ABSTRACT
CD36 has been associated with obesity and diabetes in human liver diseases, however, its role in age-associated nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is unknown. Therefore, liver biopsies were collected from individuals with histologically normal livers (n=30), and from patients diagnosed with simple steatosis (NAS; n=26). Patients were divided into two groups according to age and liver biopsy samples were immunostained for CD36. NAFLD parameters were examined in young (12-week) and middle-aged (52-week) C57BL/6J mice, some fed with chow-diet and some fed with low-fat (LFD; 10% kcal fat) or high-fat diet (HFD; 60% kcal fat) for 12-weeks. CD36 expression was positively associated with age in individuals with normal livers but not in NAS patients. However, CD36 was predominantly located at the plasma membrane of hepatocytes in aged NAS patients as compared to young. In chow-fed mice, aging, despite an increase in hepatic CD36 expression, was not associated with the development of NAFLD. However, middle-aged mice did exhibit the development of HFD-induced NAFLD, mediated by an increase of CD36 on the membrane. Enhanced CD36-mediated hepatic fat uptake may contribute to an accelerated progression of NAFLD in mice and humans. Therapies to prevent the increase in CD36 expression and/or CD36 from anchoring at the membrane may prevent the development of NAFLD.
Subject(s)
CD36 Antigens/biosynthesis , Hepatocytes/metabolism , Liver/metabolism , Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/metabolism , Adult , Aged , Aging , Animals , Cell Membrane/metabolism , Female , Humans , Immunoblotting , Immunohistochemistry , Male , Mice , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Middle Aged , Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction , Young AdultABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common cardiac arrhythmia and is associated with an increased risk for stroke, heart failure and cardiovascular-related mortality. Candidate targets for anti-AF drugs include a potassium channel K(v)1.5, and the ionic currents I(KACh) and late I(Na), along with increased oxidative stress and activation of NFAT-mediated gene transcription. As pharmacological management of AF is currently suboptimal, we have designed and characterized a multifunctional small molecule, compound 1 (C1), to target these ion channels and pathways. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: We made whole-cell patch-clamp recordings of recombinant ion channels, human atrial I(Kur), rat atrial I(KACh), cellular recordings of contractility and calcium transient measurements in tsA201 cells, human atrial samples and rat myocytes. We also used a model of inducible AF in dogs. KEY RESULTS: C1 inhibited human peak and late K(v)1.5 currents, frequency-dependently, with IC50 of 0.36 and 0.11 µmol·L(-1) respectively. C1 inhibited I(KACh)(IC50 of 1.9 µmol·L(-1)) and the Na(v)1.5 sodium channel current (IC50s of 3 and 1 µmol·L(-1) for peak and late components respectively). C1 (1 µmol·L(-1)) significantly delayed contractile and calcium dysfunction in rat ventricular myocytes treated with 3 nmol·L(-1) sea anemone toxin (ATX-II). C1 weakly inhibited the hERG channel and maintained antioxidant and NFAT-inhibitory properties comparable to the parent molecule, resveratrol. In a model of inducible AF in conscious dogs, C1 (1 mg·kg(-1)) reduced the average and total AF duration. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: C1 behaved as a promising multifunctional small molecule targeting a number of key pathways involved in AF.
