Endothelin downregulates SERCA2 gene and protein expression in adult rat ventricular myocytes: regulation by pertussis toxin-sensitive Gi protein and cAMP.

Downregulation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2) is associated with diastolic dysfunction in the failing heart. Elevated plasma endothelin-1 (ET) levels are correlated with congestive heart failure suggesting that ET may play a pathophysiological role. We have investigated the ability of ET to regulate SERCA2 gene expression in isolated adult rat ventricular myocytes. We find that ET enhances net protein synthesis by approximately 40% but significantly downregulates SERCA2 mRNA expression, time dependently, by approximately 30-50%, and the expression of SERCA2 protein by approximately 50%. In myoyctes, ET binds to ET(A) receptor that couples to G(q) and G(i) proteins. Inhibition of G(q)-PLC-induced phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis with U73122 (1 muM) or inhibition of G(i) protein with pertussis toxin (PTX) abolishes the ability of ET to downregulate SERCA2 mRNA gene expression. Further investigation suggests that ET coupling to PTX-sensitive G(i) with consequent lowering of cAMP is required for downregulation of SERCA2 mRNA levels. Increasing intracellular cAMP quantity using cAMP-specific PDE inhibitor Ro20-1724 or cAMP analog dibutyryl-cAMP reverses ET-induced downregulation of SERCA2 mRNA levels. The data indicate that, in adult myocytes, ET downregulates SERCA2 mRNA and protein levels, and the effect requires cross-talk between G(q) and PTX-sensitive G(i) pathways.

Lysophosphatidic acid induces hypertrophy of neonatal cardiac myocytes via activation of Gi and Rho.

The effect of the lysophospholipid, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), on signaling and hypertrophy of neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes was examined. Myocytes express mRNA for all three G-protein-coupled LPA receptor subtypes (LPA(1)/Edg-2, LPA(2)/Edg-4, and LPA(3)/Edg-7) as indicated by RT-PCR analysis. LPA inhibits isoproterenol-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation with an IC(50) approximately 40 nM and promotes phosphorylation of ERK-1/2. LPA also elicits a small, slow onset, and activation of phosphoinositide hydrolysis with EC(50) approximately 400 nM, and stimulates a marked increase in the extent of Rho activation. Longer-term treatment with LPA induces a hypertrophic response in myocytes as indicated by increases in cell size, actin organization, ANF staining of the perinuclear region and activation of ANF promoter-luciferase gene expression. Pretreatment of myocytes with pertussis toxin (PTX) not only blocks the capacity of LPA to inhibit cyclic AMP formation and stimulate ERK phosphorylation, but also inhibits hypertrophic changes in cell morphology and ANF-luciferase gene expression. Neither phospholipase C nor Rho activation is PTX sensitive. The hypertrophic effects of LPA on myocytes are also inhibited by treatment with C3 exoenzyme or by transfection of plasmids expressing either C3 exoenzyme or dominant-negative Rho to block Rho function. Inhibition of ERK activation with PD98059 blocks LPA-induced hypertrophy while inhibitors of phospholipase C (U73122), PKC (GF109203X), or p38MAPK (SB203580) do not. These data suggest that LPA induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy via a pathway different from the conventional G(q) pathway utilized by phenylephrine, endothelin, and PGF2 alpha and involving activation of a PTX-sensitive G(i)/ERK pathway in conjunction with activation of Rho-mediated signals.

Interleukin-1 beta inhibits Na+-K+ ATPase activity and protein expression in cardiac myocytes.

Recent studies have shown that heart diseases are always accompanied with high levels of IL-1beta and a decrease in Na+-K+ ATPase concentrations. This work studies the involvement of the cytokine in the observed changes in the pump. Rats were injected intraperitoneally with 400 mg of IL-1beta and 4 h later, the heart was isolated and a crude homogenate of the right and left ventricles was prepared and tested for Na+-K+ ATPase activity and protein expression. IL-1beta inhibited by around 70% the activity of the ATPase in the left and right ventricles. This inhibition of the pump was ascribed to a decrease in its protein expression as demonstrated by western blot analysis. A dose and time response study conducted on isolated cardiac myocytes confirmed the inhibitory role of the cytokine on the ATPase and showed that IL-1beta exerts its maximal down-regulatory effect at 2 h and at a dose of 20 ng/ml. The cytokine caused also an up-regulation of the NaKCl2 cotransporter. Both MEK and p38MAPK were shown to be involved in the signaling pathway activated by the cytokine. It can be concluded that the decrease in the Na+-K+ ATPase concentration observed in heart diseases is a consequence of the accompanying high levels of IL-1beta, and may be responsible for the different symptoms that accompany cardiac ischemia.