Ali El-Armouche

Evidence for protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 playing an amplifier role in β-adrenergic signaling in cardiac myocytes

The protein phosphatase inhibitor‐1 (PPI‐1) inhibits phosphatase type‐1 (PP1) only when phosphorylated by protein kinase A and could play a pivotal role in the phosphorylation/dephosphorylation balance. Rat cardiac PPI‐1 was cloned by reverse transcriptase‐polymerase chain reaction, expressed in Eschericia coli, evaluated in phosphatase assays, and used to generate an antiserum. An adenovirus was constructed encoding PPI‐1 and green fluorescent protein (GFP) under separate cytomegalovirus promotors (AdPPI‐1/GFP). A GFP‐only virus (AdGFP) served as control. Engineered heart tissue (EHT) from neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and adult rat cardiac myocytes (ARCMs) were used as model systems. PPI‐1 expression was determined in human ventricular samples by Northern blots. Compared with AdGFP, AdPPI‐1/GFP‐infected neonatal rat cardiomyocytes displayed a 73% reduction in PP1 activity. EHTs infected with AdPPI‐1/GFP exhibited a fivefold increase in isoprenaline sensitivity. AdPPI‐1/GFP‐infected ARCMs displayed enhanced cell shortening as well as enhanced phospholamban phosphorylation when stimulated with 1 nM isoprenaline. PPI‐1 mRNA levels were reduced by 57±12% in failing hearts with dilated and ischemic cardiomyopathy (n=8 each) compared with nonfailing hearts (n=8). In summary, increased PPI‐1 expression enhances myocyte sensitivity to isoprenaline, indicating that PPI‐1 acts as an amplifier in β‐adrenergic signaling. Decreased PPI‐1 in failing human hearts could participate in desensitization of the cAMP pathway.

Phosphatase inhibitor-1-deficient mice are protected from catecholamine-induced arrhythmias and myocardial hypertrophy

AIMS Phosphatase inhibitor-1 (I-1) is a conditional amplifier of beta-adrenergic signalling downstream of protein kinase A by inhibiting type-1 phosphatases only in its PKA-phosphorylated form. I-1 is downregulated in failing hearts and thus contributes to beta-adrenergic desensitization. It is unclear whether this should be viewed as a predominantly adverse or protective response. METHODS AND RESULTS We generated transgenic mice with cardiac-specific I-1 overexpression (I-1-TG) and evaluated cardiac function and responses to catecholamines in mice with targeted disruption of the I-1 gene (I-1-KO). Both groups were compared with their wild-type (WT) littermates. I-1-TG developed cardiac hypertrophy and mild dysfunction which was accompanied by a substantial compensatory increase in PP1 abundance and activity, confounding cause-effect relationships. I-1-KO had normal heart structure with mildly reduced sensitivity, but unchanged maximal contractile responses to beta-adrenergic stimulation, both in vitro and in vivo. Notably, I-1-KO were partially protected from lethal catecholamine-induced arrhythmias and from hypertrophy and dilation induced by a 7 day infusion with the beta-adrenergic agonist isoprenaline. Moreover, I-1-KO exhibited a partially preserved acute beta-adrenergic response after chronic isoprenaline, which was completely absent in similarly treated WT. At the molecular level, I-1-KO showed lower steady-state phosphorylation of the cardiac ryanodine receptor/Ca(2+) release channel and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+)-ATPase-regulating protein phospholamban. These alterations may lower the propensity for diastolic Ca(2+) release and Ca(2+) uptake and thus stabilize the SR and account for the protection. CONCLUSION Taken together, loss of I-1 attenuates detrimental effects of catecholamines on the heart, suggesting I-1 downregulation in heart failure as a beneficial desensitization mechanism and I-1 inhibition as a potential novel strategy for heart failure treatment.

Long-term β-adrenergic stimulation leads to downregulation of protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 in the heart

Desensitization of the β‐adrenoceptor/cAMP/PKA pathway is a hallmark of heart failure. Inhibitor‐1 (I‐1) acts as a conditional amplifier of β‐adrenergic signalling downstream of PKA by inhibiting type‐1 phosphatases in the PKA‐phosphorylated form. I‐1 is downregulated in failing hearts and thus presumably contributes to β‐adrenergic desensitization. To test whether I‐1 downregulation is a consequence of excessive adrenergic drive in heart failure, rats were treated via minipumps with isoprenaline 2.4mg/kg/day (ISO) or 0.9% NaCl for 4days. As expected, chronic ISO increased heart‐to‐body weight ratio by ~40% and abolished the inotropic response to acute ISO in papillary muscles by ~50%. In the ISO‐treated hearts I‐1 mRNA and protein levels were decreased by 30% and 54%, respectively. This was accompanied by decreased phospholamban phosphorylation (−40%), a downstream target of I‐1, and a reduction in 45Ca2+ uptake (−54%) in membrane vesicles. Notably, phospholamban phosphorylation correlated significantly with I‐1 protein levels indicating a causal relationship. We conclude that I‐1 downregulation in heart failure is likely a consequence of the increased sympathetic adrenergic drive and participates in desensitization of the β‐adrenergic signalling cascade.

Treatment with atorvastatin partially protects the rat heart from harmful catecholamine effects

AIMS Atorvastatin blunts the response of cardiomyocytes to catecholamines by reducing isoprenylation of G gamma subunits. We examined whether atorvastatin exerts similar effects in vivo and protects the rat heart from harmful effects of catecholamines. METHODS AND RESULTS Rats were treated with atorvastatin (1 or 10 mg/kg x day) or H(2)O for 14 days per gavage. All three animal groups were subjected to restraint stress on day 10 and to infusions of isoprenaline (ISO; 1 mg/kg x day) or NaCl via minipumps for the last 4 days. Heart rate was measured by telemetry, left ventricular atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) transcript levels by RT-PCR, and left atrial contractile function in organ baths. Heart rate was similar in all six study groups. In animals pre-treated with water, infusion of ISO induced an increase in heart-to-body weight ratio (HW/BW) by approximately 20%, an increase in ANP mRNA by approximately 350%, and a reduction in the inotropic effect of isoprenaline in left atrium by approximately 50%. In animals pre-treated with high-dose atorvastatin, the effects of ISO on HW/BW, ANP, and left atrial force were approximately 40, 50, and 40% smaller, respectively. Low dose atorvastatin had similar, albeit smaller effects. Atorvastatin treatment of NaCl-infused rats had only marginal effects. In cardiac homogenates from atorvastatin-treated rats (both NaCl- and ISO-infused), G gamma and G alpha(s) were partially translocated from the membrane to the cytosol. CONCLUSION In the rat heart, treatment with atorvastatin results in translocation of cardiac membrane G gamma and G alpha(s) to the cytosol. This mechanism might contribute to protecting the heart from harm induced by chronic isoprenaline infusion without affecting heart rate.

Common microRNA signatures in cardiac hypertrophic and atrophic remodeling induced by changes in hemodynamic load.

Background Mechanical overload leads to cardiac hypertrophy and mechanical unloading to cardiac atrophy. Both conditions produce similar transcriptional changes including a re-expression of fetal genes, despite obvious differences in phenotype. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are discussed as superordinate regulators of global gene networks acting mainly at the translational level. Here, we hypothesized that defined sets of miRNAs may determine the direction of cardiomyocyte plasticity responses. Methodology/Principal Findings We employed ascending aortic stenosis (AS) and heterotopic heart transplantation (HTX) in syngenic Lewis rats to induce mechanical overloading and unloading, respectively. Heart weight was 26±3% higher in AS (n = 7) and 33±2% lower in HTX (n = 7) as compared to sham-operated (n = 6) and healthy controls (n = 7). Small RNAs were enriched from the left ventricles and subjected to quantitative stem-loop specific RT-PCR targeting a panel of 351 miRNAs. In total, 153 miRNAs could be unambiguously detected. Out of 72 miRNAs previously implicated in the cardiovascular system, 40 miRNAs were regulated in AS and/or HTX. Overall, HTX displayed a slightly broader activation pattern for moderately regulated miRNAs. Surprisingly, however, the regulation of individual miRNA expression was strikingly similar in direction and amplitude in AS and HTX with no miRNA being regulated in opposite direction. In contrast, fetal hearts from Lewis rats at embryonic day 18 exhibited an entirely different miRNA expression pattern. Conclusions Taken together, our findings demonstrate that opposite changes in cardiac workload induce a common miRNA expression pattern which is markedly different from the fetal miRNA expression pattern. The direction of postnatal adaptive cardiac growth does, therefore, not appear to be determined at the level of single miRNAs or a specific set of miRNAs. Moreover, miRNAs themselves are not reprogrammed to a fetal program in response to changes in hemodynamic load.

Phosphorylation of protein phosphatase inhibitor-1 by protein kinase C

Inhibitor-1 becomes a potent inhibitor of protein phosphatase 1 when phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent protein kinase at Thr35. Moreover, Ser67 of inhibitor-1 serves as a substrate for cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in the brain. Here, we report that dephosphoinhibitor-1 but not phospho-Ser67 inhibitor-1 was efficiently phosphorylated by protein kinase C at Ser65 in vitro. In contrast, Ser67 phosphorylation by cyclin-dependent kinase 5 was unaffected by phospho-Ser65. Protein kinase C activation in striatal tissue resulted in the concomitant phosphorylation of inhibitor-1 at Ser65 and Ser67, but not Ser65 alone. Selective pharmacological inhibition of protein phosphatase activity suggested that phospho-Ser65 inhibitor-1 is dephosphorylated by protein phosphatase 1 in the striatum. In vitro studies confirmed these findings and suggested that phospho-Ser67 protects phospho-Ser65 inhibitor-1 from dephosphorylation by protein phosphatase 1 in vivo. Activation of group I metabotropic glutamate receptors resulted in the up-regulation of diphospho-Ser65/Ser67 inhibitor-1 in this tissue. In contrast, the activation of N-methyl-d-aspartate-type ionotropic glutamate receptors opposed increases in striatal diphospho-Ser65/Ser67 inhibitor-1 levels. Phosphomimetic mutation of Ser65 and/or Ser67 did not convert inhibitor-1 into a protein phosphatase 1 inhibitor. On the other hand, in vitro and in vivo studies suggested that diphospho-Ser65/Ser67 inhibitor-1 is a poor substrate for cAMP-dependent protein kinase. These observations extend earlier studies regarding the function of phospho-Ser67 and underscore the possibility that phosphorylation in this region of inhibitor-1 by multiple protein kinases may serve as an integrative signaling mechanism that governs the responsiveness of inhibitor-1 to cAMP-dependent protein kinase activation.

Mechanical unloading of the rat heart involves marked changes in the protein kinase–phosphatase balance

Mechanical unloading of failing hearts by left ventricular (LV) assist devices is regularly used as a bridge to transplantation and may lead to symptomatic improvement. The latter has been associated with altered phosphorylation of cardiac regulatory proteins, but the underlying mechanisms remained unknown. Here, we tested whether cardiac unloading alters protein phosphorylation by affecting the corresponding kinase-phosphatase balance. Cardiac unloading and reduction in LV mass were induced by heterotopic heart transplantation in rats for two weeks (n=8). Native in situ hearts from the recipient animals were used as controls (n=8). The steady-state protein kinase A (PKA) and/or Ca(2+)-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) phosphorylation levels of phospholamban (PLB, Ser(16) and Thr(17)) and troponin I (TnI, Ser(23/24)) were decreased by 40-60% in unloaded hearts. Consistently, in these hearts PKA activity was decreased by approximately 80% and the activity of protein phosphatase 1 and 2A was increased by 50% and 90%, respectively. In contrast, CaMKII activity was approximately 60% higher, which may serve as a partial compensation. These data indicate that unloading shifts the kinase-phosphatase balance towards net dephosphorylation of PLB and TnI. This shift may also contribute to the reduction in phosphorylation levels of cardiac phosphoproteins observed in diseased human hearts after LVAD.