scholarly journals Beneficial Electrophysiological Effects of Rotigaptide Are Unable to Suppress Therapeutic Hypothermia-Provoked Ventricular Fibrillation in Failing Rabbit Hearts With Acute Ischemia–Reperfusion Injury

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hui-Ling Lee ◽  
Po-Cheng Chang ◽  
Hung-Ta Wo ◽  
Hao-Tien Liu ◽  
Ming-Shien Wen ◽  
...  

Aims: Whether therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is proarrhythmic in preexisting failing hearts with acute ischemia–reperfusion (IR) injury is unknown. Additionally, the effectiveness of rotigaptide on improving conduction slowing in hearts with IR injury is ambiguous. We investigated the electrophysiological effects of TH and rotigaptide in failing rabbit hearts with acute IR injury and determined the underlying molecular mechanisms.Methods and Results: Heart failure was induced by right ventricular pacing (320 beats/min, 4 weeks). Rabbits with pacing-induced heart failure were randomly divided into TH (n = 14) and non-TH (n = 7) groups. The IR rabbit model was created by ligating the coronary artery for 60 min, followed by reperfusion for 15 min in vivo. Then, the hearts were excised quickly and Langendorff-perfused for simultaneous voltage and intracellular Ca2+ (Cai) optical mapping. Electrophysiological studies were conducted, and vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation (VF) was evaluated using pacing protocols. TH (33°C) was instituted after baseline studies, and electrophysiological studies were repeated. Rotigaptide (300 nM) was infused for 20 min, and electrophysiological studies were repeated under TH. Cardiac tissues were sampled for Western blotting. TH increased the dispersion and beat-to-beat variability of action potential duration (APD), aggravated conduction slowing, and prolonged Cai decay to facilitate spatially discordant alternans (SDA) and VF induction. Rotigaptide reduced the dispersion and beat-to-beat variability of APD and improved slowed conduction to defer the onset of arrhythmogenic SDA by dynamic pacing and elevate the pacing threshold of VF during TH. However, the effect of rotigaptide on TH-enhanced VF inducibility was statistically insignificant. TH attenuated IR-induced dysregulation of protein expression, but its functional role remained uncertain.Conclusion: Therapeutic hypothermia is proarrhythmic in failing hearts with acute IR injury. Rotigaptide improves TH-induced APD dispersion and beat-to-beat variability and conduction disturbance to defer the onset of arrhythmogenic SDA and elevate the VF threshold by dynamic pacing, but these beneficial electrophysiological effects are unable to suppress TH-enhanced VF inducibility significantly.

Circulation ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yina Ma ◽  
Xiaoyue Hu ◽  
Daniel Pfau ◽  
Xiaohong Wu ◽  
Veena Rao ◽  
...  

Background: D-dopachrome tautomerase (DDT), the only homolog of macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF), is a cytokine highly expressed in cardiomyocytes and exerts autocrine-paracrine effects by signaling through the CD74 receptor. Endogenous DDT and MIF prevent acute ischemia-reperfusion injury and pressure overload-induced heart failure in mice. This study investigated whether endogenous cardiomyocyte DDT has a role in ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM). Methods: LV tissue was obtained from patients with ICM during heart transplantation and from non-transplanted donor hearts. Plasma DDT concentrations were measured in heart failure outpatients with ICM. Cardiomyocyte-specific DDT knockout (cKO) and littermate control (CON) mice underwent MI or sham surgery. Serial echocardiography was performed to assess LV remodeling after MI or sham surgery. Tissue from the non-infarct region was analyzed 3 days and 4 weeks after MI or sham surgery for histology and molecular studies. Results: Cardiac DDT mRNA and protein expression were reduced in LV from patients transplanted for ICM (n=8). Plasma DDT concentrations below the median value were associated with worse survival in ICM outpatients (p<0.05, n=32). In mice, baseline LV function was similar in DDT cKO and CON after sham surgery and 3 days post-MI. However, DDT cKO mice developed more rapid LV dilatation and decreased LV ejection fraction and stroke volume as early as 1-week post-MI (n=4-6/group, all P<0.05). The DDT cKO mice had smaller cardiomyocyte cross-sectional area 4 weeks after MI (p <0.05), as well as early diminished phosphorylation of mTOR and S6-kinase (3 days post-MI). They also showed increased apoptosis 3 days post-MI and an early increase in p38 MAP kinase activation. Conclusion: Cardiomyocyte-derived DDT prevents adverse cardiac remodeling in ICM, potentially through modulating mTOR/S6 kinase (adaptive hypertrophy) and p38 MAP kinase (limiting apoptosis). Down-regulation of DDT in patients with ICM may contribute to the pathogenesis of advanced heart failure.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 4314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laila Aryan ◽  
David Younessi ◽  
Michael Zargari ◽  
Somanshu Banerjee ◽  
Jacqueline Agopian ◽  
...  

Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) are the leading cause of death globally. More than 17 million people die worldwide from CVD per year. There is considerable evidence suggesting that estrogen modulates cardiovascular physiology and function in both health and disease, and that it could potentially serve as a cardioprotective agent. The effects of estrogen on cardiovascular function are mediated by nuclear and membrane estrogen receptors (ERs), including estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), estrogen receptor beta (ERβ), and G-protein-coupled ER (GPR30 or GPER). Receptor binding in turn confers pleiotropic effects through both genomic and non-genomic signaling to maintain cardiovascular homeostasis. Each ER has been implicated in multiple pre-clinical cardiovascular disease models. This review will discuss current reports on the underlying molecular mechanisms of the ERs in regulating vascular pathology, with a special emphasis on hypertension, pulmonary hypertension, and atherosclerosis, as well as in regulating cardiac pathology, with a particular emphasis on ischemia/reperfusion injury, heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.


2018 ◽  
Vol 314 (6) ◽  
pp. H1225-H1252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Erik Bøtker ◽  
Thomas Ravn Lassen ◽  
Nichlas Riise Jespersen

Rapid admission and acute interventional treatment combined with modern antithrombotic pharmacologic therapy have improved outcomes in patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction. The next major target to further advance outcomes needs to address ischemia-reperfusion injury, which may contribute significantly to the final infarct size and hence mortality and postinfarction heart failure. Mechanical conditioning strategies including local and remote ischemic pre-, per-, and postconditioning have demonstrated consistent cardioprotective capacities in experimental models of acute ischemia-reperfusion injury. Their translation to the clinical scenario has been challenging. At present, the most promising mechanical protection strategy of the heart seems to be remote ischemic conditioning, which increases myocardial salvage beyond acute reperfusion therapy. An additional aspect that has gained recent focus is the potential of extended conditioning strategies to improve physical rehabilitation not only after an acute ischemia-reperfusion event such as acute myocardial infarction and cardiac surgery but also in patients with heart failure. Experimental and preliminary clinical evidence suggests that remote ischemic conditioning may modify cardiac remodeling and additionally enhance skeletal muscle strength therapy to prevent muscle waste, known as an inherent component of a postoperative period and in heart failure. Blood flow restriction exercise and enhanced external counterpulsation may represent cardioprotective corollaries. Combined with exercise, remote ischemic conditioning or, alternatively, blood flow restriction exercise may be of aid in optimizing physical rehabilitation in populations that are not able to perform exercise practice at intensity levels required to promote optimal outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chung-Chuan Chou ◽  
Hui-Ling Lee ◽  
Gwo-Jyh Chang ◽  
Hung-Ta Wo ◽  
Tzung-Hai Yen ◽  
...  

AbstractStudies have demonstrated that diabetic (db/db) mice have increased susceptibility to myocardial ischemia–reperfusion (IR) injury and ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VA). We aimed to investigate the antiarrhythmic and molecular mechanisms of ranolazine in db/db mouse hearts with acute IR injury. Ranolazine was administered for 1 week before coronary artery ligation. Diabetic db/db and control db/+ mice were divided into ranolazine-given and -nongiven groups. IR model was created by 15-min left coronary artery ligation and 10-min reperfusion. In vivo electrophysiological studies showed that the severity of VA inducibility was higher in db/db mice than control (db/ +) mice. Ranolazine suppressed the VA inducibility and severity. Optical mapping studies in Langendorff-perfused hearts showed that ranolazine significantly shortened action potential duration, Cai transient duration, Cai decay time, ameliorated conduction inhomogeneity, and suppressed arrhythmogenic alternans induction. Western blotting studies showed that the expression of pThr17-phospholamban, calsequestrin 2 and voltage-gated sodium channel in the IR zone was significantly downregulated in db/db mice, which was ameliorated with ranolazine pretreatment and might play a role in the anti-arrhythmic actions of ranolazine in db/db mouse hearts with IR injury.


2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 716-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Johnsen ◽  
Torsten Kubacki ◽  
Assa Yeroslaviz ◽  
Martin Richard Späth ◽  
Jannis Mörsdorf ◽  
...  

BackgroundAlthough AKI lacks effective therapeutic approaches, preventive strategies using preconditioning protocols, including caloric restriction and hypoxic preconditioning, have been shown to prevent injury in animal models. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that underlie the enhanced resistance to AKI conferred by such approaches is needed to facilitate clinical use. We hypothesized that these preconditioning strategies use similar pathways to augment cellular stress resistance.MethodsTo identify genes and pathways shared by caloric restriction and hypoxic preconditioning, we used RNA-sequencing transcriptome profiling to compare the transcriptional response with both modes of preconditioning in mice before and after renal ischemia-reperfusion injury.ResultsThe gene expression signatures induced by both preconditioning strategies involve distinct common genes and pathways that overlap significantly with the transcriptional changes observed after ischemia-reperfusion injury. These changes primarily affect oxidation-reduction processes and have a major effect on mitochondrial processes. We found that 16 of the genes differentially regulated by both modes of preconditioning were strongly correlated with clinical outcome; most of these genes had not previously been directly linked to AKI.ConclusionsThis comparative analysis of the gene expression signatures in preconditioning strategies shows overlapping patterns in caloric restriction and hypoxic preconditioning, pointing toward common molecular mechanisms. Our analysis identified a limited set of target genes not previously known to be associated with AKI; further study of their potential to provide the basis for novel preventive strategies is warranted. To allow for optimal interactive usability of the data by the kidney research community, we provide an online interface for user-defined interrogation of the gene expression datasets (http://shiny.cecad.uni-koeln.de:3838/IRaP/).


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 1864
Author(s):  
Norbert Nemeth ◽  
Katalin Peto ◽  
Zsuzsanna Magyar ◽  
Zoltan Klarik ◽  
Gabor Varga ◽  
...  

Hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is a multifactorial phenomenon which has been associated with adverse clinical outcomes. IRI related tissue damage is characterized by various chronological events depending on the experimental model or clinical setting. Despite the fact that IRI research has been in the spotlight of scientific interest for over three decades with a significant and continuous increase in publication activity over the years and the large number of pharmacological and surgical therapeutic attempts introduced, not many of these strategies have made their way into everyday clinical practice. Furthermore, the pathomechanism of hepatic IRI has not been fully elucidated yet. In the complex process of the IRI, flow properties of blood are not neglectable. Hemorheological factors play an important role in determining tissue perfusion and orchestrating mechanical shear stress-dependent endothelial functions. Antioxidant and anti-inflammatory agents, ischemic conditioning protocols, dynamic organ preservation techniques may improve rheological properties of the post-reperfusion hepatic blood flow and target endothelial cells, exerting a potent protection against hepatic IRI. In this review paper we give a comprehensive overview of microcirculatory, rheological and molecular–pathophysiological aspects of hepatic circulation in the context of IRI and hepatoprotective approaches.


2016 ◽  
Vol 119 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua G Travers ◽  
Fadia A Kamal ◽  
Michelle L Nieman ◽  
Michelle A Sargent ◽  
Jeffery D Molkentin ◽  
...  

Heart failure is a devastating disease characterized by chamber remodeling, interstitial fibrosis and reduced ventricular compliance. Cardiac fibroblasts are responsible for extracellular matrix homeostasis, however upon injury or pathologic stimulation, these cells transform to a myofibroblast phenotype and play a fundamental role in myocardial fibrosis and remodeling. Chronic sympathetic overstimulation induces excess signaling through G protein βγ subunits and ultimately the pathologic activation of G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2). We hypothesized that Gβγ-GRK2 inhibition plays an important role in the cardiac fibroblast to attenuate pathologic myofibroblast activation and cardiac remodeling. To investigate this hypothesis, mice were subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury and treated with the small molecule Gβγ-GRK2 inhibitor gallein. While animals receiving vehicle demonstrated a reduction in overall cardiac function as measured by echocardiography, mice treated with gallein exhibited nearly complete preservation of cardiac function and reduced fibrotic scar formation. We next sought to establish the cell specificity of this compound by treating inducible cardiomyocyte- and activated fibroblast-specific GRK2 knockout mice post-I/R. Although we observed modest restoration in cardiac function in cardiomyocyte-specific GRK2 null mice, treatment of these mice with gallein resulted in further protection against myocardial dysfunction following injury, suggesting a functional role in other cardiac cell types, including fibroblasts. Activated fibroblast-specific GRK2 knockout mice were also subjected to ischemia/reperfusion injury; these animals displayed preserved myocardial function and reduced collagen deposition compared to littermate controls following injury. Furthermore, systemic Gβγ-GRK2 inhibition by gallein did not appear to confer further protection over activated fibroblast-specific GRK2 ablation alone. In summary, these findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for Gβγ-GRK2 inhibition in limiting pathologic myofibroblast activation, interstitial fibrosis and heart failure progression.


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