Two distinct mechanisms mediate a differential regulation of protein kinase C isozymes in acute and prolonged myocardial ischemia.

An activation of protein kinase C (PKC) in acute myocardial ischemia has been shown previously using its translocation to the plasma membrane as an indirect parameter. However, whether PKC remains activated or whether other mechanisms such as altered gene expression may mediate an isozyme-specific regulation in prolonged ischemia have not been investigated. In isolated perfused rat hearts, PKC activity and the expression of PKC cardiac isozymes were determined on the protein level using enzyme activities and Western blot analyses and on the mRNA level using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction after various periods of global ischemia (1 to 60 minutes). As early as 1 minute after the onset of ischemia, PKC activity is translocated from the cytosol to the particulate fraction without change in total cardiac enzyme activity. This translocation involves all major cardiac isozymes of PKC (ie, PKCalpha, PKCdelta, PKCepsilon, and PKCzeta). This rapid, nonselective activation of PKCs is only transient. In contrast, prolonged ischemia (>/=15 minutes) leads to an increased cardiac PKC activity (119+/-7 versus 190+/-8 pmol/min per mg protein) residing in the cytosol. This is associated with an augmented, subtype-selective isozyme expression of PKCdelta and PKCvarepsilon (163% and 199%, respectively). The specific mRNAs for PKCdelta (948+/-83 versus 1501+/-138 ag/ng total RNA, 30 minutes of ischemia) and PKCepsilon (1597+/-166 versus 2611+/-252 ag/ng total RNA) are selectively increased. PKCalpha and PKCzeta remain unaltered. In conclusion, two distinct activation and regulation processes of PKC are characterized in acute myocardial ischemia. The early, but transient, translocation involves all constitutively expressed cardiac isozymes of PKC, whereas in prolonged ischemia an increased total PKC activity is associated with an isozyme-selective induction of PKCepsilon and PKCdelta. Whether these fundamentally different activation processes interact remains to be elucidated.

Fatty acid transporters in plasma membranes of cardiomyocytes in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Long-chain fatty acids are one of the major cardiac energy substrates. Although the exact mechanism of myocardial fatty acid uptake is not known, several proteins, including the integral membrane proteins FATP1 (fatty acid transport protein 1) and FAT (fatty acid translocase), are being implicated in this process. The aim of this study was to further investigate FATP1 and FAT in the heart and its potential role in myocardial fatty acid utilization. - METHODS: The expression of FATP1 and FAT in mouse myocardium and in myocardial biopsies of 14 patients with different cardiomyopathies was detected by immunocytochemistry and visualized with a laser scanning microscope. - RESULTS: FAT and FATP1 are co-expressed on the plasma membrane of cardiac endothelial cells and on the sarcolemma of cardiomyocytes. The staining-pattern and the intensity of signal for both transport proteins was constant in different cardiomyopathies compared with the expression in biopsies of patients with other cardiac diseases and the expression in the myocardium of healthy mice. - CONCLUSION: Cardiac endothelial cells and cardiomyocytes express FAT and FATP1 in vivo, suggesting an active part of these proteins in the uptake process of long-chain fatty acids. However, we did not find evidence for an altered expression of fatty acid transport proteins in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, suggesting that these proteins are of minor importance in this kind of heart failure.

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.

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.