ABSTRACT
AIM:To study the role of prostaglandin F2?(PGF2?) in cardiac hypertrophy and its relation with calcineurin(CaN) signal transduction pathway in vitro.METHODS:The cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocyte was used to observe the hypertrophic effect of PGF2?,and the hypertrophic response was assayed by measuring the cell diameter,protein content and atrial natriuretic factor(ANF) mRNA expression.For mechanism studies,the intracellular free calcium concentration([Ca2+]i) in cultured cardiomyocytes was measured by using Fura-2/AM as a fluorescent indicator.ANF and CaN mRNA expressions,and the expressions of CaN and its downstream effectors,NFAT3 and GATA4 proteins were assayed by RT-PCR and Western blotting,respectively.RESULTS:In cultured cardiomyocytes,PGF2? induced profound hypertrophic morphology change and the significant increase in cell diameter,and protein content in a concentration-dependent manner compared with those in vehicle control(P