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 have previously shown that the calcium-calmodulin-regulated phosphatase calcineurin (PP2B) is sufficient to induce cardiac hypertrophy that transitions to heart failure in transgenic mice. Given the rapid onset of heart failure in these mice, we hypothesized that calcineurin signaling would stimulate myocardial cell apoptosis. However, utilizing multiple approaches, we determined that calcineurin-mediated hypertrophy protected cardiac myocytes from apoptosis, suggesting a model of heart failure that is independent of apoptosis. Adenovirally mediated gene transfer of a constitutively active calcineurin cDNA (AdCnA) was performed in cultured neonatal rat cardiomyocytes to elucidate the mechanism whereby calcineurin affected myocardial cell viability. AdCnA infection, which induced myocyte hypertrophy and atrial natriuretic factor expression, protected against apoptosis induced by 2-deoxyglucose or staurosporine, as assessed by terminal deoxynucleotidyltransferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) labeling, caspase-3 activation, DNA laddering, and cellular morphology. The level of protection conferred by AdCnA was similar to that of adenoviral Bcl-x(L) gene transfer or hypertrophy induced by phenylephrine. In vivo, failing hearts from calcineurin-transgenic mice did not demonstrate increased TUNEL labeling and, in fact, demonstrated a resistance to ischemia/reperfusion-induced apoptosis. We determined that the mechanism whereby calcineurin afforded protection from apoptosis was partially mediated by nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT3) signaling and partially by Akt/protein kinase B (PKB) signaling. Although calcineurin activation protected myocytes from apoptosis, inhibition of calcineurin with cyclosporine was not sufficient to induce TUNEL labeling in Gqalpha-transgenic mice or in cultured cardiomyocytes. Collectively, these data identify a calcineurin-dependent mouse model of dilated heart failure that is independent of apoptosis.
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PMID:Calcineurin-mediated hypertrophy protects cardiomyocytes from apoptosis in vitro and in vivo: An apoptosis-independent model of dilated heart failure. 1067 75

Although Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-II (CaMK) is known to phosphorylate different Ca(2+) cycling proteins in the cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and regulate its function, the status of CaMK in heart failure has not been investigated previously. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that changes in the CaMK-mediated phosphorylation of the SR Ca(2+) cycling proteins are associated with heart failure. For this purpose, heart failure in rats was induced by occluding the coronary artery for 8 weeks, and animals with >30% infarct of the left ventricle wall plus septum mass were used. Noninfarcted left ventricle was used for biochemical assessment; sham-operated animals served as control. A significant depression in SR Ca(2+) uptake and release activities was associated with a decrease in SR CaMK phosphorylation of the SR proteins, ryanodine receptor (RyR), Ca(2+) pump ATPase (SR/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) ATPase [SERCA2a]), and phospholamban (PLB) in the failing heart. The SR protein contents for RyR, SERCA2a, and PLB were decreased in the failing hearts. Although the SR Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent CaMK activity, CaMK content, and CaMK autophosphorylation were depressed, the SR phosphatase activity was enhanced in the failing heart. On the other hand, the cAMP-dependent protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation of RyR and PLB was not affected in the failing heart. On the basis of these results, we conclude that alterations in SR CaMK-mediated phosphorylation may be partly responsible for impaired SR function in heart failure.
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PMID:Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+)/Calmodulin-dependent protein kinase is altered in heart failure. 1072 Apr 22

The authors discuss the importance that molecular medicine has assumed in recent years. Molecular methodologies have clearly demonstrated that immunological diversity is based fundamentally on the rearrangement of the genes encoding antigen B and T cell receptors. The importance of oncogenes, and their translocation in tumoral pathologies is emphasized, a case in point being the alterations observed in chronic myeloid leukemia and acute promyelocytic leukemia and their implication for innovative therapy. The importance of prothrombin and factor V genetic-molecular alterations in thromboembolic pathology and of the activation of calcineurin phosphatase or other intracellular signal regulator molecules during cardiac insufficiency genesis is also discussed. Particular attention is paid to progress regarding the socially important Alzheimer's syndrome, and the diagnosis of endocrine tumors. Moreover, the authors believe that the identification of new endocrine nuclear receptors, "orphans" of hormonal ligands, will open up interesting prospects--even therapeutic--in endocrinology. The authors conclude by reviewing the therapeutic prospects for immunodeficiency syndromes and malignant tumors, offered by new gene therapy methodologies. They also discuss recent results of studies on the aging process which, until not many years ago, appeared adventuristic. Today they are opening prospects of great interest.
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PMID:[Molecular medicine: new tools for better understanding and treatment of diseases in humans]. 1105 61

Downregulation of the L-type Ca(2+) current (I(Ca)) is an important determinant of the electrical remodeling of diseased atria. Using a rat model of heart failure (HF) due to ischemic cardiopathy, we studied I(Ca) in isolated left atrial myocytes with the whole-cell patch-clamp technique and biochemical assays. I(Ca) density was markedly reduced (1.7+/-0.1 pA/pF) compared with sham-operated rats (S) (4.1+/-0.2 pA/pF), but its gating properties were unchanged. Calcium channel alpha(1C)-subunit quantities were not significantly different between S and HF. The beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol (1 micromol/L) had far greater stimulatory effects on I(Ca) in HF than in S (2.5- versus 1-fold), thereby suppressing the difference in current density. Dialyzing cells with 100 micromol/L cAMP or pretreating them with the phosphatase inhibitor okadaic acid also increased I(Ca) and suppressed the difference in density between S and HF. Intracellular cAMP content was reduced more in HF than in S. The phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methyl-xanthine had a greater effect on I(Ca) in HF than in S (76.0+/-11.2% versus 15.8+/-21.2%), whereas the inhibitory effect of atrial natriuretic peptide on I(Ca) was more important in S than in HF (54.1+/-4.8% versus 24.3+/-8.8%). Cyclic GMP extruded from HF myocytes was enhanced compared with S (55.8+/-8.0 versus 6.2+/-4.0 pmol. mL(-1)). Thus, I(Ca) downregulation in atrial myocytes from rats with heart failure is caused by changes in basal cAMP-dependent regulation of the current and is associated with increased response to catecholamines.
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PMID:Mechanisms of L-type Ca(2+) current downregulation in rat atrial myocytes during heart failure. 1157 26

Ryanodine receptor (RyR) phosphorylation by protein kinase A (PKA) may be important in modulating resting sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release, especially in heart failure. However, clear cellular data on PKA-dependent modulation of cardiac RyRs is limited because of difficulty in distinguishing between PKA effects on RyR, phospholamban (PLB), and Ca2+ current. To clarify this, we measured resting Ca2+ sparks in streptolysin-O permeabilized ventricular myocytes from wild-type (WT) and PLB knockout (PLB-KO) mice and transgenic mice expressing only double-mutant PLB (PLB-DM) that lacks the regulatory phosphorylation sites (S16A/T17A). In WT myocytes, cAMP dramatically increased Ca2+ spark frequency (CaSpF) by 2- and 3-fold when [Ca2+] was clamped at 50 and 10 nmol/L (and the SR Ca2+ content also rose by 40% and 50%). However, in PLB-KO and PLB-DM, neither CaSpF nor SR Ca2+ load was changed by the addition of 10 micromol/L cAMP (even with phosphatase inhibition). PKA activation also increased Ca2+ spark amplitude, duration, and width in WT, but not in PLB-KO or PLB-DM. RyR phosphorylation was confirmed by measurements of 32P incorporation on immunoprecipitated RyR. In intact resting myocytes, PKA activation increased CaSpF 2.8-fold in WT, but not in PLB-KO, confirming results in permeabilized myocytes. We conclude that the PKA-dependent increase in myocyte CaSpF and size is entirely attributable to PLB phosphorylation and consequent enhanced SR Ca2+ load. PKA does not seem to have any appreciable effect on resting RyR function in these ventricular myocytes. Moreover, the data provide compelling evidence that elevated intra-SR [Ca2+] increases RyR gating independent of cytosolic [Ca2+] (which was clamped).
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PMID:Protein kinase A phosphorylation of the ryanodine receptor does not affect calcium sparks in mouse ventricular myocytes. 1186 20

Compromised SERCA 2a activity is a key malfunction leading to the Ca(2+) cycling alterations in failing human myocardium. SERCA 2a activity is regulated by the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase (CaM-kinase) but alterations of the CaM-kinase pathway regarding SERCA 2a in heart failure are unresolved. Therefore we investigated the CaM-kinase and phosphatase calcineurin mediated regulation of SERCA 2a in failing and non-failing human myocardium. We studied human myocardial preparations from explanted hearts from non-failing organ donors (NF, n=8) and from patients with terminal heart failure undergoing cardiac transplantation (dilated cardiomyopathy, DCM, n=8). SERCA 2a activity was determined using a NADH-coupled enzyme assay [expressed in nmol ATP/(mg protein x min)] and by(45)Ca(2+) uptake. Protein expression of SERCA 2a, phospholamban, calsequestrin and calcineurin was assessed by Western blotting (expressed as densitometric units/microg protein); phosphorylation of cardiac proteins was detected with specific phospho-antibodies for phospholamban at threonine-17 (PT17) or by incorporation of [gamma -(32)P] (expressed as pmol(32)P/mg). Maximal(45)Ca(2+) uptake (in pmol/mg/min) (NF: 3402+/-174; DCM: 2488+/-189) and maximal SERCA 2a activity were reduced in DCM compared to NF (V(max): NF: 125+/-9; DCM: 98+/-5). The V(max) reduction could be mimicked by calcineurin in vitro in NF (NF(control): 72.1+/-3.7; NF(+calcineurin): 49.8+/-2.9) and restored in DCM by CaM-kinase in vitro (DCM(control): 98+/-5; DCM(+CaM-kinase): 120+/-6). Protein expression of SERCA 2a, phospholamban and calsequestrin remained similar, but calcineurin expression was significantly increased in failing human hearts (NF: 11.6+/-1.5 v DCM: 17.1+/-1.6). Although the capacity of endogenous CaM-kinase to phosphorylate PT17 was significantly higher in DCM (DCM(control): 128+/-36; DCM(+endogenous CaM-kinase): 205+/-20) compared to NF myocardium (NF(control): 273+/-37; NF(+endogenous CaM-kinase): 254+/-31), net phosphorylation at threonine-17 phospholamban was significantly lower in DCM (DCM 130+/-11 v NF 170+/-11). A calcineurin-dependent dephosphorylation of phospholamban could be mimicked in vitro by incubation of NF preparations with calcineurin (NF(control) 80.7+/-4.4 v NF(+calcineurin) 30.7+/-4.1, P<0.05). In human myocardium, the V(max) of SERCA 2a and the phosphorylation of phospholamban is modulated by CaM-kinase and calcineurin, at least in vitro. In failing human myocardium, despite increased CaM-kinase activity, calcineurin dephosphorylation leads to decreased net phosphorylation of threonine-17 phospholamban in vivo. Increased calcineurin activity contributes to the impaired V(max) of SERCA 2a in failing human myocardium and the disorder in Ca(2+)-handling in heart failure.
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PMID:Evidence for calcineurin-mediated regulation of SERCA 2a activity in human myocardium. 1194 24

Increases in type 1 phosphatase (PP1) activity have been observed in end stage human heart failure, but the role of this enzyme in cardiac function is unknown. To elucidate the functional significance of increased PP1 activity, we generated models with (i) overexpression of the catalytic subunit of PP1 in murine hearts and (ii) ablation of the PP1-specific inhibitor. Overexpression of PP1 (threefold) was associated with depressed cardiac function, dilated cardiomyopathy, and premature mortality, consistent with heart failure. Ablation of the inhibitor was associated with moderate increases in PP1 activity (23%) and impaired beta-adrenergic contractile responses. Extension of these findings to human heart failure indicated that the increased PP1 activity may be partially due to dephosphorylation or inactivation of its inhibitor. Indeed, expression of a constitutively active inhibitor was associated with rescue of beta-adrenergic responsiveness in failing human myocytes. Thus, PP1 is an important regulator of cardiac function, and inhibition of its activity may represent a novel therapeutic target in heart failure.
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PMID:Type 1 phosphatase, a negative regulator of cardiac function. 1202 26

The cardiac ryanodine receptor/calcium release channel (RyR2) on the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) comprises a macromolecular complex that includes a kinase and two phosphatases that are bound to the channel via targeting proteins. We previously found that the RyR2 is protein kinase A (PKA)-hyperphosphorylated in end-stage human heart failure. Because heart failure is a progressive disease that often evolves from hypertrophy, we analyzed the RyR2 macromolecular complex in several animal models of cardiomyopathy that lead to heart failure, including hypertrophy, and at different stages of disease progression. We now show that RyR2 is PKA-hyperphosphorylated in diverse models of heart failure and that the degree of RyR2 PKA phosphorylation correlates with the degree of cardiac dysfunction. Interestingly, we show that RyR2 PKA hyperphosphorylation can be lost during perfusion of isolated hearts due to the activity of the endogenous phosphatases in the RyR2 macromolecular complex. Moreover, infusion of isoproterenol resulted in PKA phosphorylation of RyR2 in rat, indicating that systemic catecholamines can activate phosphorylation of RyR2 in vivo. These studies extend our previous analyses of the RyR2 macromolecular complex, show that both the kinase and phosphatase activities in the macromolecular complex are regulated physiologically in vivo, and suggest that RyR2 PKA hyperphosphorylation is likely a general feature of heart failure.
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PMID:Protein kinase A phosphorylation of the cardiac calcium release channel (ryanodine receptor) in normal and failing hearts. Role of phosphatases and response to isoproterenol. 1240 11

Biomechanical stress on the heart results in activation of numerous signaling cascades, leading to cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, apoptosis, and ultimately, heart failure. The Ca2+-dependent phosphatase calcineurin is an essential mediator of cardiac hypertrophy, and in most but not all studies, calcineurin inhibition attenuated cardiac hypertrophy in vivo. However, calcineurin inhibition has been reported to have adverse effects on cardiac remodeling and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Calcineurin regulates the activity of a number of downstream targets, including the transcription factors NFAT, MEF2, and NF-kappaB, and the apoptotic factor Bad. To evaluate the contribution of NFAT activation by calcineurin to cardiomyocyte responses to hypertrophic stimulation, we used adenovirus to express VIVIT, a selective peptide inhibitor of calcineurin-mediated NFAT activation. We found that selective NFAT inhibition during phenylephrine stimulation inhibited hypertrophy but resulted in increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis. In contrast, nonselective inhibition of calcineurin by cyclosporin A did not cause cardiomyocyte apoptosis after phenylephrine stimulation. Cyclosporin A suppressed the effect of VIVIT on cardiomyocyte apoptosis. These results demonstrate that during phenylephrine stimulation calcineurin activates both pro- and antiapoptotic pathways in cardiomyocytes, and that NFAT activity is a critical component of the antiapoptotic pathway that regulates whether the outcome of calcineurin activation is cardiomyocyte apoptosis or survival.
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PMID:NFAT transcription factors are critical survival factors that inhibit cardiomyocyte apoptosis during phenylephrine stimulation in vitro. 1266 89

The sodium-calcium exchanger (NCX) protein is the major cardiac calcium extrusion mechanism and is upregulated in heart failure (HF). NCX expression level and functional activity as regulated by beta-adrenergic receptor (beta-AR) stimulation in swine with and without tachycardia-induced heart failure were studied. The Ni2+-sensitive NCX current was measured in myocytes from HF and control animals in the basal state or in the presence of isoproterenol, forskolin, 8-Br-cAMP, okadaic acid, or protein phosphatase type 1. Western blot analysis revealed a significant increase in both the 120-kDa (29%) and 80-kDa (69%) fragments in HF (P<0.05 versus control). Despite this modest increase in protein, the basal peak outward NCX current was increased almost 5-fold in HF (P<0.05 versus control). Stimulation with isoproterenol, however, increased the control currents to a significantly greater extent than HF (500% increase in control versus 100% increase in HF, P<0.01); peak stimulated current was not different in HF and control. This reduction in responsiveness to beta-AR stimulation was refractory to forskolin, 8-Br-cAMP, or okadaic acid stimulation. In vitro protein kinase A back-phosphorylation revealed higher phosphorylation capacity of NCX protein in control versus HF, consistent with increased phosphorylation in vivo (hyperphosphorylation) in HF. Protein phosphatase type 1 exposure resulted in a significant reduction (73%) in peak basal current in HF (compared with no significant difference in controls), confirming that the increased basal NCX current in HF is predominantly attributable to hyperphosphorylation. NCX expression and activity are thus increased in HF, although beta-AR responsiveness is decreased because of NCX hyperphosphorylation.
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PMID:Protein kinase A hyperphosphorylation increases basal current but decreases beta-adrenergic responsiveness of the sarcolemmal Na+-Ca2+ exchanger in failing pig myocytes. 1267 18


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