Browsing by Author "Leosco, Dario"
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Item Open Access GRK2 blockade with βARKct is essential for cardiac β2-adrenergic receptor signaling towards increased contractility.(Cell communication and signaling : CCS, 2013-08) Salazar, Norma C; Vallejos, Ximena; Siryk, Ashley; Rengo, Giuseppe; Cannavo, Alessandro; Liccardo, Daniela; De Lucia, Claudio; Gao, Erhe; Leosco, Dario; Koch, Walter J; Lymperopoulos, AnastasiosBackground
β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors (ARs) play distinct roles in the heart, e.g. β1AR is pro-contractile and pro-apoptotic but β2AR anti-apoptotic and only weakly pro-contractile. G protein coupled receptor kinase (GRK)-2 desensitizes and opposes βAR pro-contractile signaling by phosphorylating the receptor and inducing beta-arrestin (βarr) binding. We posited herein that GRK2 blockade might enhance the pro-contractile signaling of the β2AR subtype in the heart. We tested the effects of cardiac-targeted GRK2 inhibition in vivo exclusively on β2AR signaling under normal conditions and in heart failure (HF).Results
We crossed β1AR knockout (B1KO) mice with cardiac-specific transgenic mice expressing the βARKct, a known GRK2 inhibitor, and studied the offspring under normal conditions and in post-myocardial infarction (MI). βARKct expression in vivo proved essential for β2AR-dependent contractile function, as β2AR stimulation with isoproterenol fails to increase contractility in either healthy or post-MI B1KO mice and it only does so in the presence of βARKct. The main underlying mechanism for this is blockade of the interaction of phosphodiesterase (PDE) type 4D with the cardiac β2AR, which is normally mediated by the actions of GRK2 and βarrs on the receptor. The molecular "brake" that PDE4D poses on β2AR signaling to contractility stimulation is thus "released". Regarding the other beneficial functions of cardiac β2AR, βARKct increased overall survival of the post-MI B1KO mice progressing to HF, via a decrease in cardiac apoptosis and an increase in wound healing-associated inflammation early (at 24 hrs) post-MI. However, these effects disappear by 4 weeks post-MI, and, in their place, upregulation of the other major GRK in the heart, GRK5, is observed.Conclusions
GRK2 inhibition in vivo with βARKct is absolutely essential for cardiac β2AR pro-contractile signaling and function. In addition, β2AR anti-apoptotic signaling in post-MI HF is augmented by βARKct, although this effect is short-lived.Item Open Access Long-Term Caloric Restriction Improves Cardiac Function, Remodeling, Adrenergic Responsiveness, and Sympathetic Innervation in a Model of Postischemic Heart Failure.(Circulation. Heart failure, 2018-03) de Lucia, Claudio; Gambino, Giuseppina; Petraglia, Laura; Elia, Andrea; Komici, Klara; Femminella, Grazia Daniela; D'Amico, Maria Loreta; Formisano, Roberto; Borghetti, Giulia; Liccardo, Daniela; Nolano, Maria; Houser, Steven R; Leosco, Dario; Ferrara, Nicola; Koch, Walter J; Rengo, GiuseppeBackground
Caloric restriction (CR) has been described to have cardioprotective effects and improve functional outcomes in animal models and humans. Chronic ischemic heart failure (HF) is associated with reduced cardiac sympathetic innervation, dysfunctional β-adrenergic receptor signaling, and decreased cardiac inotropic reserve. We tested the effects of a long-term CR diet, started late after myocardial infarction on cardiac function, sympathetic innervation, and β-adrenergic receptor responsiveness in a rat model of postischemic HF.Methods and results
Adult male rats were randomly assigned to myocardial infarction or sham operation and 4 weeks later were further randomized to a 1-year CR or normal diet. One year of CR resulted in a significant reduction in body weight, heart weight, and heart weight/tibia length ratio when compared with normal diet in HF groups. At the end of the study period, echocardiography and histology revealed that HF animals under the CR diet had ameliorated left ventricular remodeling compared with HF rats fed with normal diet. Invasive hemodynamic showed a significant improvement of cardiac inotropic reserve in CR HF rats compared with HF-normal diet animals. Importantly, CR dietary regimen was associated with a significant increase of cardiac sympathetic innervation and with normalized cardiac β-adrenergic receptor levels in HF rats when compared with HF rats on the standard diet.Conclusions
We demonstrate, for the first time, that chronic CR, when started after HF established, can ameliorate cardiac dysfunction and improve inotropic reserve. At the molecular level, we find that chronic CR diet significantly improves sympathetic cardiac innervation and β-adrenergic receptor levels in failing myocardium.Item Open Access Negative impact of β-arrestin-1 on post-myocardial infarction heart failure via cardiac and adrenal-dependent neurohormonal mechanisms.(Hypertension (Dallas, Tex. : 1979), 2014-02) Bathgate-Siryk, Ashley; Dabul, Samalia; Pandya, Krunal; Walklett, Karlee; Rengo, Giuseppe; Cannavo, Alessandro; De Lucia, Claudio; Liccardo, Daniela; Gao, Erhe; Leosco, Dario; Koch, Walter J; Lymperopoulos, Anastasiosβ-Arrestin (βarr)-1 and β-arrestin-2 (βarrs) are universal G-protein-coupled receptor adapter proteins that negatively regulate cardiac β-adrenergic receptor (βAR) function via βAR desensitization and downregulation. In addition, they mediate G-protein-independent βAR signaling, which might be beneficial, for example, antiapoptotic, for the heart. However, the specific role(s) of each βarr isoform in cardiac βAR dysfunction, the molecular hallmark of chronic heart failure (HF), remains unknown. Furthermore, adrenal βarr1 exacerbates HF by chronically enhancing adrenal production and hence circulating levels of aldosterone and catecholamines. Herein, we sought to delineate specific roles of βarr1 in post-myocardial infarction (MI) HF by testing the effects of βarr1 genetic deletion on normal and post-MI cardiac function and morphology. We studied βarr1 knockout (βarr1KO) mice alongside wild-type controls under normal conditions and after surgical MI. Normal (sham-operated) βarr1KO mice display enhanced βAR-dependent contractility and post-MI βarr1KO mice enhanced overall cardiac function (and βAR-dependent contractility) compared with wild type. Post-MI βarr1KO mice also show increased survival and decreased cardiac infarct size, apoptosis, and adverse remodeling, as well as circulating catecholamines and aldosterone, compared with post-MI wild type. The underlying mechanisms, on one hand, improved cardiac βAR signaling and function, as evidenced by increased βAR density and procontractile signaling, via reduced cardiac βAR desensitization because of cardiac βarr1 absence, and, on the other hand, decreased production leading to lower circulating levels of catecholamines and aldosterone because of adrenal βarr1 absence. Thus, βarr1, via both cardiac and adrenal effects, is detrimental for cardiac structure and function and significantly exacerbates post-MI HF.