Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0018801 (heart failure)
 72,216 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

We describe two Italian first cousins with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy associated with transthyretin variant consisting of the substitution of alanine for glycine at codon 47 (TTR Ala-47), from a family with a history of cardiac failure. The 40-year-old patient presented with autonomic dysfunction and the 44-year-old cousin with congestive heart failure. Both developed sensorimotor and autonomic polyneuropathy. Since a similar clinical picture has been described in another Italian family, the cardiac involvement must be regarded as a salient and early feature of the TTR Ala-47 mutation.
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PMID:An Italian family with Ala-47 transthyretin mutation associated with cardiomyopathy and polyneuropathy. 1067 64

Cardiac failure in transthyretin (TTR) amyloidosis patients has been shown to be caused by different mutations in the TTR gene. In the present case, a 73-year-old man from Northern Sweden was evaluated for heart failure. Amyloid deposits were found in subcutaneous fat and in intestinal biopsies. The presence of a variant form of TTR was detected in the plasma by electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). The mutation was located by single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis of the TTR gene where a band shift was seen in exon 2. Direct sequencing of exon 2 revealed a single base-pair substitution (G1724T). This transversion results in an amino acid substitution at codon 45, alanine to serine (ATTR Ala45Ser). Mass spectrometry analysis excluded that the variant is a polymorphism, since no similar shift in molecular weight has been present in more than 200 control samples. Congo red and immunostaining of duodenum biopsy specimens confirmed the presence of systemic ATTR amyloidosis, and clinical examination, including echocardiography, found evidence of a restrictive cardiomyopathy. He had 10 years previously been operated for a bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome, but otherwise no symptoms were present that could be attributed to his systemic amyloidosis. No axonal polyneuropathy was noted at nerve conduction studies. This novel mutation is the second amyloidogenic TTR mutation found in the Swedish population.
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PMID:Heart failure caused by a novel amyloidogenic mutation of the transthyretin gene: ATTR Ala45Ser. 1084 18

Hypertrophy is a basic cellular response to a variety of stressors and growth factors, and has been best characterized in myocytes. Pathologic hypertrophy of cardiac myocytes leads to heart failure, a major cause of death and disability in the developed world. Several cytosolic signaling pathways have been identified that transduce prohypertrophic signals, but to date, little work has focused on signaling pathways that might negatively regulate hypertrophy. Herein, we report that glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta), a protein kinase previously implicated in processes as diverse as development and tumorigenesis, is inactivated by hypertrophic stimuli via a phosphoinositide 3-kinase-dependent protein kinase that phosphorylates GSK-3beta on ser 9. Using adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of GSK-3beta containing a ser 9 to alanine mutation, which prevents inactivation by hypertrophic stimuli, we demonstrate that inactivation of GSK-3beta is required for cardiomyocytes to undergo hypertrophy. Furthermore, our data suggest that GSK-3beta regulates the hypertrophic response, at least in part, by modulating the nuclear/cytoplasmic partitioning of a member of the nuclear factor of activated T cells family of transcription factors. The identification of GSK-3beta as a transducer of antihypertrophic signals suggests that novel therapeutic strategies to treat hypertrophic diseases of the heart could be designed that target components of the GSK-3 pathway.
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PMID:Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta is a negative regulator of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. 1101 58

Abnormal liver function in thyroid disorders may be secondary to thyrotoxicosis or to autoimmune injury to the liver. We report the case of a 36-year-old female who developed jaundice and pruritus with mild cholestasis and moderately elevated transaminase levels. The diagnosis of Graves' disease was made shortly thereafter. Laboratory findings were: alanine and aspartate aminotransferase 219 (IU/I (N: 9-50) and 102 IU/I (N: 10-15) respectively, alkaline phosphatase 336 IU/I (N: 40-135), bilirubin 24 micromol/I (N: 2-23), and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase 232 IU/I (N: 9-43). Abdominal ultrasonography showed normal bile ducts; echocardiography ruled out heart failure; viral and autoimmune markers for hepatitis and cirrhosis were negative. Percutaneous liver biopsy showed moderate intrahepatic steatosis, anisokaryosis, lymphocyte infiltration in the portal areas, and Kupffer cell hyperplasia. Outcome was favorable after seven months of iodine therapy, confirming the diagnosis of thyrotoxicosis hepatitis.
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PMID:[Thyrotoxicosis hepatitis: a case report]. 1145 76

Heart failure (HF) is a slow progressive syndrome characterized by low cardiac output and peripheral metabolic, biochemical, and histological alterations. Protein loss and reduced protein turnover occur with aging, but the consequences of congestive HF (CHF) superimposed on the normal aging response are unknown. This study has two objectives: 1) to determine whether there was a difference between older age-matched controls and those with stable HF (i.e., ischemic pathology) in whole body protein turnover and 2) to determine whether protein metabolism in liver and skeletal muscle protein turnover is impacted by CHF. We measured the whole body protein synthesis rate with a U-(15)N-labeled algal protein hydrolysate in 10 patients with CHF and in 10 age-matched controls. Muscle fractional synthesis rate of lateral vastus muscle was determined with [U-(13)C]alanine on muscle biopsies obtained by a standard percutaneous needle biopsy technique. Fractional synthesis rates of five plasma proteins of hepatic origin (fibrinogen, complement C-3, ceruloplasmin, transferrin, and very low-density lipoprotein apoliprotein B-100) were determined by using (2)H(5)-labeled l-phenylalanine as tracer. Results showed that whole body protein synthesis rate was reduced in CHF patients (3.09 +/- 0.19 vs. 2.25 +/- 0.71 g protein x kg(-1) x day(-1), P < 0.05) as was muscle fractional synthesis rate (3.02 +/- 0.58 vs. 1.33 +/- 0.71%/day, P < 0.05) and very low-density lipoprotein apoliprotein B-100 (265 +/- 25 vs. 197 +/- 16%/day, P < 0.05). CHF patients were hyperinsulinemic (9.6 +/- 3.1 vs. 47.0 +/- 7.8 microU/ml, P < 0.01). The results were compared with those found with bed rest patients. In conclusion, protein turnover is depressed in CHF patients, and both skeletal muscle and liver are impacted. These results are similar to those found with bed rest, which suggests that inactivity is a factor in depressed protein metabolism.
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PMID:Protein kinetics in stable heart failure patients. 1239 Oct 30

Phosphorylation of the skeletal muscle (RyR1) and cardiac muscle (RyR2) ryanodine receptors has been reported to modulate channel activity. Abnormally high phosphorylation levels (hyperphosphorylation) at Ser-2843 in RyR1 and Ser-2809 in RyR2 and dissociation of FK506-binding proteins from the receptors have been implicated as one of the causes of altered calcium homeostasis observed during human heart failure. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we prepared recombinant RyR1 and RyR2 mutant receptors mimicking constitutively phosphorylated and dephosphorylated channels carrying a Ser/Asp (RyR1-S2843D and RyR2-S2809D) and Ser/Ala (RyR1-S2843A and RyR2-S2809A) substitution, respectively. Following transient expression in human embryonic kidney 293 cells, the effects of Ca2+, Mg2+, and ATP on channel function were determined using single channel and [3H]ryanodine binding measurements. In both assays, neither the skeletal nor cardiac mutants showed significant differences compared with wild type. Similarly essentially identical caffeine responses were observed in Ca2+ imaging measurements. Co-immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis showed comparable binding of FK506-binding proteins to wild type and mutant receptors. Finally metabolic labeling experiments showed that the cardiac ryanodine receptor was phosphorylated at additional sites. Taken together, the results did not support the view that phosphorylation of a single site (RyR1-Ser-2843 and RyR2-Ser-2809) substantially changes RyR1 and RyR2 channel function.
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PMID:Characterization of recombinant skeletal muscle (Ser-2843) and cardiac muscle (Ser-2809) ryanodine receptor phosphorylation mutants. 1453 76

Ischemic hepatitis is characterized by a marked and reversible elevation in either the serum alanine or aspartate aminotransferase level in a appropriate clinical setting that could lead to a reduction in hepatic blood flow, mainly in patients with heart failure. To establish the diagnosis other causes of hepatitis, such as virus and drugs, must be previously excluded. Centrilobular necrosis is the main histologic feature. In the present study we describe the three cases of ischemic hepatitis seen in our medical service during a period of one year. Its prevalence was 2.7% among all patients with heart failure admitted in our centre during the same period.
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PMID:[Ischemic hepatitis in patients with heart failure]. 1462 53

Pimobendan, a Ca(2+) sensitizer, is used clinically in the treatment of chronic heart failure. Although chronic heart failure is associated with activation of the sympathetic nervous system, it remains unknown whether pimobendan affects the function of sympathetic neurons and the adrenal medulla. Here, we report the inhibitory effects of pimobendan on catecholamine secretion and synthesis in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells. Pimobendan decreased the catecholamine secretion (IC(50)=29.5 microM) elicited by carbachol, an agonist at nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, but not that elicited by veratridine, an activator of voltage-dependent Na(+) channels, or by high K(+), an activator of voltage-dependent Ca(2+) channels. Pimobendan also inhibited carbachol-induced influx of (22)Na(+) (IC(50)=25.9 microM) and (45)Ca(2+) (IC(50)=26.0 microM), but not veratridine-induced (22)Na(+) influx or high K(+)-induced (45)Ca(2+) influx. The reduction of catecholamine secretion caused by pimobendan was not overcome by increasing the concentration of carbachol. UD-CG 212, an active metabolite of pimobendan, lowered carbachol-induced catecholamine secretion with a concentration/inhibition curve similar to that of pimobendan. In experiments in situ, pimobendan suppressed both basal and carbachol-stimulated (14)C-catecholamine synthesis (IC(50)=5.3 and 4.9 microM) from [(14)C] tyrosine [but not from L: -3, 4-dihydroxyphenyl [3-(14)C] alanine ([(14)C]DOPA)], as well as tyrosine hydroxylase activity (IC(50)=3.8 and 4.3 microM). These findings suggest that pimobendan inhibits carbachol-induced catecholamines secretion and synthesis through suppression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.
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PMID:Selective blockade of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors by pimobendan, a drug for the treatment of heart failure: reduction of catecholamine secretion and synthesis in adrenal medullary cells. 1571 98

The neuregulin/ErbB system is a growth factor/receptor cascade that has been proven to be essential in the development of the heart and the sympathetic nervous system. However, the basis of the specificity of ligand-receptor recognition remains to be elucidated. In this study, the structures of NRG-1beta/ErbB3 and NRG-1beta/ErbB4 complexes were modeled based on the available structures of the homologous proteins. The binding free energies of NRG-1beta to ErbB3 and ErbB4 were calculated using the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) computational method. In addition, computational alanine-scanning mutagenesis was performed in the binding site of NRG-1beta and the difference in the binding free energies between NRG-1beta mutants and the receptors was calculated. The results specify the contribution of each residue at the interaction interfaces to the binding affinity of NRG-1beta with ErbB3 and ErbB4, identifying several important interaction residue pairs that are in agreement with previously acquired experimental data. This indicates that the presented structural models of NRG-1beta/ErbB3 and NRG-1beta/ErbB4 complexes are reliable and could be used to guide future studies, such as performing desirable mutations on NRG-1beta to increase the binding affinity and selectivity to the receptor and discovering new therapeutic agents for the treatment of heart failure.
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PMID:Computational analysis of molecular basis of 1:1 interactions of NRG-1beta wild-type and variants with ErbB3 and ErbB4. 1582 27

Rho-associated kinases (ROCKs), the immediate downstream targets of RhoA, are ubiquitously expressed serine-threonine protein kinases that are involved in diverse cellular functions, including smooth muscle contraction, actin cytoskeleton organization, cell adhesion and motility, and gene expression. Recent studies have shown that ROCKs may play a pivotal role in cardiovascular diseases such as vasospastic angina, ischemic stroke, and heart failure. Indeed, inhibition of ROCKs by statins or other selective inhibitors leads to the upregulation and activation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and reduction of vascular inflammation and atherosclerosis. Thus inhibition of ROCKs may contribute to some of the cholesterol-independent beneficial effects of statin therapy. Currently, two ROCK isoforms have been identified, ROCK1 and ROCK2. Because ROCK inhibitors are nonselective with respect to ROCK1 and ROCK2 and also, in some cases, may be nonspecific with respect to other ROCK-related kinases such as myristolated alanine-rich C kinase substrate (MARCKS), protein kinase A, and protein kinase C, the precise role of ROCKs in cardiovascular disease remains unknown. However, with the recent development of ROCK1- and ROCK2-knockout mice, further dissection of ROCK signaling pathways is now possible. Herein we review what is known about the physiological role of ROCKs in the cardiovascular system and speculate about how inhibition of ROCKs could provide cardiovascular benefits.
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PMID:Physiological role of ROCKs in the cardiovascular system. 1646 61


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