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Biomedical subjects

Frank U Müller

Publications and source records attributed to Frank U Müller.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Heart-directed expression of a human cardiac isoform of cAMP-response element modulator in transgenic mice.

The transcriptional activation mediated by cAMP-response element (CRE) and transcription factors of the CRE-binding protein (CREB)/CRE modulator (CREM) family represents an important mechanism of cAMP-dependent gene regulation possibly implicated in detrimental effects of chronic beta-adrenergic stimulation in end-stage heart failure. We studied the cardiac role of CREM in transgenic mice with heart-directed expression of CREM-IbDeltaC-X, a human cardiac CREM isoform. Transgenic mice displayed atrial enlargement with atrial and ventricular hypertrophy, developed atrial fibrillation, and died prematurely. In vivo hemodynamic assessment revealed increased contractility of transgenic left ventricles probably due to a selective up-regulation of SERCA2, the cardiac Ca(2+)-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In transgenic ventricles, reduced phosphorylation of phospholamban and of the CREB was associated with increased activity of serine-threonine protein phosphatase 1. The density of beta(1)-adrenoreceptor was increased, and messenger RNAs encoding transcription factor dHAND and small G-protein RhoB were decreased in transgenic hearts as compared with wild-type controls. Our results indicate that heart-directed expression of CREM-IbDeltaC-X leads to complex cardiac alterations, suggesting CREM as a central regulator of cardiac morphology, function, and gene expression.

Animals↗

Impaired cardiac contraction and relaxation and decreased expression of sarcoplasmic Ca2+-ATPase in mice lacking the CREM gene.

Congestive heart failure is the common endpoint of various cardiac diseases representing a leading cause of cardiovascular mortality in Western countries. Characteristic functional alterations of the failing heart are explained by expressional changes of myocardial regulatory proteins; however, little is known about underlying mechanisms regulating cardiac gene expression in the failing heart. Here, we address the specific role of transcription factor CREM for cardiac function in CREM mutant mice with complete inactivation of the CREM gene. We show that CREM mutant mice display distinct alterations of cardiac function resembling characteristic functional defects of the failing heart. Left ventricular hemodynamic assessment of CREM mutant mice revealed impairment of both cardiac contraction and relaxation in basal state, as well as a decreased responsiveness to beta-adrenergic stimulation. The diminished cardiac contractile performance was associated with a selective down-regulation of beta1-adrenergic receptors and a decreased ventricular expression of SERCA, the Ca2+-ATPase of the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The cardiac phenotype of CREM mutant mice provides the first evidence that CREM represents an important key regulator of cardiac gene expression, which is essential for normal left ventricular contractile performance and response to beta-adrenoreceptor stimulation.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

Junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum transmembrane proteins in the heart.

The uptake of calcium into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and its subsequent release from the SR play a key role in the regulation of the cytosolic calcium concentration and the excitation-contraction coupling in cardiac muscle. While calcium uptake, catalyzed by the calcium-dependent ATPase, is thought to occur throughout the SR, the release of calcium is controlled by a complex of proteins localized to a distinct region, the junctional SR. This complex consists of the calcium release channel or ryanodine receptor (RyR), the high capacity calcium-binding protein calsequestrin located in the lumen of the junctional SR, and the junctional SR transmembrane proteins triadin 1 and junctin which are hypothesized to anchor calsequestrin to the RyR. Transgenic mice with cardiac-specific overexpression of triadin 1 or junctin show distinct cardiac phenotypes with altered cellular and subcellular morphology, changes in contractile properties and/or in the expression of junctional SR proteins suggesting that these junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum transmembrane proteins are of functional relevance for the regulation of calcium release in the heart.

Animals↗