alpha1-adrenergic receptors activate AMP-activated protein kinase in rat hearts / 生理学报

To test the hypothesis that AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is possibly the downstream signaling molecule of certain subtypes of adrenergic receptor (AR) in the heart, we evaluated AMPK activation mediated by ARs in H9C2 cells, a rat cardiac source cell line, and rat hearts. The AMPK-alpha subunit and the phosphorylation level of Thr(172)-AMPK-alpha subunit were subjected to Western blot analysis. Osmotic minipumps filled with norepinephrine (NE), phenylephrine (PE) or vehicle [0.01% (W/V) vitamin C solution] were implanted into male Sprague-Dawley rats subcutaneously. The pumps delivered NE or PE continuously at the rate of 0.2 mg/kg per hour. After 7-day infusion, the activity of AMPK was examined following immunoprecipitation with anti-AMPK-alpha antibody. At the cellular level, we found that NE elevated AMPK phosphorylation level in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with the maximal effect at 10 micromol/L NE after 10-minute treatment. This effect was insensitive to propranolol, a specific beta-AR antagonist, but abolished by prazosin, an alpha(1)-AR antagonist, suggesting that alpha(1)-AR but not beta-AR mediated the phosphorylation of AMPK. Moreover, the results from rat models of 7-day-infusion of AR agonists demonstrated that the activity of AMPK was significantly higher in NE (7.4-fold) and PE (6.0-fold) infusion groups than that in the vehicle group (P<0.05, n=6). On the other hand, no obvious cardiac hypertrophy and tissue fibrosis changes were observed in PE-infused rats. Taken together, our results demonstrate that alpha(1)-AR stimulation enhances the activity of AMPK, indicating an important role of alpha(1)-AR stimulation in the regulation of AMPK in the heart. Understanding the activation of AMPK mediated by alpha(1)-AR might have clinical implications in the therapy of heart failure.

Effects of beta-adrenoceptor activation on metabolism in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes / 生理学报

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) activation on metabolism in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. The protein synthesis and total protein content of cardiomyocytes were determined by [(3)H]-leucine incorporation and BCA protein content assay. Cardiomyocyte glucose uptake was measured by [(3)H]-2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake analysis. Adenosine monophosphate activated protein kinase (AMPK) phosphorylation was detected by Western blot. The results showed that sustained stimulation with isoproterenol (ISO), a beta-adrenoceptor agonist, had no effect on [(3)H]-leucine incorporation and total protein content in cardiomyocytes. With beta-AR activation by ISO or NE (pretreated with a selective blocker of the alpha(1)-adrenoceptor prazosin) for 48 h, both the glucose uptake and AMPK phosphorylation increased significantly compared with unstimulated cardiomyocytes. These results suggest that although sustained beta-AR activation has no effect on cardiomyocyte protein metabolism, glucose uptake and AMPK activity are increased significantly. The role of these beta-AR activation-induced changes in cardiac hypertrophy remains to be further investigated.

Expression of beta2-adrenergic receptor and its effect on the proliferation of neonatal rat cardiac fibroblasts / 生理学报

The expression of beta-adrenergic receptor subtypes and its effect on neonatal rat cardiac fibroblast proliferation were investigated by radioligand binding assay and [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation analysis, respectively. The results indicated that there was no significant difference in the beta-adrenergic receptor density (B(max)) and affinity (K(D)) between cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts. The [(125)I]-pindolol competitive inhibition curves (ICI 118551 and CGP 20712A) were significantly better fit in a one-site model in membrane preparation of cardiac fibroblasts. In cultured cardiac fibroblasts, 0.1 micromol/L isoproterenol-induced [(3)H]-thymidine incorporation was completely inhibited by a selective beta (2)-AR antagonist ICI 118551, or a non-selective beta-AR antagonist propranolol, but not by CGP 20712A, a selective beta(1)-AR antagonist. These results suggest that isoproterenol-induced cardiac fibroblast proliferation is mediated by beta(2)-AR, the preponderant beta-AR subtype in cardiac fibroblasts.