AbstractBackgroundChronic hypoxic stress induces epigenetic modifications in cardiac fibroblasts, such as inactivation of tumor suppressor genes (RASSF1A), and activation of kinases (ERK1/2). The effects of the antioxidant enzyme, extracellular superoxide dismutase (EC-SOD), on these epigenetic changes has not been fully explored.ObjectivesTo define the effect of EC-SOD overexpression on cardiac fibrosis induced by chronic hypoxia.MethodsWild type C57B6 male mice (WT) and transgenic males with an extra copy of human hEC-SOD (TG) were housed in hypoxia (10% O2) for 21 days. Right ventricular tissue was studied for cardiac fibrosis markers using RT-PCR and Western Blot analyses. Downstream effects were studied, for both RASSF-1 expression and methylation and its relation to ERK1/2, using in-vivo & in-vitro modelsResultsThere were significant increases in markers of cardiac fibrosis : Collagen 1, Alpha Smooth Muscle Actin (ASMA) and SNAIL, in the WT hypoxic animals as compared to the TG hypoxic group (p< 0.05). Expression of DNA methylation enzymes (DNMT 1,2) was significantly increased in the WT hypoxic mice as compared to the hypoxic TG mice (p<0.001). RASSF1A expression was significantly lower and ERK1/2 was significantly higher in hypoxia WT compared to the hypoxic TG group (p<0.05). Use of SiRNA to block RASSF1A gene expression in murine cardiac fibroblast tissue culture led to increased fibroblast proliferation (p<0.05). Methylation of RASSF1A promoter region showed a significant reduction in the TG hypoxic group compared to the WT hypoxic group (0.59 vs 0.75 respectively).ConclusionsEC-SOD significantly attenuates RASSF1A gene methylation, and plays a pivotal role cardiac fibrosis induced by hypoxia.
Investigation of MLH1, MGMT, CDKN2A, and RASSF1A Gene Methylation in Thymomas From Patients With Myasthenia Gravis
