RESUMO
BACKGROUND: It is well known that adenosine levels are increased during ischemia and protect the heart during ischemia/reperfusion. However, less is known about the role of adenosine-adenosine receptor (AR) pathways in hearts with left ventricular dilation and dysfunction. Therefore, we assessed adenosine levels and selective AR expression in transgenic mice with left ventricular systolic dysfunction secondary to overexpression of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF 1.6). METHODS AND RESULTS: Cardiac adenosine levels were reduced by 70% at 3 and 6 weeks of age in TNF 1.6 mice. This change was accompanied by a 4-fold increase in the levels of A1-AR and a 50% reduction in the levels of A2A-AR. That the increase in A1-AR density was of physiological significance was shown by the fact that chronotropic responsiveness to the A1-AR selective agonist 2-chloro-N6-cyclopentanyladenosine was enhanced in the TNF 1.6 mice. Similar changes in adenosine levels were found in 2 other models of heart failure, mice overexpressing calsequestrin and mice after chronic pressure overload, suggesting that the changes in adenosine-AR signaling were secondary to myocardial dysfunction rather than to TNF overexpression. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac dysfunction secondary to the overexpression of TNF is associated with marked alterations in myocardial levels of adenosine and ARs. Modulation of the myocardial adenosine system and its signaling pathways may be a novel therapeutic target in patients with heart failure.
Assuntos
Adenosina/metabolismo , Miocárdio/metabolismo , Receptor A1 de Adenosina/genética , Receptor A1 de Adenosina/metabolismo , Disfunção Ventricular Esquerda/fisiopatologia , Difosfato de Adenosina/metabolismo , Monofosfato de Adenosina/metabolismo , Trifosfato de Adenosina/metabolismo , Animais , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Feminino , Insuficiência Cardíaca/metabolismo , Insuficiência Cardíaca/fisiopatologia , Masculino , Camundongos , Camundongos Endogâmicos C57BL , Camundongos Endogâmicos DBA , Camundongos Transgênicos , Receptor A2A de Adenosina/genética , Receptor A2A de Adenosina/metabolismo , Transdução de Sinais/fisiologia , Fator de Necrose Tumoral alfa/genética , Regulação para Cima/fisiologia , Disfunção Ventricular Esquerda/metabolismoRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Both the A1- and A3-adenosine receptors (ARs) have been implicated in mediating the cardioprotective effects of adenosine. Paradoxically, overexpression of both A1-AR and A3-AR is associated with changes in the cardiac phenotype. To evaluate the temporal relationship between AR signaling and cardiac remodeling, we studied the effects of controlled overexpression of the A1-AR using a cardiac-specific and tetracycline-transactivating factor-regulated promoter. METHODS AND RESULTS: Constitutive A1-AR overexpression caused the development of cardiac dilatation and death within 6 to 12 weeks. These mice developed diminished ventricular function and decreased heart rate. In contrast, when A1-AR expression was delayed until 3 weeks of age, mice remained phenotypically normal at 6 weeks, and >90% of the mice survived at 30 weeks. However, late induction of A1-AR still caused mild cardiomyopathy at older ages (20 weeks) and accelerated cardiac hypertrophy and the development of dilatation after pressure overload. These changes were accompanied by gene expression changes associated with cardiomyopathy and fibrosis and by decreased Akt phosphorylation. Discontinuation of A1-AR induction mitigated cardiac dysfunction and significantly improved survival rate. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that robust constitutive myocardial A1-AR overexpression induces a dilated cardiomyopathy, whereas delaying A1-AR expression until adulthood ameliorated but did not eliminate the development of cardiac pathology. Thus, the inducible A1-AR transgenic mouse model provides novel insights into the role of adenosine signaling in heart failure and illustrates the potentially deleterious consequences of selective versus nonselective activation of adenosine-signaling pathways in the heart.
Assuntos
Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/etiologia , Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/fisiopatologia , Ecocardiografia , Coração/fisiopatologia , Miocárdio/patologia , Receptor A1 de Adenosina/metabolismo , Animais , Cardiomegalia/etiologia , Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/mortalidade , Cardiomiopatia Dilatada/patologia , Doxiciclina/farmacologia , Eletrocardiografia , Fibrose , Expressão Gênica , Frequência Cardíaca , Humanos , Hipertensão/etiologia , Hipertensão/metabolismo , Camundongos , Camundongos Transgênicos , Fosforilação , Proteínas Proto-Oncogênicas c-akt/metabolismo , Receptor A1 de Adenosina/genética , Análise de Sobrevida , Fatores de TempoRESUMO
We developed a high-throughput HTRF (homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence) assay for Akt kinase activity and screened approx. 270000 compounds for their ability to inhibit the three isoforms of Akt. Two Akt inhibitors were identified that exhibited isoenzyme specificity. The first compound (Akt-I-1) inhibited only Akt1 (IC50 4.6 microM) while the second compound (Akt-I-1,2) inhibited both Akt1 and Akt2 with IC50 values of 2.7 and 21 microM respectively. Neither compound inhibited Akt3 nor mutants lacking the PH (pleckstrin homology) domain at concentrations up to 250 microM. These compounds were reversible inhibitors, and exhibited a linear mixed-type inhibition against ATP and peptide substrate. In addition to inhibiting kinase activity of individual Akt isoforms, both inhibitors blocked the phosphorylation and activation of the corresponding Akt isoforms by PDK1 (phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1). A model is proposed in which these inhibitors bind to a site formed only in the presence of the PH domain. Binding of the inhibitor is postulated to promote the formation of an inactive conformation. In support of this model, antibodies to the Akt PH domain or hinge region blocked the inhibition of Akt by Akt-I-1 and Akt-I-1,2. These inhibitors were found to be cell-active and to block phosphorylation of Akt at Thr308 and Ser473, reduce the levels of active Akt in cells, block the phosphorylation of known Akt substrates and promote TRAIL (tumour-necrosis-factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand)-induced apoptosis in LNCap prostate cancer cells.