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Biomedical subjects

R H Strasser

Publications and source records attributed to R H Strasser.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Transregulation of adenylyl-cyclase-coupled inhibitory receptors in heart failure enhances anti-adrenergic effects on adult rat cardiomyocytes.

OBJECTIVE: In congestive heart failure (CHF), a desensitisation of stimulatory beta-receptors and of adenylyl cyclase in the heart is associated with an increase in inhibitory Gi proteins. To investigate whether the regulation of the Gi-mediated inhibitory side of the adenylyl cyclase system may be of functional importance in the failing myocardium, the contractile response of isolated adult cardiomyocytes to stimulation of inhibitory muscarinic M2 and A1 adenosine receptors was analysed. METHODS: CHF was induced in rats by banding of the ascending aorta and was verified by doubling of lung wet weight. After four weeks, contraction amplitude (delta L) and the velocity (dL/dtmax) of isolated ventricular cardiomyocytes during electrical field stimulation in the presence of 1 mM Ca2+ were measured using video micrometry. RESULTS: Contractile responses of failing cardiomyocytes to 5 mM Ca2+ were unchanged. The response to increasing concentrations of the beta-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol (0.1-30 nM), and to forskolin (0.1 nM-1 microM) were significantly blunted. When A1 receptors were activated with N6-(R-phenyl-isopropyl)-adenosine (PIA; 0.01-1 microM) in the presence of 3 nM isoproterenol, contractility was unchanged in cells compared with those from sham-operated rats, but delta L was reduced by up to 23% and dL/dtmax by 35% in failing cardiomyocytes (P < 0.01), demonstrating an enhanced inhibitory effect of A1 receptors. The response to the M2 receptor agonist, carbachol (0.01-3 microM), was augmented to a comparable extent (delta L, -22%, dL/dtmax, -39%; P < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In CHF, the inotropic responses to beta-receptor-stimulation and to direct stimulation of adenylyl cyclase, but not to Ca2+, are diminished due to desensitisation of the stimulatory side of the adenylyl cyclase signal transduction system. In parallel, the responses to inhibitory receptors are augmented, leading to a pronounced Gi-mediated negative inotropic effect on failing heart muscle cells. Those anti-adrenergic effects could contribute to the contractile dysfunction of the failing heart. Reversal of the sensitisation to inhibitory stimuli might be one of the desirable mechanisms of medical therapy in CHF.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1999

Desensitization of the pulmonary adenylyl cyclase system: a cause of airway hyperresponsiveness in congestive heart failure?

OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to investigate whether the adrenergic signal transduction in the lung and the responsiveness of airway smooth muscle to adrenergic stimulation are modulated in congestive heart failure. BACKGROUND: Wheezing and airway hyperresponsiveness are often present in heart failure. In the failing heart, chronic adrenergic stimulation down-regulates beta-adrenergic receptors and adenylyl cyclase. We hypothesized that airway dysfunction in heart failure could be due to a similar modulation of pulmonary adrenergic signal transduction. METHODS: Heart failure was induced in rats by aortic banding, resulting in increases in plasma norepinephrine, lung wet weight indicating congestion and left ventricular end diastolic pressure after four weeks. Beta-receptor densities in pulmonary plasma membranes were measured by radioligand binding using [125I]iodocyanopindolol. The G protein levels were determined by Western blot. Adenylyl cyclase activities in lung membranes were quantified as [32P]cAMP (cyclic adenosine-5'-monophosphate) synthesis rate. To functionally assess airway smooth muscle relaxation, carbachol-precontracted isolated tracheal strips were used. RESULTS: Beta-receptor density was significantly decreased in heart failure from 771 +/- 89 to 539 +/- 44 fmol/mg protein without changes in receptor affinities. The beta1-/beta2-subtype ratio, however, remained constant. The G(i and alpha) and G(s alpha) protein expression was unchanged. Adenylyl cyclase activity stimulated directly with forskolin was decreased by 28%. Relaxation of tracheal strips in response to isoproterenol and forskolin, but not to papaverin, was diminished by 30%. CONCLUSIONS: In heart failure, the down-regulation of pulmonary beta-receptors and concomitant decrease in adenylyl cyclase activity result in a significant attenuation of cAMP-mediated airway relaxation. These mechanisms may play a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of"cardiac asthma."

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1998

The cardiac adrenergic system in ischaemia: differential role of acidosis and energy depletion.

OBJECTIVE: Acute myocardial ischaemia has been shown to modulate the beta-adrenergic system and to activate protein kinase C. The aim of this study was to investigate if two important components of ischaemia, i.e. energy depletion or acidosis, may contribute to these changes. METHODS: Isolated rat hearts were perfused either with anoxia (in the absence of oxygen) or with cyanide in the absence of glucose as models of energy depletion with a loss of high energy phosphates. Alternatively, isolated hearts were perfused with acidic modified Krebs-Henseleit solution to induce acidosis. RESULTS: Energy depletion induced by cyanide perfusion leads to an increase of beta-adrenergic receptors (81 +/- 7 vs. 50 +/- 3 fmol/mg protein, p < or = 0.05) comparable to the changes observed in ischaemia, yet without any change of total adenylyl cyclase activity or protein kinase C activity. Similar, yet less pronounced changes were induced by anoxic perfusion. Acidic perfusion, in contrast, promotes a translocation of protein kinase C to the plasma membranes, suggesting its rapid activation. Additionally, an increased total forskolin-stimulated activity of adenylyl cyclase (515 +/- 16 vs. 428 +/- 17 pmol/min/mg, p < or = 0.05) was observed. Both were comparable to the sensitization observed in early ischaemia. In acidosis, the density of beta-adrenergic receptors remained unaltered. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that the regulation of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors is susceptible to energy depletion, but not to acidosis, whereas the intracellular enzymes both adenylyl cyclase and protein kinase C may be regulated by intracellular acidosis. This is the first differentiation of distinct components of ischaemia modulating the beta-adrenergic signal transduction pathway. Both components may be operative in concert in acute myocardial ischaemia and may contribute to the regulation of these components of signal transduction observed in acute ischaemia.

Acidosis↗
PubMed1997

Protein kinase C activation after cellular adhesion on fibronectin: partial suppression after inhibition of protein isoprenylation.

The cellular events following interaction between matrix proteins and cells are important requisites for physiological mechanisms as well as the progress of a number of diseases. Cellular adhesion to fibronectin, an important component of the extracellular matrix has been demonstrated to be associated with translocation of protein kinase C (PKC) by an integrin-dependent pathway. For this process G-proteins may play an important role as coupling proteins. Membrane association and activity of G-proteins has been shown to be regulated by isoprenylation. We therefore studied whether fibronectin mediated adhesion resulted in PKC translocation and if isoprenylation of cellular proteins may play a role for this integrin-dependent pathway of PKC activation. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were pretreated with either the Hydroxy-methylglutaryl(HMG)-CoA reductase inhibitor lovastatin or prenylation inhibitor limonene. For the stimulation by extracellular matrices, CHO cells were plated on tissue culture dishes coated with fibronectin or bovine serum albumin and PKC activity was determined. To investigate direct effects of inhibition of isoprenylation on cytoskeletal organization, phalloidin-stained stress fibers were characterized after adhesion on different matrices. CHO cells seeded on fibronectin displayed over twice the PKC translocation to the particulate fraction in comparison to that measured in cells on albumin. Pretreatment of CHO cells with lovastatin or limonene resulted in partial suppression of PKC activation after cell-seeding on the specific matrix fibronectin. Changed PKC distribution was not due to a disorganization of the actin skeleton. These data show that inhibition of isoprenylation of cellular proteins, possibly small Guanosine triphosphate(GTP)-binding proteins, alters only the integrin-mediated PKC distribution but does not greatly influence constitutive PKC distribution.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Beta-blockade reduces effects of adenosine and carbachol by transregulation of inhibitory receptors and Gi proteins.

Chronic blockade of stimulatory beta-adrenergic receptors may decrease inhibitory receptors of the adrenergic signal transduction system. This transregulation process might reduce the negative inotropic response of the myocardium to inhibitory receptor stimulation. Rats were treated for 6 days with the beta-blocker atenolol (2 mg/day). beta-Adrenergic receptors in cardiac plasma membranes increased from 49 +/- 6 to 75 +/- 9 fmol/mg protein (means +/- SE; P = 0.053), whereas muscarinic M2 receptors decreased (155 +/- 15 vs. 105 +/- 10 fmol/mg protein; P < or = 0.05). Moreover, inhibitory G alpha(i) proteins were reduced by 36%. The functional responses of isolated hearts to inhibitory agonists after prestimulation with isoproterenol (3 nmol/l) were significantly blunted. The Ki value for the negative inotropic response of the maximal rise in developed left ventricular pressure (dP/dt(max)) to adenosine (0.1-100 micromol/l) increased from 5.9 +/- 1.7 to 24.0 +/- 2.5 micromol/l (P < or = 0.001). A similar rightward shift of the dose-response curve was observed for the effects of adenosine on developed left ventricular pressure (LVP) and of carbachol (0.01-10 micromol/l) on LVP and dP/dt. Thus chronic beta-blockade leads to a coordinate transregulation of inhibitory receptors and Gi proteins, reducing the effects of inhibitory receptor activation of the heart. This mechanism may contribute to the beneficial effects of beta-blocker therapy in heart failure.

Adenosine↗
PubMed1996

Contrast-enhanced doppler ultrasound for noninvasive assessment of pulmonary artery pressure during exercise in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.

Pulmonary artery pressure response to exercise was assessed using contrast enhancement of tricuspid regurgitation peak velocities in 19 patients with chronic congestive heart failure. Estimated systolic pulmonary artery pressures correlated closely with invasively measured pressures at rest (r=0.82, p <0.001) and during peak exercise (r=0.86, p <0.001) at a good level of agreement (mean difference 7.3 +/- 12 mm Hg), indicating that this method provides a reliable, noninvasive approach to evaluating functional reserve in patients with chronic congestive heart failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Differential regulation of mRNA specific for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in human failing hearts. Evaluation of the absolute cardiac mRNA levels by two independent methods.

In human heart failure beta-adrenergic receptors are downregulated which contributes to the reduced responsiveness to positive inotropic beta-agonists in the diseased heart. The present study addressed the question whether the number of beta-adrenergic receptors in the failing human heart is regulated at the level of the mRNA and whether the absolute steady-state levels of subtype-specific mRNAs mirror the expression of receptor-subtype proteins in human heart. In a collaborative effort, two different and independent methods, performed in two independent laboratories, reverse transcription followed by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and RNase protection assays, were used to determine the absolute steady-state levels of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptor mRNAs in control (NF) and in failing human hearts. As determined by quantitative RT-PCR the beta 1-mRNA was significantly reduced from 0.98 +/- 0.12 (n = 10) to 0.49 +/- 0.11 pg/microgram total RNA in dilated cardiomyopathy (dCMP, n = 7) and to 0.40 +/- 0.11 pg/microgram total RNA in ischemic cardiomyopathy (iCMP, n = 8). The steady-state levels of mRNA specific for beta 2-adrenergic receptors also tended to be decreased but without reaching significance (NF: 0.16 +/- 0.05, dCMP: 0.11 +/- 0.03, iCMP: 0.13 +/- 0.04 pg/microgram total RNA). RNase protection assays revealed similar values. beta 1-mRNA was found to be significantly reduced from 1.22 +/- 0.22 in NF (n = 10) to 0.63 +/- 0.14 pg/microgram total RNA in dCMP (n = 5) and to 0.52 +/- 0.1 pg/microgram total RNA in iCMP (n = 8). The beta 2-mRNA also tended to be lower in dCMP and in iCMP as compared to NF but again without reaching significance (NF: 0.14 +/- 0.02, dCMP: 0.099 +/- 0.02, iCMP 0.107 +/- 0.02 pg/microgram total RNA). This is the first study to demonstrate in parallel by two different methods performed independently in two laboratories that the ratio of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptor densities in the left ventricle of the normal human heart of about 80/20 is closely related to the absolute steady state concentrations of their specific mRNA. In addition, the magnitude of the decrease in mRNA-levels of beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors in the failing human heart closely correlates with the decrease of the respective receptor proteins. These data suggest that the predominant regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors occurs at the mRNA level.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

[The role of nitrates in therapy of heart failure].

For nitrates their efficacy in acute and chronic heart failure has to be differentiated. In acute heart failure the hemodynamic and symptomatic improvements after administration of short term nitrate therapy render this form of therapy a standard medication. In contrast, the therapy with nitrates in chronic heart failure has not significantly improved prognosis especially when compared with ACE-inhibitors. On the contrary, nitrates in chronic heart failure tend to increase the sympathetic tone which is negatively correlated to survival. Thus, nitrates are only adjunctive therapy in patients with chronic heart failure.

Heart Failure↗
PubMed1996

Changes in cardiac signal transduction systems in chronic ethanol treatment preceding the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy.

Chronic alcohol consumption has been postulated as an important pathogenetic mechanism for the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy. This form of chronic heart failure shares with other forms of cardiomyopathy the pronounced alterations of the adrenergic signal transduction systems. These alterations include a significant reduction of beta-adrenergic receptors and a reduced responsiveness of the adenylyl cyclase. Changes of other receptor systems such as alpha-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors have not been studied extensively so far. To address the question if changes of the adrenergic signal transduction systems may occur early in the development of alcoholic cardiomyopathy and if alpha 1-adrenergic receptors and muscarinic receptors may be subjected to an altered expression even before severe impairment of the left ventricular function becomes obvious, rats were chronically fed with an alcohol diet containing 35% of total calorie intake as ethanol. In cardiac plasma membranes beta-adrenergic receptors, alpha 1-adrenergic receptors, muscarinic receptors and adenylyl cyclase activities were determined after 4 and 8 weeks of chronic alcohol treatment. After these periods of chronic alcohol diet no signs of overt heart failure such as pleural effusion or increased lung wet weight as parameters for congestion were present. Body weight gain was comparable in the controls and under chronic alcohol treatment in these adolescent rats. Both after 4 and 8 weeks of chronic alcohol treatment the density of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors remained unchanged and all adenylyl cyclase activities remained fully responsive. In contrast, after 8 weeks of alcohol treatment the developmental increase of cardiac muscarinic receptors in the adolescent rats was greatly impaired resulting in a significantly reduced expression of these receptors even before clinical signs of heart failure. In contrast the density of cardiac alpha 1-adrenergic receptors were significantly reduced already after 4 weeks of chronic alcohol treatment with an additional impairment of the developmental increase after 8 weeks of alcohol treatment. These data characterize for the first time early changes of cardiac receptor system in chronic alcohol treatment which precede the development of overt heart failure. These changes include alpha 1-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors, but in contrast to severe heart failure, leave the beta 1-adrenergic system and the responsiveness of the adenylyl cyclase intact. Additionally these data show the developmentally increased expression of cardiac alpha 1-adrenergic and muscarinic receptors in rat heart.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗
PubMed1995

Regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors in acute myocardial ischemia: subtype-selective increase of mRNA specific for beta 1-adrenergic receptors.

Acute myocardial ischemia leads to a rapid increase of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors in plasma membranes despite the release of large and desensitizing amounts of endogenous catecholamines. Part of this increase has been shown to occur at the expense of intracellular receptors. To investigate whether an additional expressional regulation of beta-adrenergic receptors due to an increase of mRNA levels is involved, the mRNA levels specific for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors were determined after various periods of global ischemia in isolated perfused rat hearts. The subtype-specific quantification of mRNA for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors was determined using reverse-transcription followed by PCR (RT-PCR) and RNA protection assays. RT-PCR resulted in single amplification products of the expected sizes (159 bp for beta 1-adrenergic receptors and 240 bp for beta 2-adrenergic receptors). The specificity of these amplification products was confirmed by specific restriction digests. Southern blot hybridizations with internal oligonucleotides and sequencing using the dideoxy chain termination method. For quantification purposes, the mRNAs of housekeeping gene GAPDH and of cardiac alpha-actin were determined as internal standards. Additionally, cRNAs specific for beta 1- and beta 2-adrenergic receptors were used as external standards. Brief periods of global ischemia induced a rapid increase in the steady state level of mRNA for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. There was a statistically significant rise already after 15 min by 57% compared to controls. After 30 min of ischemia the mRNA levels had almost doubled. After 60 min of ischemia, the mRNA levels specific for beta 1-adrenergic receptors tended to decrease, but remained significantly above normoxic controls. In contrast, the mRNA levels specific for beta 2-adrenergic receptors remained constant up to 60 min of global myocardial ischemia. To investigate, whether agonist occupancy of the receptors may contribute to this regulation, the effect of preperfusion with the beta-blocker alprenolol was determined. Contrary to expectation, beta-blockade did not influence the ischemia-induced increase of mRNA levels specific for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. These data demonstrate for the first time, that acute myocardial ischemia induces a rapid, and subtype-selective regulation of mRNA levels for beta 1-adrenergic receptors. However, occupation or activation of beta-adrenergic receptors by an agonist is not involved in this newly characterized regulation of mRNA for beta 1-adrenergic receptors in acute myocardial ischemia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1995

Impaired function of inhibitory G proteins during acute myocardial ischemia of canine hearts and its reversal during reperfusion and a second period of ischemia. Possible implications for the protective mechanism of ischemic preconditioning.

A brief antecedent period of myocardial ischemia and reperfusion can delay cellular injury during a subsequent ischemic condition. Recent observations suggest that this protective mechanism depends on the continued activation of adenosine A1 receptors and Gi proteins. During acute myocardial ischemia, sufficient amounts of adenosine for maximal activation of adenosine A1 receptors are released, independent of a preconditioning ischemia. Hence, the protective mechanism of ischemic preconditioning may not exclusively be explained by activation of adenosine A1 receptors. As a working hypothesis, an increased responsiveness of Gi proteins toward receptor-mediated activation, leading to an increased response of Gi-regulated effectors, was tested in this study. In 47 anesthetized dogs, ischemia was induced by proximal ligation of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Animals underwent either a single period of 5 minutes of ischemia (n = 9), a single period of 15 minutes of ischemia (n = 10), 5 minutes of ischemia followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion (n = 8), 15 minutes of ischemia followed by 60 minutes of reperfusion (n = 5), or 5 minutes of ischemia followed by 15 minutes of reperfusion and a second period of 5 minutes of ischemia (n = 15). Sarcolemmal membranes were prepared from the central ischemic area and from the posterior left ventricular wall, which served as the control. During ischemia, carbochol-stimulated GTPase decreased by 38% (control, 33.5 +/- 17.7; ischemia, 24.2 +/- 15 pmol.min-1.mg protein-1; n = 9; P < .001). The decrease in carbachol-stimulated GTPase activity was associated with a 45% decrease in carbachol-mediated inhibition of adenylyl cyclase (control, 28.9 +/- 2.4% maximal inhibition; ischemia, 15.1 +/- 2.6% maximal inhibition; n = 5; P < .001). Prolongation of the ischemic period to 15 minutes did not lead to a further reduction of the Gi-mediated signal transduction. The binding properties of muscarinic receptors were not affected by ischemia. Furthermore, as demonstrated by carbachol-stimulated binding of [gamma-35S]GTP to sarcolemmal membranes, high- and low-affinity binding sites for the muscarinic antagonist carbachol, the EC50 for carbachol-stimulated GTPase activity and the substrate dependency of the high-affinity GTPase, the interaction between muscarinic receptors and inhibitory G proteins, and GTP binding to G proteins were not altered (n = 14). Immunoblotting with alpha 1- and alpha 2-specific antibodies did not indicate a loss of Gi proteins during ischemia that could explain the reduced GTPase activity.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Chronic beta-blockade transregulates inhibitory A1 adenosine and muscarinic M2 receptors of the adenylyl cyclase system.

Chronic beta-blockade has evolved to an important therapeutic strategy in medicine. Not all its therapeutic effects may be explained by its direct action on the beta-adrenergic system. We therefore investigated if chronic beta-blockade in vivo or in isolated cell systems may modulate also inhibitory receptors of the adenylyl cyclase system. Chronic treatment with metoprolol for 6 days (10 mg/day) induced an increase of beta-adrenergic receptors in rat cardiac plasma membranes (53 +/- 8 vs 80 +/- 12 fmol/mg protein). Simultaneously the density of cardiac muscarinic M2 receptors decreased significantly from 150 +/- 17 to 110 +/- 12 fmol/mg protein without any change of the affinity of the receptors for their agonists or antagonists. By this mechanism chronic beta-blockade leads to an unexpected impairment of the muscarinic-mediated inhibition of the adenylyl cyclase. This transregulation of inhibitory receptors by chronic beta-blockade was not restricted to the heart but also reduced the muscarinic receptors of rat lung (35 +/- 4 vs 24 +/- 3 fmol/mg protein). Additionally, other inhibitory receptors of the adenylyl cyclase system such as the A1 adenosine receptors of rat brain were reduced by chronic beta-blockade (532 +/- 32 vs 444 +/- 26 fmol/mg protein). This transregulation of A1 adenosine receptors occurred only after chronic beta-blockade with the active stereoisomer (-)-metoprolol whereas the (+)-isomer was ineffective. The ability of the remaining A1 adenosine receptors to form the agonist-promoted high affinity state was unaltered. Their reduction, however, was sufficient to abolish the phenylisopropyl-mediated inhibition of the adenylyl cyclase. To evaluate if this regulation of various inhibitory receptors in different organs may represent a general cellular regulation mechanism, we investigated whether this transregulation also occurred in isolated cells. Isolated smooth muscle cells derived from the vas deferens (DDT1 MF-2) were cultivated in the presence of the beta-blocker atenolol (10(-5) M) for 3 days. Chronic beta-blockade in these isolated cells induced an increase of beta-adrenergic receptors and concomitantly a significant decrease of A1 adenosine receptors (460 +/- 42 vs 368 +/- 18 fmol/mg protein). The affinity of the A1 adenosine receptors for their agonists and antagonists and the ability of the remaining receptors to form the agonist-promoted high affinity state remained unaltered. In contrast, the reduction of receptor density greatly impaired the adenosine-mediated inhibition of the adenylyl cyclase. These data demonstrate that chronic beta-blockade leads to a functionally significant reduction of inhibitory receptors of the adenylyl cyclase system.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adenylyl Cyclases↗