Angiotensin II (Ang II)
plays an important
role in
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. The combined effect of
hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and Ang II on
cardiomyocytes is unknown. The present study was designed to determine the effect of HGF on
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and to explore the combined effect of HGF and Ang II on
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Primary
cardiomyocytes were isolated from neonatal
rat hearts and cultured
in vitro.
Cells were treated with Ang II (1 µM) alone, HGF (10 ng/mL) alone, and Ang II (1 µM) plus HGF (10 ng/mL) for 24, 48, and 72 h. The amount of [³H]-
leucine incorporation was then measured to evaluate
protein synthesis. The
mRNA levels of β-
myosin heavy chain and
atrial natriuretic factor were determined by
real-time PCR to evaluate the presence of fetal
phenotypes of
gene expression. The
cell size of
cardiomyocytes was also studied. Ang II (1 µM) increased
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.
Similar to Ang II,
treatment with 1 µM HGF promoted
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. Moreover, the combination of 1 µM Ang II and 10 ng/mL HGF clearly induced a combined pro-
hypertrophy effect on
cardiomyocytes. The present study demonstrates for the first
time a novel, combined effect of HGF and Ang II in promoting
cardiomyocyte hypertrophy.