RV myocardium after the stimulation of α1-adrenergic receptors (ARs). In RV trabeculae from nonfailing mouse hearts, α1-ARs induced a negative inotropic response, consistent with our previous study. In marked contrast, in RV trabeculae from failing hearts, 12 wk after coronary artery ligation, α1-ARs induced a positive inotropic response. Mechanistically, experiments with skinned trabeculae showed that α1-ARs decreased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity in the nonfailing RV myocardium, whereas α1-ARs increased Ca2+ sensitivity in heart failure. This suggests that a switch in the Ca2+ sensitivity response to α1-AR stimulation explained the switch in the RV α1-AR inotropic response in heart failure. Myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) can increase myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity, and the smooth muscle isoform (smMLCK), which is also present in cardiomyocytes, was more abundant in the RV myocardium from failing versus nonfailing hearts. Moreover, the MLCK inhibitor ML-9 prevented the switch of the RV myocardium to a positive α1-AR inotropic response in heart failure. In the left ventricular myocardium, in contrast, α1-AR inotropic responses were not different in failing versus nonfailing hearts, and smMLCK abundance was not increased in heart failure. In relation to human disease, we found that smMLCK mRNA and protein levels were increased in RVs from failing human hearts. We conclude that the RV inotropic response to α1-ARs is switched from negative to positive in heart failure, through a pathway involving increased myofilament Ca2+ sensitivity. Since α1-AR agonist catecholamines are elevated in heart failure, increased α1-AR inotropic responses in the RV myocardium may be adaptive in heart failure by helping the failing RV respond to increased pulmonary pressures.
Heart failure switches the RV α1-adrenergic inotropic response from negative to positive
