Kenneth Walsh

Adiponectin deficiency exacerbates cardiac dysfunction following pressure overload through disruption of an AMPK-dependent angiogenic response

Although increasing evidence indicates that an adipokine adiponectin exerts protective actions on heart, its effects on coronary angiogenesis following pressure overload have not been examined previously. Because disruption of angiogenesis during heart growth leads to contractile dysfunction and heart failure, we hypothesized that adiponectin modulates cardiac remodeling in response to pressure overload through its ability to regulate adaptive angiogenesis. Adiponectin-knockout (APN-KO) and wild-type (WT) mice were subjected to pressure overload caused by transverse aortic constriction (TAC). APN-KO mice exhibited greater cardiac hypertrophy, pulmonary congestion, left ventricular (LV) interstitial fibrosis and LV systolic dysfunction after TAC surgery compared with WT mice. APN-KO mice also displayed reduced capillary density in the myocardium after TAC, which was accompanied by a significant decrease in expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Inhibition of AMPK in WT mice resulted in aggravated LV systolic function, attenuated myocardial capillary density and decreased VEGF expression in response to TAC. The adverse effects of AMPK inhibition on cardiac function and angiogenic response following TAC were diminished in APN-KO mice relative to WT mice. Moreover, adenovirus-mediated VEGF delivery reversed the TAC-induced deficiencies in cardiac microvessel formation and ventricular function observed in the APN-KO mice. In cultured cardiac myocytes, adiponectin treatment stimulated VEGF production, which was inhibited by inactivation of AMPK signaling pathway. Collectively, these data show that adiponectin deficiency can accelerate the transition from cardiac hypertrophy to heart failure during pressure overload through disruption of AMPK-dependent angiogenic regulatory axis.

Sca1-Derived Cells Are a Source of Myocardial Renewal in the Murine Adult Heart

Summary Although the mammalian heart is one of the least regenerative organs in the body, recent evidence indicates that the myocardium undergoes a certain degree of renewal to maintain homeostasis during normal aging. However, the cellular origin of cardiomyocyte renewal has remained elusive due to lack of lineage tracing experiments focusing on putative adult cardiac precursor cells. We have generated triple-transgenic mice based on the tet-cre system to identify descendants of cells that have expressed the stem cell marker Sca1. We found a significant and lasting contribution of Sca1-derived cells to cardiomyocytes during normal aging. Ischemic damage and pressure overload resulted in increased differentiation of Sca1-derived cells to the different cell types present in the heart. Our results reveal a source of cells for cardiomyocyte renewal and provide a possible explanation for the limited contribution of Sca1-derived cells to myocardial repair under pathological conditions.

Secreted Frizzled-related Protein 5 Diminishes Cardiac Inflammation and Protects the Heart from Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

Wnt signaling has diverse actions in cardiovascular development and disease processes. Secreted frizzled-related protein 5 (Sfrp5) has been shown to function as an extracellular inhibitor of non-canonical Wnt signaling that is expressed at relatively high levels in white adipose tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of Sfrp5 in the heart under ischemic stress. Sfrp5 KO and WT mice were subjected to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R). Although Sfrp5-KO mice exhibited no detectable phenotype when compared with WT control at baseline, they displayed larger infarct sizes, enhanced cardiac myocyte apoptosis, and diminished cardiac function following I/R. The ischemic lesions of Sfrp5-KO mice had greater infiltration of Wnt5a-positive macrophages and greater inflammatory cytokine and chemokine gene expression when compared with WT mice. In bone marrow-derived macrophages, Wnt5a promoted JNK activation and increased inflammatory gene expression, whereas treatment with Sfrp5 blocked these effects. These results indicate that Sfrp5 functions to antagonize inflammatory responses after I/R in the heart, possibly through a mechanism involving non-canonical Wnt5a/JNK signaling.

Follistatin-Like 3 Mediates Paracrine Fibroblast Activation by Cardiomyocytes

Follistatins are extracellular inhibitors of the TGF-β family ligands including activin A, myostatin and bone morphogenetic proteins. Follistatin-like 3 (FSTL3) is a potent inhibitor of activin signalling and antagonises the cardioprotective role of activin A in the heart. FSTL3 expression is elevated in patients with heart failure and is upregulated in cardiomyocytes by hypertrophic stimuli, but its role in cardiac remodelling is largely unknown. Here, we show that the production of FSTL3 by cardiomyocytes contributes to the paracrine activation of cardiac fibroblasts, inducing changes in cell adhesion, promoting proliferation and increasing collagen production. We found that FSTL3 is necessary for this response and for the induction of cardiac fibrosis. However, full activation requires additional factors, and we identify connective tissue growth factor as a FSTL3 binding partner in this process. Together, our data unveil a novel mechanism of paracrine communication between cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts that may provide potential as a therapeutic target in heart remodelling.