Negative inotropic effects of angiotensin II, endothelin-1 and phenylephrine in indo-1 loaded adult mouse ventricular myocytes

Angiotensin II (Ang II). endothelin-1 (ET-1) and phenylephrine are receptor agonists that share the signal transduction acting through acceleration of phosphoinositide hydrolysis in the heart. Because the regulation of myocardial contractility induced by these receptor agonists shows a wide range of species-dependent variation among experimental animals, we carried out experiments to elucidate the mechanism of contractile regulation induced by these agents in mice which are employed currently more as transgenic models. Effects of Ang II, ET-1 and phenylephrine on cell shortening and Ca2+ transients were investigated in single ventricular myocytes loaded with indo-1/AM. Ang II (10(-8), 10(-7) M), ET-1 (10(-10), 10(-9) M) and phenylephrine (10(-6), 10(-5) M in the presence of the beta-adrenoceptor antagonist timolol) decreased the cell shortening [Ang II: 58.4+/-9.03 (n = 8), 50.3+/-11.90% (n = 6); ET-1: 48.4+/-8.27, 31.2+/-6.45% (n = 5); phenylephrine: 45.7+/-11.60, 28.7+/-5.89% (n = 5)]. By contrast, the amplitude of Ca2+ transients was not significantly influenced by these agonists. The selective protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine at 10(-6) M significantly inhibited the decrease in cell shortening induced by these receptor agonists. These results indicate that Ang II, ET-1 and phenylephrine elicit a negative inotropic effect with insignificant alteration of Ca2+ transients, which may be mainly mediated by activation of protein kinase C in mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes.     

低浓度双氢哇巴因对豚鼠心室肌细胞内游离钙浓度的影响

用激光共聚焦显微镜检查研究低浓度双氢哇巴因（DHO）对豚鼠心室肌细胞内钙浓度（[Ca^2 ]i)的影响。DHO 1fmol/L-1 mmol/L可增加心室肌细胞的[Ca^2 ]i,尤其以10pmol/L DHO为显著,Nisoldipine,EGTA或TTX可分别部分抑制10pmol/L DHO的作用,去除胞外K^ 和Na^ 后,上述作用仍存在,以上结果表明,低浓度DHO中通过激活钙通道和TTX敏感的钠通道,或许还可直接促进胞内钙释放来增加[Ca^2 ]i,并有不依赖Na^ /K^ 泵而升高[Ca^2 ]i的作用。     

兔左室壁三层心肌细胞的分离及动作电位、钙和钾电流分布的异质性

探讨兔左室壁三层心肌单个细胞的分离方法以及电生理特征,实验以胶原酶按二步消化法分离兔心肌细胞,其中用剃须刀分离左室游离壁内,中,外三层心肌,采用全细胞膜片钳记录AP和离子电流,结果显示：（1）中层细胞上的动作电位时程明显长于内膜下心肌和外膜下心肌,且存在显著的1相切迹和2相驼峰;（2）中层细胞的Ica,L和Lto较内,外膜下的大,IK,s相反,可见三层心肌细胞上多种电流存在显著差异。     

Mechanisms for nucleosome mobilization

Nucleosomes are the ubiquitous and fundamental packaging for eukaryotic genomes, and are the substrate for many processes in the nucleus. Nucleosomes are not static entities but can readily be moved by thermal energy and ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling complexes in a process known as sliding or shifting. We summarize from a mechanical perspective the twist defect and bulge diffusion mechanisms proposed as the most likely pathway for nucleosome mobilization. We then consider the elastic properties of DNA and how this affects the potential for each mechanism, concentrating on kinetic aspects of twist diffusion and possible planar bulge sizes and summarize the experimental evidence reflecting on each. Either, or both, mechanisms could occur, and careful experimentation focusing on their uniquely distinguishing features will be required to determine their relative contributions to chromatin dynamics.     

Increased insulin-like growth factor-I gene expression precedes left ventricular cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in a rapidly-hypertrophying rat model system

Chronic pressure overload leads to an increase in the size, i.e. hypertrophy, of cardiomyocytes in the heart. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying this hypertrophy are not understood. Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) synthesized locally in the heart is known to be associated with the hypertrophic process. So far, however, cardiac IGF-I gene expression in the widely used rat model system has only been shown to be increased when the hypertrophy induced by pressure-overload was already established. Therefore, the question of whether IGF-I serves as an initiating or early-enhancing factor for the cardiac hypertrophy remains unanswered. Here, cardiac hypertension and hypertrophy were rapidly induced in the rat by complete constriction of the abdominal aorta between the origins of the renal arteries. Carotid arterial systolic blood pressure remained unchanged in sham rats but increased rapidly in the pressure-overloaded constricted rats with a sustained hypertension established by 3 days. Hypertrophy of left ventricular (LV) cardiomyocytes in constricted rats also occurred by 3 days. However, this hypertrophy was preceded by increases in LV IGF-I mRNA and protein which occurred within 1 day. These results support the hypothesis that cardiac-synthesized IGF-I is an initiating or early-enhancing factor for hypertrophy of LV cardiomyocytes.     

Interruption of signal transduction between G protein and PKC-ε underlies the impaired myocardial response to ischemic preconditioning in postinfarct remodeled hearts

We have recently shown that the protective mechanism of ischemic preconditioning (PC) is impaired in the myocardium that survived infarction and underwent postinfarct ventricular remodeling. In this study, we examined the hypothesis that failure of PC to activate PKC- underlies the refractoriness of the remodeling heart to PC. Circumflex coronary arteries were ligated in rabbits to induce infarction and subsequent ventricular remodeling, and only sham operations were performed in controls. Hearts were isolated before (i.e. 4 days later) or after (i.e. 2 weeks later) remodeling of the left ventricle and used for isolated buffer-perfused heart experiments. Myocardial infarction was induced in isolated hearts by 30 min global ischemia/2 h reperfusion, and its size was measured by tetrazolium staining. Using separate groups of hearts, tissue biopsies were taken before and after PC, and PKC translocation was assessed by Western blotting. Areas infarcted in vivo by coronary ligation (CL) were excluded from subsequent infarct size/PKC analyses. In the hearts 4 days after CL, PC with 2 cycles of 5 min ischemia/5 min reperfusion induced PKC- translocation from cytosol to particulate fractions and limited infarct size to 40% of control value. In the hearts remodeled 2 weeks after CL, PC failed to induce PKC- translocation and infarct size limitation. In this group, PKC activity and hemodynamic responses to adenosine were similar to those in sham-operated controls. When remodeling after CL was prevented by valsartan infusion (10 mg/kg/day), an angiotensin II type 1 (AT₁) receptor blocker, PC could induce both infarct limitation and PKC- translocation. The present results suggest that persistent activation of AT₁ receptors during remodeling disturbed the PC signaling between G proteins and PKC-, which underlies the refractoriness of the remodeled myocardium to PC.     

Analysis of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug literature for potential developmental toxicity in rats and rabbits

BACKGROUND: Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly prescribed to pregnant women. Some case‐control studies have linked the NSAIDs aspirin and indomethacin with a risk of congenital abnormalities and low birthweight. High doses of aspirin produce developmental toxicity in rats (e.g., gastroschisis/umbilical hernia, diaphragmatic hernia [DH]) when administered during sensitive windows of development. Unlike other NSAIDs, aspirin irreversibly inhibits cyclooxygenases (COXs) 1 and 2. Hence, the developmental toxicity seen in rats after exposure to aspirin may be due to the irreversible inhibition of COX‐1 and/or COX‐2. If so, other NSAIDs, which act through a reversible inhibition of COX, may produce a weak developmental toxicity signal or no developmental toxicity signal when tested in preclinical models. To investigate this relationship, a comprehensive analysis of the NSAID developmental toxicity literature was undertaken to determine whether NSAIDs other than aspirin induce developmental anomalies similar to those elicited by aspirin. METHODS: Developmental toxicity studies were identified through literature searches of PubMed and TOXNET, and pregnancy outcome data were extracted and tabulated. By using a set of defined criteria, each study was evaluated for quality and assigned to one of five tiers. The relation between certain malformations and NSAID treatment was analyzed for the best studies (tiers 1–4) by using concurrent control data (Mantel–Haenszel and permutation tests) and by combining the concurrent control data with historical control data (χ² test and permutation tests). RESULTS: A qualitative analysis of these data led to a focus on three types of malformations: DH, ventricular septal defects (VSDs), and midline defects (MDs). In rats, the incidences of VSD and MD were increased among fetuses treated with NSAIDs when compared with the concurrent controls. The extent of the increase was attenuated when the data from the aspirin studies were excluded from the analysis. There were no qualifying (i.e., tiers 1–4) aspirin studies conducted in rabbits, but the incidences of the three defects were increased over control incidences among non‐aspirin NSAID‐treated animals. Statistical analysis of these data was subsequently conducted. When tiers 1–4 were combined and compared with concurrent controls plus the most appropriate historical control database, the strongest associations were between NSAID treatment and VSD in rats, VSD in rabbits, and MD in rabbits. There also was some suggestion of an association between NSAID treatment and DH in rabbits. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis of the non‐clinical NSAID literature demonstrated a possible association between exposure to NSAIDs and developmental anomalies. The anomalies were similar for aspirin and for other NSAIDs, but effects occurred at a much lower incidence with non‐aspirin NSAIDs than previously reported with aspirin. Such a finding is consistent with the concept that reversible inhibition of COX‐1 and/or COX‐2 by other NSAIDs would produce weaker developmental toxicity signals than aspirin. However, there were limitations of the evaluated studies: (1) there were very few robust International Conference on Harmonization–compliant studies conducted with NSAIDs in the published literature; (2) many of the studies were conducted at doses well below the maximum tolerated dose (MTD), where effects are rarely seen; and (3) numerous studies were conducted above the MTD, where reduced numbers of fetuses hampered detection of low‐incidence findings. Although weak associations were observed, these limitations prevented us from definitively determining the presence or absence of a developmental toxicity signal from the existing body of NSAID data. Further exploration of this hypothesis will require assessing the potential association in animal models by using dose levels centered around the MTD. Birth Defects Research (Part B) 68:5–26, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

高血压前期患者颈动脉血管弹性超声参数与左室舒张功能的关系研究

摘要 目的：研究高血压前期患者颈动脉血管弹性超声参数与左室舒张功能的关系。方法：选取2019年12月-2020年12月因血压异常于河北北方学院附属第一医院接受诊断与治疗的161例患者,根据血压水平分为高血压前期组（82例）与高血压组（79例）;另选取同期于我院体检的80例健康志愿者作为对照组。收集三组临床资料,检测生化指标与血压;通过超声诊断仪中超声射频信号血管内中膜定量分析（QIMT）与动脉僵硬度定量分析（QAS）软件测量颈动脉血管弹性超声参数[颈动脉内中膜厚度（IMT）、顺应性系数（CC）、扩张性系数（DC）、血管弹性指数（α、β）、脉搏波传导速度（PWV）];超声心动图检查左室功能指标[左室射血分数（LVEF）、左室质量指数（LVMI）、舒张早期血流速度峰值（E）/舒张晚期血流速度峰值（A）、等容舒张时间（IVRT）、舒张期减速时间（DT）];采用Pearson相关性法分析颈动脉血管弹性超声参数与心室指标的相关性。结果：三组收缩压与舒张压水平存在统计学意义（P＜0.05）。高血压前期组与高血压组IMT、α、β、PWV高于对照组,DC、CC低于对照组（P＜0.05）,且高血压前期组IMT、α、β、PWV低于高血压组,DC、CC高于高血压组（P＜0.05）。高血压前期与高血压组E/A低于对照组,IVRT、DT高于对照组（P＜0.05）,且高血压前期组E/A高于高血压组,IVRT、DT低于高血压组（P＜0.05）。经Peason相关性分析显示,IMT、α、β、PWV与E/A呈负相关,与IVRT、DT呈正相关（P＜0.05）;DC、CC与E/A呈正相关,与IVRT、DT呈负相关（P＜0.05）。结论：高血压前期患者颈动脉血管弹性功能下降,且伴有左室舒张功能受损,颈动脉血管弹性超声参数与左室舒张功能密切相关。     

Planar cell polarity regulators in asymmetric organogenesis during development and disease

The phenomenon of planar cell polarity is critically required for a myriad of morphogenetic processes in metazoan and is accurately controlled by several conserved modules. Six “core” proteins, including Frizzled, Flamingo (Celsr), Van Gogh (Vangl), Dishevelled, Prickle, and Diego (Ankrd6), are major components of the Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway. The Fat/Dchs protocadherins and the Scrib polarity complex also function to instruct cellular polarization. In vertebrates, all these pathways are essential for tissue and organ morphogenesis, such as neural tube closure, left–right symmetry breaking, heart and gut morphogenesis, lung and kidney branching, stereociliary bundle orientation, and proximal–distal limb elongation. Mutations in planar polarity genes are closely linked to various congenital diseases. Striking advances have been made in deciphering their contribution to the establishment of spatially oriented pattern in developing organs and the maintenance of tissue homeostasis. The challenge remains to clarify the complex interplay of different polarity pathways in organogenesis and the link of cell polarity to cell fate specification. Interdisciplinary approaches are also important to understand the roles of mechanical forces in coupling cellular polarization and differentiation. This review outlines current advances on planar polarity regulators in asymmetric organ formation, with the aim to identify questions that deserve further investigation.