RESUMEN
RATIONALE: Somatic overexpression in mice using an adeno-associated virus (AAV) as gene transfer vectors has become a valuable tool to analyze the roles of specific genes in cardiac diseases. The lack of atrial-specific AAV vector has been a major obstacle for studies into the pathogenesis of atrial diseases. Moreover, gene therapy studies for atrial fibrillation would benefit from atrial-specific vectors. Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) promoter drives gene expression specifically in atrial cardiomyocytes. OBJECTIVE: To establish the platform of atrial specific in vivo gene delivery by AAV-ANF. METHODS AND RESULTS: We constructed AAV vectors based on serotype 9 (AAV9) that are driven by the atrial-specific ANF promoter. Hearts from mice injected with AAV9-ANF-GFP (green fluorescent protein) exhibited strong and atrial-specific GFP expression without notable GFP in ventricular tissue. In contrast, similar vectors containing a cardiac troponin T promoter (AAV9-TNT4-GFP) showed GFP expression in all 4 chambers of the heart, while AAV9 with an enhanced chicken ß-actin promoter (AAV-enCB-GFP) caused ubiquitous GFP expression. Next, we used Rosa26mT/mG (membrane-targeted tandem dimer Tomato/membrane-targeted GFP), a double-fluorescent Cre reporter mouse that expresses membrane-targeted tandem dimer Tomato before Cre-mediated excision, and membrane-targeted GFP after excision. AAV9-ANF-Cre led to highly efficient LoxP recombination in membrane-targeted tandem dimer Tomato/membrane-targeted green fluorescent protein mice with high specificity for the atria. We measured the frequency of transduced cardiomyocytes in atria by detecting Cre-dependent GFP expression from the Rosa26mT/mG allele. AAV9 dose was positively correlated with the number of GFP-positive atrial cardiomyocytes. Finally, we assessed whether the AAV9-ANF-Cre vector could be used to induce atrial-specific gene knockdown in proof-of-principle experiments using conditional JPH2 (junctophilin-2) knockdown mice. Four weeks after AAV9-ANF-Cre injection, a strong reduction in atrial expression of JPH2 protein was observed. Furthermore, there was evidence for abnormal Ca2+ handling in atrial myocytes isolated from mice with atrial-restricted JPH2 deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: AAV9-ANF vectors produce efficient, dose-dependent, and atrial-specific gene expression following a single-dose systemic delivery in mice. This vector is a novel reagent for both mechanistic and gene therapy studies on atrial diseases.
Asunto(s)
Dependovirus/genética , Técnicas de Sustitución del Gen , Técnicas de Silenciamiento del Gen , Técnicas de Transferencia de Gen , Vectores Genéticos , Atrios Cardíacos/metabolismo , Miocitos Cardíacos/metabolismo , Péptido Natriurético Tipo-C/genética , Precursores de Proteínas/genética , Animales , Factor Natriurético Atrial , Señalización del Calcio , Dependovirus/metabolismo , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Regulación hacia Abajo , Femenino , Genes Reporteros , Atrios Cardíacos/patología , Atrios Cardíacos/fisiopatología , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/genética , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/metabolismo , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/patología , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/fisiopatología , Proteínas Luminiscentes/biosíntesis , Proteínas Luminiscentes/genética , Masculino , Proteínas de la Membrana/deficiencia , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Proteínas Musculares/deficiencia , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Miocitos Cardíacos/patología , Regiones Promotoras Genéticas , Regulación hacia ArribaRESUMEN
RATIONALE: Autosomal-dominant mutations in ryanodine receptor type 2 ( RYR2) are responsible for ≈60% of all catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. Dysfunctional RyR2 subunits trigger inappropriate calcium leak from the tetrameric channel resulting in potentially lethal ventricular tachycardia. In vivo CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing is a promising strategy that could be used to eliminate the disease-causing Ryr2 allele and hence rescue catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. OBJECTIVE: To determine if somatic in vivo genome editing using the CRISPR/Cas9 system delivered by adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors could correct catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia arrhythmias in mice heterozygous for RyR2 mutation R176Q (R176Q/+). METHODS AND RESULTS: Guide RNAs were designed to specifically disrupt the R176Q allele in the R176Q/+ mice using the SaCas9 ( Staphylococcus aureus Cas9) genome editing system. AAV serotype 9 was used to deliver Cas9 and guide RNA to neonatal mice by single subcutaneous injection at postnatal day 10. Strikingly, none of the R176Q/+ mice treated with AAV-CRISPR developed arrhythmias, compared with 71% of R176Q/+ mice receiving control AAV serotype 9. Total Ryr2 mRNA and protein levels were significantly reduced in R176Q/+ mice, but not in wild-type littermates. Targeted deep sequencing confirmed successful and highly specific editing of the disease-causing R176Q allele. No detectable off-target mutagenesis was observed in the wild-type Ryr2 allele or the predicted putative off-target site, confirming high specificity for SaCas9 in vivo. In addition, confocal imaging revealed that gene editing normalized the enhanced Ca2+ spark frequency observed in untreated R176Q/+ mice without affecting systolic Ca2+ transients. CONCLUSIONS: AAV serotype 9-based delivery of the SaCas9 system can efficiently disrupt a disease-causing allele in cardiomyocytes in vivo. This work highlights the potential of somatic genome editing approaches for the treatment of lethal autosomal-dominant inherited cardiac disorders, such as catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.
Asunto(s)
Sistemas CRISPR-Cas , Edición Génica/métodos , Terapia Genética/métodos , Mutación , Canal Liberador de Calcio Receptor de Rianodina/genética , Taquicardia Ventricular/terapia , Potenciales de Acción/genética , Animales , Proteína 9 Asociada a CRISPR/genética , Señalización del Calcio/genética , Dependovirus/genética , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Predisposición Genética a la Enfermedad , Vectores Genéticos , Frecuencia Cardíaca/genética , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Fenotipo , ARN Guía de Kinetoplastida/genética , Canal Liberador de Calcio Receptor de Rianodina/metabolismo , Taquicardia Ventricular/genética , Taquicardia Ventricular/metabolismo , Taquicardia Ventricular/fisiopatologíaRESUMEN
Heart failure is preceded by ventricular remodeling, changes in left ventricular mass, and myocardial volume after alterations in loading conditions. Concentric hypertrophy arises after pressure overload, involves wall thickening, and forms a substrate for diastolic dysfunction. Eccentric hypertrophy develops in volume overload conditions and leads wall thinning, chamber dilation, and reduced ejection fraction. The molecular events underlying these distinct forms of cardiac remodeling are poorly understood. Here, we demonstrate that miR-148a expression changes dynamically in distinct subtypes of heart failure: while it is elevated in concentric hypertrophy, it decreased in dilated cardiomyopathy. In line, antagomir-mediated silencing of miR-148a caused wall thinning, chamber dilation, increased left ventricle volume, and reduced ejection fraction. Additionally, adeno-associated viral delivery of miR-148a protected the mouse heart from pressure-overload-induced systolic dysfunction by preventing the transition of concentric hypertrophic remodeling toward dilation. Mechanistically, miR-148a targets the cytokine co-receptor glycoprotein 130 (gp130) and connects cardiomyocyte responsiveness to extracellular cytokines by modulating the Stat3 signaling. These findings show the ability of miR-148a to prevent the transition of pressure-overload induced concentric hypertrophic remodeling toward eccentric hypertrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy and provide evidence for the existence of separate molecular programs inducing distinct forms of myocardial remodeling.
Asunto(s)
Cardiomiopatías/metabolismo , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/metabolismo , Trasplante de Corazón/métodos , MicroARNs/metabolismo , Miocardio/metabolismo , Animales , Cardiomiopatías/genética , Proliferación Celular/fisiología , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/genética , Humanos , Ratones , MicroARNs/genética , Factor de Transcripción STAT3/genética , Factor de Transcripción STAT3/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal/fisiología , Remodelación Ventricular/genética , Remodelación Ventricular/fisiologíaRESUMEN
RATIONALE: Junctional membrane complexes (JMCs) in myocytes are critical microdomains, in which excitation-contraction coupling occurs. Structural and functional disruption of JMCs underlies contractile dysfunction in failing hearts. However, the role of newly identified JMC protein SPEG (striated muscle preferentially expressed protein kinase) remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of SPEG in healthy and failing adult hearts. METHODS AND RESULTS: Proteomic analysis of immunoprecipitated JMC proteins ryanodine receptor type 2 and junctophilin-2 (JPH2) followed by mass spectrometry identified the serine-threonine kinase SPEG as the only novel binding partner for both proteins. Real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed the downregulation of SPEG mRNA levels in failing human hearts. A novel cardiac myocyte-specific Speg conditional knockout (MCM-Spegfl/fl) model revealed that adult-onset SPEG deficiency results in heart failure (HF). Calcium (Ca2+) and transverse-tubule imaging of ventricular myocytes from MCM-Spegfl/fl mice post HF revealed both increased sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ spark frequency and disrupted JMC integrity. Additional studies revealed that transverse-tubule disruption precedes the development of HF development in MCM-Spegfl/fl mice. Although total JPH2 levels were unaltered, JPH2 phosphorylation levels were found to be reduced in MCM-Spegfl/fl mice, suggesting that loss of SPEG phosphorylation of JPH2 led to transverse-tubule disruption, a precursor of HF development in SPEG-deficient mice. CONCLUSIONS: The novel JMC protein SPEG is downregulated in human failing hearts. Acute loss of SPEG in mouse hearts causes JPH2 dephosphorylation and transverse-tubule loss associated with downstream Ca2+ mishandling leading to HF. Our study suggests that SPEG could be a novel target for the treatment of HF.
Asunto(s)
Insuficiencia Cardíaca/metabolismo , Proteínas de la Membrana/metabolismo , Proteínas Musculares/biosíntesis , Proteínas Musculares/metabolismo , Miocitos Cardíacos/metabolismo , Quinasa de Cadena Ligera de Miosina/biosíntesis , Proteómica/métodos , Adulto , Anciano , Animales , Femenino , Células HEK293 , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/genética , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/patología , Humanos , Masculino , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Noqueados , Persona de Mediana Edad , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Quinasa de Cadena Ligera de Miosina/genéticaRESUMEN
Heart failure (HF) is the end result of a diverse set of causes such as genetic cardiomyopathies, coronary artery disease, and hypertension and represents the primary cause of hospitalization in Europe. This serious clinical disorder is mostly associated with pathological remodeling of the myocardium, pump failure, and sudden death. While the survival of HF patients can be prolonged with conventional pharmacological therapies, the prognosis remains poor. New therapeutic modalities are thus needed that will target the underlying causes and not only the symptoms of the disease. Under chronic cardiac stress, small noncoding RNAs, in particular microRNAs, act as critical regulators of cardiac tissue remodeling and represent a new class of therapeutic targets in patients suffering from HF. Here, we focus on the potential use of microRNA inhibitors as a new treatment paradigm for HF.
Asunto(s)
Elementos sin Sentido (Genética)/uso terapéutico , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/diagnóstico , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/genética , MicroARNs/uso terapéutico , Animales , Elementos sin Sentido (Genética)/genética , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Regulación de la Expresión Génica , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/terapia , Humanos , MicroARNs/genética , Miocardio/patologíaRESUMEN
Organogenesis of the vertebrate heart is a highly specialized process involving progressive specification and differentiation of distinct embryonic cardiac progenitor cell populations driven by specialized gene programming events. Likewise, the onset of pathologies in the adult heart, including cardiac hypertrophy, involves the reactivation of embryonic gene programs. In both cases, these intricate genomic events are temporally and spatially regulated by complex signaling networks and gene regulatory networks. Apart from well-established transcriptional mechanisms, increasing evidence indicates that gene programming in both the developing and the diseased myocardium are under epigenetic control by non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs). MicroRNAs regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, and numerous studies have now established critical roles for this species of tiny RNAs in a broad range of aspects from cardiogenesis towards adult heart failure. Recent reports now also implicate the larger family of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in these processes as well. Here we discuss the involvement of these two ncRNA classes in proper cardiac development and hypertrophic disease processes of the adult myocardium. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Non-coding RNAs.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedades Cardiovasculares/genética , Regulación del Desarrollo de la Expresión Génica , Corazón/embriología , ARN Largo no Codificante/metabolismo , Animales , Redes Reguladoras de Genes , Humanos , ARN Largo no Codificante/genéticaRESUMEN
Granzyme M (GrM) is highly expressed in cytotoxic granules of NK cells, which provide the first line of defense against viral pathogens. GrM knockout mice show increased susceptibility toward murine CMV infection. Although GrM is a potent inducer of cell death, the mechanism by which GrM eliminates viruses remains elusive. In this paper, we show that purified human GrM in combination with the perforin-analog streptolysin O (SLO) strongly inhibited human CMV (HCMV) replication in fibroblasts in the absence of host cell death. In a proteomic approach, GrM was highly specific toward the HCMV proteome and most efficiently cleaved phosphoprotein 71 (pp71), an HCMV tegument protein that is critical for viral replication. Cleavage of pp71 occurred when viral lysates were incubated with purified GrM, when intact cells expressing recombinant pp71 were challenged with living cytotoxic effector cells, and when HCMV-infected fibroblasts were incubated with SLO and purified GrM. GrM directly cleaved pp71 after Leu(439), which coincided with aberrant cellular localization of both pp71 cleavage fragments as determined by confocal immunofluorescence. In a luciferase reporter assay, cleavage of pp71 after Leu(439) by GrM completely abolished the ability of pp71 to transactivate the HCMV major immediate-early promoter, which is indispensable for effective HCMV replication. Finally, GrM decreased immediate-early 1 protein expression in HCMV-infected fibroblasts. These results indicate that the NK cell protease GrM mediates cell death-independent antiviral activity by direct cleavage of a viral substrate.
Asunto(s)
Infecciones por Citomegalovirus/inmunología , Citomegalovirus/fisiología , Granzimas/inmunología , Inmunidad Celular/fisiología , Células Asesinas Naturales/inmunología , Proteínas Virales/inmunología , Replicación Viral/inmunología , Animales , Proteínas Bacterianas/inmunología , Proteínas Bacterianas/farmacología , Infecciones por Citomegalovirus/enzimología , Infecciones por Citomegalovirus/genética , Granzimas/genética , Granzimas/metabolismo , Células HeLa , Humanos , Células Asesinas Naturales/enzimología , Ratones , Ratones Noqueados , Estreptolisinas/inmunología , Estreptolisinas/farmacología , Proteínas Virales/genética , Proteínas Virales/metabolismoRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), defined as asymmetric left ventricular hypertrophy, is a leading cause of cardiac death in the young. Perturbations in calcium (Ca2+) handling proteins have been implicated in the pathogenesis of HCM. JPH2-encoded junctophilin 2 is a major component of the junctional membrane complex, the subcellular microdomain involved in excitation-contraction coupling. We hypothesized that a novel JPH2 mutation identified in patients with HCM is causally linked to HCM, and alters intracellular Ca2+ signaling in a pro-hypertrophic manner. OBJECTIVES: To determine using a transgenic mouse model whether a JPH2 mutation found in a HCM patient is responsible for disease development. METHODS: Genetic interrogation of a large cohort of HCM cases was conducted for all coding exons of JPH2. Pseudo-knock-in (PKI) mice containing a novel JPH2 variant were subjected to echocardiography, cardiac MRI, hemodynamic analysis, and histology. RESULTS: A novel JPH2 mutation, A405S, was identified in a genotype-negative proband with significant basal septal hypertrophy. Although initially underappreciated by traditional echocardiographic imaging, PKI mice with this JPH2 mutation (residue A399S in mice) were found to exhibit similar basal hypertrophy using a newly developed echo imaging plane, and this was confirmed using cardiac MRI. Histological analysis demonstrated cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and disarray consistent with HCM. CONCLUSIONS: Variant A405S is a novel HCM-associated mutation in JPH2 found in a proband negative for mutations in the canonical HCM-associated genes. Studies in the analogous mouse model demonstrated for the first time a causal link between a JPH2 defect and HCM. Moreover, novel imaging approaches identified subvalvular septal hypertrophy, specific findings also reported in the human JPH2 mutation carrier.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Junctophilin-2 (JPH2) is the primary structural protein for the coupling of transverse (T)-tubule associated cardiac L-type Ca channels and type-2 ryanodine receptors on the sarcoplasmic reticulum within junctional membrane complexes (JMCs) in cardiomyocytes. Effective signaling between these channels ensures adequate Ca-induced Ca release required for normal cardiac contractility. Disruption of JMC subcellular domains, a common feature of failing hearts, has been attributed to JPH2 downregulation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that adeno-associated virus type 9 (AAV9) mediated overexpression of JPH2 could halt the development of heart failure in a mouse model of transverse aortic constriction (TAC). METHODS AND RESULTS: Following TAC, a progressive decrease in ejection fraction was paralleled by a progressive decrease of cardiac JPH2 levels. AAV9-mediated expression of JPH2 rescued cardiac contractility in mice subjected to TAC. AAV9-JPH2 also preserved T-tubule structure. Moreover, the Ca2+ spark frequency was reduced and the Ca2+ transient amplitude was increased in AAV9-JPH2 mice following TAC, consistent with JPH2-mediated normalization of SR Ca2+ handling. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that AAV9-mediated JPH2 gene therapy maintained cardiac function in mice with early stage heart failure. Moreover, restoration of JPH2 levels prevented loss of T-tubules and suppressed abnormal SR Ca2+ leak associated with contractile failure following TAC. These findings suggest that targeting JPH2 might be an attractive therapeutic approach for treating pathological cardiac remodeling during heart failure.
Asunto(s)
Señalización del Calcio/fisiología , Terapia Genética/métodos , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/metabolismo , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/terapia , Proteínas de la Membrana/biosíntesis , Proteínas Musculares/biosíntesis , Canal Liberador de Calcio Receptor de Rianodina/fisiología , Adenoviridae/genética , Animales , Señalización del Calcio/efectos de los fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Vectores Genéticos/administración & dosificación , Vectores Genéticos/genética , Insuficiencia Cardíaca/diagnóstico por imagen , Masculino , Proteínas de la Membrana/genética , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Proteínas Musculares/genética , Miocitos Cardíacos/efectos de los fármacos , Miocitos Cardíacos/metabolismoRESUMEN
Although aberrant reactivation of embryonic gene programs is intricately linked to pathological heart disease, the transcription factors driving these gene programs remain ill-defined. Here we report that increased calcineurin/Nfat signalling and decreased miR-25 expression integrate to re-express the basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor dHAND (also known as Hand2) in the diseased human and mouse myocardium. In line, mutant mice overexpressing Hand2 in otherwise healthy heart muscle cells developed a phenotype of pathological hypertrophy. Conversely, conditional gene-targeted Hand2 mice demonstrated a marked resistance to pressure-overload-induced hypertrophy, fibrosis, ventricular dysfunction and induction of a fetal gene program. Furthermore, in vivo inhibition of miR-25 by a specific antagomir evoked spontaneous cardiac dysfunction and sensitized the murine myocardium to heart failure in a Hand2-dependent manner. Our results reveal that signalling cascades integrate with microRNAs to induce the expression of the bHLH transcription factor Hand2 in the postnatal mammalian myocardium with impact on embryonic gene programs in heart failure.