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Heiko Kilter

Publications and source records attributed to Heiko Kilter.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Association of RhoGDIalpha with Rac1 GTPase mediates free radical production during myocardial hypertrophy.

OBJECTIVE: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the pathogenesis of myocardial hypertrophy. NADPH oxidase is a major source of ROS production. The small GTPase Rac1 mediates the activation of NADPH oxidase; however, the mechanism of Rac1 activation is incompletely understood. METHODS AND RESULTS: Transaortic constriction (TAC, C57/Bl6 mice, 360 microm, 21 days) increased the ratio of heart to body weight from [ per thousand] SHAM 4.16+/-0.09 to TAC 7.1+/-0.37, p<0.01. Treatment with rosuvastatin prevented pressure-induced cardiac hypertrophy (5.5+/-0.18, p<0.05). TAC induced a 4-fold up-regulation of myocardial NADPH oxidase activity as well as Rac1 activity; both effects were absent in statin-treated animals. In cultured rat cardiomyocytes, treatment with angiotensin II (AngII) increased translocation of Rac1 to cell membranes and Rac1 activity. AngII altered neither expression nor tyrosine phosphorylation of GTPase activating protein GAP-p190 and the guanine nucleotide exchange factors Vav and Tiam. Transaortic constriction as well as AngII increased the binding of Rho guanine nucleotide dissociation inhibitor (RhoGDIalpha) to Rac1. The association of RhoGDIalpha with Rac1 was mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and depended on geranylgeranylation. Statin treatment inhibited RhoGDIalpha-Rac1 binding both in cultured cardiomyocytes and during myocardial hypertrophy in vivo. Transfection with RhoGDIalpha siRNA constructs potently reduced RhoGDIalpha protein expression, decreased AngII-induced superoxide production and lipid peroxidation, and inhibited AngII-induced leucine incorporation. CONCLUSIONS: Myocardial hypertrophy is characterized by activation of Rac1 and NADPH oxidase. The association of the regulatory protein RhoGDIalpha with Rac1 represents a necessary step in the Rac1-dependent release of ROS. Rac1-RhoGDIalpha binding may represent a target for anti-hypertrophic pharmacologic interventions, potentially by statin treatment.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed2005

c-Jun N-terminal kinases mediate reactivation of Akt and cardiomyocyte survival after hypoxic injury in vitro and in vivo.

Akt is a central regulator of cardiomyocyte survival after ischemic injury in vitro and in vivo, but the mechanisms regulating Akt activity in the postischemic cardiomyocyte are not known. Furthermore, although much is known about the detrimental role that the c-Jun N-terminal kinases (JNKs) play in promoting death of cells exposed to various stresses, little is known of the molecular mechanisms by which JNK activation can be protective. We report that JNKs are necessary for the reactivation of Akt after ischemic injury. We identified Thr450 of Akt as a residue that is phosphorylated by JNKs, and the phosphorylation status of Thr450 regulates reactivation of Akt after hypoxia, apparently by priming Akt for subsequent phosphorylation by 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase. The reduction in Akt activity that is induced by JNK inhibition may have significant biological consequences, as we find that JNKs, acting via Akt, are critical determinants of survival in posthypoxic cardiomyocytes in culture. Furthermore, in contrast to selective p38-mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibition, which was cardioprotective in vivo, concurrent inhibition of both JNKs and p38-mitogen-activated protein kinases increased ischemia/reperfusion injury in the heart of the intact rat. These studies demonstrate that reactivation of Akt after resolution of hypoxia and ischemia is regulated by JNKs and suggest that this is likely a central mechanism of the myocyte protective effect of JNKs.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta regulates growth, calcium homeostasis, and diastolic function in the heart.

Glycogen synthase kinase (GSK) 3beta is a negative regulator of stress-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. It is not clear, however, if GSK-3beta plays any role in regulating normal cardiac growth and cardiac function. Herein we report that a transgenic mouse expressing wild type GSK-3beta in the heart has a dramatic impairment of normal post-natal cardiomyocyte growth as well as markedly abnormal cardiac contractile function. The most striking phenotype, however, is grossly impaired diastolic relaxation, which leads to increased filling pressures of the left ventricle and massive atrial enlargement. This is due to profoundly abnormal calcium handling, leading to an inability to normalize cytosolic [Ca2+] in diastole. The alterations in calcium handling are due at least in part to direct down-regulation of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase (SERCA2a) by GSK-3beta, acting at the level of the SERCA2 promoter. These studies identify GSK-3beta as a regulator of normal growth of the heart and are the first of which we are aware, to demonstrate regulation of expression of SERCA2a, a critical determinant of diastolic function, by a cytosolic signaling pathway, the activity of which is dynamically modulated. De-regulation of GSK-3beta leads to severe systolic and diastolic dysfunction and progressive heart failure. Because down-regulation of SERCA2a plays a central role in the diastolic and systolic dysfunction of patients with heart failure, these findings have potential implications for the therapy of this disorder.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

[From hypertension to heart failure-a pathophysiological continuum].

The heart failure syndrome is one the most common chronic diseases in western countries with poor prognosis. In view of the estimated aging of our society, it will gain further importance. Hypertension and/or myocardial infarction are the main causes of chronic heart failure, accounting for about three quarters of the cases. In hypertension, pressure overload of the heart leads to an increase in wall stress. This frequently results in cardiac hypertrophy, which is induced by the mechanical stress on the cardiomyocytes and the activation of neuroendocrine mechanisms, particularly the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system and the sympathetic nervous system. Myocardial hypertrophy represents an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events and is a powerful predictor for the development of heart failure. The signal transduction pathways leading to the transition from compensated hypertrophy to heart failure are subject of intensive research. The knowledge of the maladaptive signaling pathways may be the basis for new therapeutic strategies in the prevention and management of heart failure.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Oxygen free radical release in human failing myocardium is associated with increased activity of rac1-GTPase and represents a target for statin treatment.

BACKGROUND: Reactive oxygen species (ROS) contribute to the development of heart failure. A potential source of myocardial ROS is the NADPH oxidase, which is regulated by the small GTP-binding protein rac1. Isoprenylation of rac1 can be inhibited by statin therapy. Thus, we examined ROS and rac1 in human failing myocardium and tested their regulation by statins in vivo. METHODS AND RESULTS: In human left ventricular myocardium from patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) or dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), NADPH oxidase activity was increased 1.5-fold compared with nonfailing controls (P<0.05, n=8). In failing myocardium, increased oxidative stress determined by measurements of lipid peroxidation and aconitase activity was associated with increased translocation of rac1 from the cytosol to the membrane. Pull-down assays revealed a 3-fold increase of rac1-GTPase activity in ICM and DCM. In parallel, membrane expression of the NADPH oxidase subunit p47phox, but not p67phox, was upregulated in failing compared with nonfailing myocardium. In right atrial myocardium from patients undergoing cardiac surgery who were prospectively treated with atorvastatin or pravastatin (40 mg/d, 4 weeks), rac1-GTPase activity was decreased to 67.9+/-12% and 65.6+/-13.8% compared with patients without statin (P<0.05, n=8). Both atorvastatin and pravastatin significantly reduced angiotensin II-stimulated but not basal NADPH oxidase activity. CONCLUSIONS: Failing myocardium of patients with DCM and ICM is characterized by upregulation of NADPH oxidase-mediated ROS release associated with increased rac1 activity. Oral statin treatment inhibits myocardial rac1-GTPase activity. These data suggest that extrahepatic effects of statins can be observed in humans and may be beneficial for patients with chronic heart failure.

Cardiac Output, Low↗
PubMed2003

Stabilization of beta-catenin by a Wnt-independent mechanism regulates cardiomyocyte growth.

beta-Catenin is a transcriptional activator that regulates embryonic development as part of the Wnt pathway and also plays a role in tumorigenesis. The mechanisms leading to Wnt-induced stabilization of beta-catenin, which results in its translocation to the nucleus and activation of transcription, have been an area of intense interest. However, it is not clear whether stimuli other than Wnts can lead to important stabilization of beta-catenin and, if so, what factors mediate that stabilization and what biologic processes might be regulated. Herein we report that beta-catenin is stabilized in cardiomyocytes after these cells have been exposed to hypertrophic stimuli in culture or in vivo. The mechanism by which beta-catenin is stabilized is distinctly different from that used by Wnt signaling. Although, as with Wnt signaling, inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3 remains central to hypertrophic stimulus-induced stabilization of beta-catenin, the mechanism by which this occurs involves the recruitment of activated PKB to the beta-catenin-degradation complex. PKB stabilizes the complex and phosphorylates glycogen synthase kinase-3 within the complex, inhibiting its activity directed at beta-catenin. Finally, we demonstrate via adenoviral gene transfer that beta-catenin is both sufficient to induce growth in cardiomyocytes in culture and in vivo and necessary for hypertrophic stimulus-induced growth. Thus, in these terminally differentiated cells, beta-catenin is stabilized by hypertrophic stimuli acting via heterotrimeric G protein-coupled receptors. The stabilization occurs via a unique Wnt-independent mechanism and results in cellular growth.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Deletion of cytosolic phospholipase A2 promotes striated muscle growth.

Generation of arachidonic acid by the ubiquitously expressed cytosolic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) has a fundamental role in the regulation of cellular homeostasis, inflammation and tumorigenesis. Here we report that cytosolic PLA2 is a negative regulator of growth, specifically of striated muscle. We find that normal growth of skeletal muscle, as well as normal and pathologic stress-induced hypertrophic growth of the heart, are exaggerated in Pla2g4a-/- mice, which lack the gene encoding cytosolic PLA2. The mechanism underlying this phenotype is that cytosolic PLA2 negatively regulates insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1 signaling. Absence of cytosolic PLA2 leads to sustained activation of the IGF-1 pathway, which results from the failure of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase (PDK)-1 to recruit and phosphorylate protein kinase C (PKC)-zeta, a negative regulator of IGF-1 signaling. Arachidonic acid restores activation of PKC-zeta, correcting the exaggerated IGF-1 signaling. These results indicate that cytosolic PLA2 and arachidonic acid regulate striated muscle growth by modulating multiple growth-regulatory pathways.

3-Phosphoinositide-Dependent Protein Kinases↗
PubMed2002

Impact of HMG CoA reductase inhibition on small GTPases in the heart.

OBJECTIVE: Members of the Rho GTPase family, Rac1 and RhoA have been suggested to be mediators of cardiac hypertrophy in mice. Rho proteins are posttranslationally isoprenylated. In addition to cholesterol-lowering, statins inhibit the isoprenylation of small G proteins. Therefore, it was tested if these drugs inhibit Rac1 and RhoA activity in cardiomyocytes and, thereby, prevent angiotensin II-mediated expression of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) and myosin light chain (MLC)-2 in the heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: Western and Northern analysis of rat neonatal cardiomyocytes and H9C2 cells showed inhibition of basal and angiotensin-stimulated Rac1 expression, membrane-translocation and activity after statin treatment. Similarly, basal and stimulated RhoA membrane expression was inhibited. Statins concentration- and time-dependently downregulated basal as well as angiotensin-induced expression of ANF by 86+/-2.3% and 89+/-1.7%, as well as MLC-2 by 75+/-4.1% and 84+/-6%, respectively. Direct inhibition of Rac GTPase by overexpression of the dominant negative mutant RacN17 or by Clostridium sordellii lethal toxin in rat H9C2 cells inhibited ANF expression by 70+/-4.9% and 78+/-10%, respectively. Inhibition of RhoA by Clostridium botulinum C3 transferase or the dominant negative mutant RhoN19 reduced ANF mRNA by 19+/-11% and 23+/-8%, respectively. To test these findings in vivo, spontaneously hypertensive rats were treated with atorvastatin, leading to a decrease in cardiac Rac1 and RhoA activity as determined by [35S]-GTP gamma S-binding assays by 61+/-16% and 72+/-24%, and downregulation of MLC-2 as well as ANF mRNA expression by 31+/-16% and 80+/-24%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Statins downregulate the activity of small G proteins in cardiomyocytes in culture as well as in vivo. (2) Inhibition of Rac1 and RhoA by statins reduces myocardial expression of ANF and MLC-2. (3) Targeting myocardial Rho GTPases by statins may be a novel treatment strategy to prevent cardiac hypertrophy.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed2002

Stretch-activated pathways and left ventricular remodeling.

Stretch of cardiomyocytes in vivo occurs in response to a number of stimuli, including pressure or volume overload, but it is most clearly seen following relatively large, acute myocardial infarctions. It is in this setting that stretch is most clearly related to the pathogenesis of heart failure. Stretch of the remote, noninfacted myocardium leads to the activation of a large number of cellular signal transduction pathways, which sets into motion a series of what are designed to be compensatory responses to the increased wall stress on the surviving myocardium. Herein, we will discuss the cellular pathways activated by cell stretch, which appear to trigger the initial steps in the pathogenesis of ventricular dilatation following myocardial infarction. We will discuss what is known of the "stretch sensors," which convert the mechanical stimulus into molecular signals. I will then introduce the specific cellular signaling pathways activated by stretch and discuss the evidence for their involvement in remodeling. Since many of these pathways will be covered in more detail in specific sections to follow, this will serve as an introduction to stretch-activated signaling. Finally, we will briefly examine later phases of the response, including advanced heart failure. The goal is to identify molecular modulators that might serve as targets for pharmacologic or molecular intervention.

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed2002

Alterations of beta-adrenergic signaling and cardiac hypertrophy in transgenic mice overexpressing TGF-beta(1).

Transforming growth factor-beta(1) (TGF-beta(1)) promotes or inhibits cell proliferation and induces fibrotic processes and extracellular matrix production in numerous cell types. Several cardiac diseases are associated with an increased expression of TGF-beta(1) mRNA, particularly during the transition from stable cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure. In vitro studies suggest a link between TGF-beta(1) signaling and the beta-adrenergic system. However, the in vivo effects of this growth factor on myocardial tissue have been poorly identified. In transgenic mice overexpressing TGF-beta(1) (TGF-beta), we investigated the in vivo effects on cardiac morphology, beta-adrenergic signaling, and contractile function. When compared with nontransgenic controls (NTG), TGF-beta mice revealed significant cardiac hypertrophy (heart weight, 164 +/- 7 vs. 130 +/- 3 mg, P < 0.01; heart weight-to-body weight ratio, 6.8 +/- 0.3 vs. 5.1 +/- 0.1 mg/g, P < 0.01), accompanied by interstitial fibrosis. These morphological changes correlated with an increased expression of hypertrophy-associated proteins such as atrial natriuretic factor (ANF). Furthermore, overexpression of TGF-beta(1) led to alterations of beta-adrenergic signaling as myocardial beta-adrenoceptor density increased from 7.3 +/- 0.3 to 11.2 +/- 1.1 fmol/mg protein (P < 0.05), whereas the expression of beta-adrenoceptor kinase-1 and inhibitory G proteins decreased by 56 +/- 9.7% and 58 +/- 7.6%, respectively (P < 0.05). As a consequence of altered beta-adrenergic signaling, hearts from TGF-beta showed enhanced contractile responsiveness to isoproterenol stimulation. In conclusion, we conclude that TGF-beta(1) induces cardiac hypertrophy and enhanced beta-adrenergic signaling in vivo. The morphological alterations are either induced by direct effects of TGF-beta(1) or may at least in part result from increased beta-adrenergic signaling, which may contribute to excessive catecholamine stimulation during the transition from compensated hypertrophy to heart failure.

Animals↗