El SRAA y el SARS-CoV-2: el acertijo a resolver / The RAAS and SARS-CoV-2: ariddle to solve

El 31 de diciembre de 2019 se reportó el primer caso de COVID-19 en Wuhan, China, y desde entonces ha habido un interés creciente y sin precedentes por conocer todos los aspectos vinculados con esta nueva enfermedad. Uno de los temas que ha generado debate se vincula con la asociación entre la terapia antihipertensiva con inhibidores del sistema renina-angiotensina-aldosterona (SRAA) y la infección por el virus SARS-CoV-2. Si bien muchas preguntas siguen hoy día sin poder ser respondidas, la intención de este comunicado es informar a los profesionales de la salud acerca del estado actual de conocimiento. Dado que este es un tema en constante evolución, se recomienda su actualización a medida que se presenten nuevas evidencias. A continuación, daremos revisión a los estudios preclínicos y clínicos que relacionan el coronavirus con el SRAA

The first case of COVID-19 was reported on 31 December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Ever since there has been unprecedented and growing interest in learning about all aspects of this new disease. Debate has been generated as tothe association between antihypertensive therapy with renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibitors and SARS-CoV-2 infection. While many questions as yet remain unanswered, the aim of this report is to inform healthprofessionals about the current state of knowledge. Because this is an ever-evolvingtopic, the recommendation is that it be updated as new evidence becomes available. Below, we provide a review of pre-clinical and clinical studies that link coronavirus to the RAAS

Regulation of Intracellular pH is Altered in Cardiac Myocytes of Ovariectomized Rats.

Background It is well known that after menopause women are exposed to a greater cardiovascular risk, but the intracellular modifications are not properly described. The sodium/proton exchanger (NHE) and the sodium/bicarbonate cotransporter (NBC) regulate the intracellular pH and, indirectly, the intracellular sodium concentration ([Na+]). There are 2 isoforms of NBC in the heart: the electrogenic (1Na+/2[Formula: see text]; NBCe1) and the electroneutral (1Na+/1[Formula: see text]; NBCn1). Because NHE and NBCn1 hyperactivity as well as the NBCe1 decreased activity have been associated with several cardiovascular pathologies, the aim of this study was to investigate the potential alterations of the alkalinizing transporters during the postmenopausal period. Methods and Results Three-month ovariectomized rats (OVX) were used. The NHE activity and protein expression are significantly increased in OVX. The NBCe1 activity is diminished, and the NBCn1 activity becomes predominant in OVX rats. p-Akt levels showed a significant diminution in OVX. Finally, NHE activity in platelets from OVX rats is also higher in comparison to sham rats, resulting in a potential biomarker of cardiovascular diseases. Conclusions Our results demonstrated for the first time that in the cardiac ventricular myocytes of OVX rats NHE and NBC isoforms are altered, probably because of the decreased level of p-Akt, compromising the ionic intracellular homeostasis.

Na+ channel regulation by Ca2+/calmodulin and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II in guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.

AIMS: Calmodulin (CaM) regulates Na+ channel gating through binding to an IQ-like motif in the C-terminus. Ca2+/CaM-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) regulates Ca2+ handling, and chronic overactivity of CaMKII is associated with left ventricular hypertrophy and dysfunction and lethal arrhythmias. However, the acute effects of Ca2+/CaM and CaMKII on cardiac Na+ channels are not fully understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Purified Na(V)1.5-glutathione-S-transferase fusion peptides were phosphorylated in vitro by CaMKII predominantly on the I-II linker. Whole-cell voltage-clamp was used to measure Na+ current (I(Na)) in isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes in the absence or presence of CaM or CaMKII in the pipette solution. CaMKII shifted the voltage dependence of Na+ channel availability by approximately +5 mV, hastened recovery from inactivation, decreased entry into intermediate or slow inactivation, and increased persistent (late) current, but did not change I(Na) decay. These CaMKII-induced changes of Na+ channel gating were completely abolished by a specific CaMKII inhibitor, autocamtide-2-related inhibitory peptide (AIP). Ca2+/CaM alone reproduced the CaMKII-induced changes of I(Na) availability and the fraction of channels undergoing slow inactivation, but did not alter recovery from inactivation or the magnitude of the late current. Furthermore, the CaM-induced changes were also completely abolished by AIP. On the other hand, cAMP-dependent protein kinase A inhibitors did not abolish the CaM/CaMKII-induced alterations of I(Na) function. CONCLUSION: Ca2+/CaM and CaMKII have distinct effects on the inactivation phenotype of cardiac Na+ channels. The differences are consistent with CaM-independent effects of CaMKII on cardiac Na+ channel gating.

Insulin effects on cardiac Na+/Ca2+ exchanger activity: role of the cytoplasmic regulatory loop.

Insulin can alter myocardial contractility, in part through an effect on the cardiac sarcolemmal Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX), but little is known about its mechanism of action. The large cytoplasmic domain (f-loop) of NCX is required for regulation by various intracellular factors, and we have shown previously that residues 562-679 are determinants of NCX inhibition by exchanger inhibitory peptide (XIP). Here we show that the same f-loop deletion eliminates the enhancement of NCX current by insulin, and we examine the signal pathways involved in the insulin response. NCX current (I(NCX)) was measured in freshly isolated or cultured (up to 48 h) adult guinea pig myocytes and in myocytes expressing canine NCX1.1 with the 562-679 f-loop deletion (NCX-(Delta562-679)) via adenoviral gene transfer. I(NCX) was recorded by whole-cell patch clamp as the Ni(2+)-sensitive current at 37 degrees C with intracellular Ca(2+) buffered. Insulin (1 microm) increased I(NCX) (at +80 mV) by 110 and 83% in fresh and cultured myocytes, respectively, whereas in myocytes expressing NCX-(Delta562-679) the response was eliminated (with 100 microm XIP included to suppress any native guinea pig I(NCX)). The insulin effect on I(NCX) was not inhibited by wortmannin, a nitric-oxide synthase inhibitor, or disruption of caveolae but was blocked by chelerythrine, implicating protein kinase C, but not phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, in the mechanism. The insulin effect was also not additive with phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate-induced activation of I(NCX). The finding that the 562-670 f-loop domain is implicated in both XIP and receptor-mediated modulation of NCX highlights its important role in acute physiological or pathophysiological regulation of Ca(2+) balance in the heart.

Endothelin-1 stimulates the Na+/Ca2+ exchanger reverse mode through intracellular Na+ (Na+i)-dependent and Na+i-independent pathways.

This study aimed to explore the signaling pathways involved in the positive inotropic effect (PIE) of low doses of endothelin-1 (ET-1). Cat papillary muscles were used for force and intracellular Na(+) concentration (Na(+)(i)) measurements, and isolated cat ventricular myocytes for patch-clamp experiments. ET-1 (5 nmol/L) induced a PIE and an associated increase in Na(+)(i) that were abolished by Na(+)/H(+) exchanger (NHE) inhibition with HOE642. Reverse-mode Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) blockade with KB-R7943 reversed the ET-1-induced PIE. These results suggest that the ET-1-induced PIE is totally attributable to the NHE-mediated Na(+)(i) increase. However, an additional direct stimulating effect of ET-1 on NCX after the necessary increase in Na(+)(i) could occur. Thus, the ET-1-induced increase in Na(+)(i) and contractility was compared with that induced by partial inhibition of the Na(+)/K(+) ATPase by lowering extracellular K(+) (K(+)(o)). For a given Na(+)(i), ET-1 induced a greater PIE than low K(+)(o). In the presence of HOE642 and after increasing contractility and Na(+)(i) by low K(+)(o), ET-1 induced an additional PIE that was reversed by KB-R7943 or the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor chelerythrine. ET-1 increased the NCX current and negatively shifted the NCX reversal potential (E(NCX)). HOE642 attenuated the increase in NCX outward current and abolished the E(NCX) shift. These results indicate that whereas the NHE-mediated ET-1-induced increase in Na(+)(i) seems to be mandatory to drive NCX in reverse and enhance contractility, Na(+)(i)-independent and PKC-dependent NCX stimulation appears to additionally contribute to the PIE. However, it is important to stress that the latter can only occur after the primary participation of the former.