Proteomic analyses of age related changes in A.BY/SnJ mouse hearts

HDAC (Histone Deacetylase) Inhibitor Valproic Acid Attenuates Atrial Remodeling and Delays the Onset of Atrial Fibrillation in Mice

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Background:

A structural, electrical and metabolic atrial remodeling is central in the development of atrial fibrillation (AF) contributing to its initiation and perpetuation. In the heart, HDACs (histone deacetylases) control remodeling associated processes like hypertrophy, fibrosis, and energy metabolism. Here, we analyzed, whether the HDAC class I/IIa inhibitor valproic acid (VPA) is able to attenuate atrial remodeling in CREM-IbΔC-X (cAMP responsive element modulator isoform IbΔC-X) transgenic mice, a mouse model of extensive atrial remodeling with age-dependent progression from spontaneous atrial ectopy to paroxysmal and finally long-lasting AF.

Methods:

VPA was administered for 7 or 25 weeks to transgenic and control mice. Atria were analyzed macroscopically and using widefield and electron microscopy. Action potentials were recorded from atrial cardiomyocytes using patch-clamp technique. ECG recordings documented the onset of AF. A proteome analysis with consecutive pathway mapping identified VPA-mediated proteomic changes and related pathways.

Results:

VPA attenuated many components of atrial remodeling that are present in transgenic mice, animal AF models, and human AF. VPA significantly (P<0.05) reduced atrial dilatation, cardiomyocyte enlargement, atrial fibrosis, and the disorganization of myocyte’s ultrastructure. It significantly reduced the occurrence of atrial thrombi, reversed action potential alterations, and finally delayed the onset of AF by 4 to 8 weeks. Increased histone H4-acetylation in atria from VPA-treated transgenic mice verified effective in vivo HDAC inhibition. Cardiomyocyte-specific genetic inactivation of HDAC2 in transgenic mice attenuated the ultrastructural disorganization of myocytes comparable to VPA. Finally, VPA restrained dysregulation of proteins in transgenic mice that are involved in a multitude of AF relevant pathways like oxidative phosphorylation or RhoA (Ras homolog gene family, member A) signaling and disease functions like cardiac fibrosis and apoptosis of muscle cells.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that VPA, clinically available, well-tolerated, and prescribed to many patients for years, has the therapeutic potential to delay the development of atrial remodeling and the onset of AF in patients at risk.

The repressor and co-activator HsfB1 regulates the major heat stress transcription factors in tomato

Plants code for a multitude of heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs). Three of them act as central regulators of heat stress (HS) response in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum). HsfA1a regulates the initial response, and HsfA2 controls acquired thermotolerance. HsfB1 is a transcriptional repressor but can also act as co-activator of HsfA1a. Currently, the mode of action and the relevance of the dual function of HsfB1 remain elusive. We examined this in HsfB1 overexpression or suppression transgenic tomato lines. Proteome analysis revealed that HsfB1 overexpression stimulates the co-activator function of HsfB1 and consequently the accumulation of HS-related proteins under non-stress conditions. Plants with enhanced levels of HsfB1 show aberrant growth and development but enhanced thermotolerance. HsfB1 suppression has no significant effect prior to stress. Upon HS, HsfB1 suppression strongly enhances the induction of heat shock proteins due to the higher activity of other HS-induced Hsfs, resulting in increased thermotolerance compared with wild-type. Thereby, HsfB1 acts as co-activator of HsfA1a for several Hsps, but as a transcriptional repressor on other Hsfs, including HsfA1b and HsfA2. The dual function explains the activation of chaperones to enhance protection and regulate the balance between growth and stress response upon deviations from the homeostatic levels of HsfB1.

Integration of "omics" techniques: Dronedarone affects cardiac remodeling in the infarction border zone

Dronedarone improves microvascular flow during atrial fibrillation and reduces the infarct size in acute models of myocardial infarction. However, dronedarone might be harmful in patients with recent decompensated heart failure and increases mortality in patients with permanent atrial fibrillation. A pathophysiological explanation for these discrepant data is lacking. This study investigated the effects of dronedarone on gene and protein expression in the infarcted area and border zone in pigs subjected to anterior ischemia/reperfusion myocardial infarction. The ischemia/reperfusion myocardial infarction was induced in 16 pigs. Eight pigs were treated with dronedarone for 28 days after myocardial infarction, the remaining pigs served as control. Microarray-based transcriptome profiling and 2D-DIGE-based proteome analysis were used to assess the effects of dronedarone on left ventricular gene expression in healthy (LV), infarcted (MI), and border zone tissue. Selected targets were validated by RT-qPCR or immunoblot analyses, with special emphasize given to the transcriptome/proteome overlap. Combined "omics" analysis was performed to identify most significant disease and function charts affected by dronedarone and to establish an integrated network. The levels of 879 (BZ) or 7 (MI) transcripts and 51 (LV) or 15 (BZ) proteins were significantly altered by dronedarone, pointing to a substantial efficacy of dronedarone in the border zone. Transcriptome and proteome data indicate that dronedarone influences post-infarction remodeling processes and identify matricellular proteins as major targets of dronedarone in this setting. This finding is fully supported by the disease and function charts as well as by the integrated network established by combined "omics". Dronedarone therapy alters myocardial gene expression after acute myocardial infarction with pronounced effects in the border zone. Dronedarone promotes infarct healing via regulation of periostin and might contribute to the limitation of its expansion as well as cardiac rupture. Thus, there are no experimental hints that dronedarone per se has direct harmful effects after MI in ventricular tissue. Impact statement Dronedarone reduced the infarct size in models of acute myocardial infarction (MI). Here, we show that dronedarone attenuates many of the substantial changes in gene expression that are provoked by acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in pigs. Dronedarone modifies the expression of gene panels related to post-infarction cardiac healing and remodeling processes and, most remarkably, this occurs predominantly in the infarction border-zone and much less so in the vital or infarcted myocardium. Combined "omics" identified matricellular proteins and ECM as major dronedarone-regulated targets and emphasizes their relevance for Disease Charts and Tox Function Charts associated with tissue remodeling and cellular movement. The results demonstrate dronedarone's capability of regulating cardiac repair and remodeling processes specifically in the infarction border zone and identify underlying mechanisms and pathways that might be employed in future therapeutic strategies to improve long-term cardiac tissue function and stability.

Sex differences in murine myocardium are not exclusively regulated by gonadal hormones

We investigated sex differences in cardiac protein patterns of intact and castrated mice using proteomics and 1D and 2D immunoblotting. To exclude differences concerning developmental aspects gonadectomy was conducted in mature mice at the age of three months. The main sex-related regulation in the protein pattern of the myocardium occurred for proteins involved in metabolic processes whereas only few proteins involved in other pathways underwent a regulation. Many regulated proteins (2/3) displayed a characteristic V form, which means that these proteins are up- or down-regulated in sexually mature compared to young mice and are back-regulated after castration, emphasizing a direct regulation by gonadal hormones. Several other spots (1/3) showed the same male/female regulation or a drastic increase in male/female spot intensity ratio after castration, suggesting either a regulation independent of sex hormones or a removal of an inhibiting feedback mechanism by gonadectomy. Technically, we found that it cannot be expected that a single spot contains only one protein species and that one protein is present in only one spot. We thus propose for proteomic investigations to identify/quantify all spots of a 2-DE pattern to obtain information about protein speciation and its potential importance for function and pathology.

BIOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Sex related differences in cardiovascular disease, including risk factors, disease manifestation and outcomes, are far from being well understood, and improved biological understanding of these differences in the healthy myocardium is of great importance. We investigated sex related changes of myocardial protein pattern in intact and castrated mice at different ages and found metabolic proteins to be highly regulated, some of which independently from gonadal hormones.

Gene expression hallmarks of cellular ageing

Ageing leads to dramatic changes in the physiology of many different tissues resulting in a spectrum of pathology. Nonetheless, many lines of evidence suggest that ageing is driven by highly conserved cell intrinsic processes, and a set of unifying hallmarks of ageing has been defined. Here, we survey reports of age-linked changes in basal gene expression across eukaryotes from yeast to human and identify six gene expression hallmarks of cellular ageing: downregulation of genes encoding mitochondrial proteins; downregulation of the protein synthesis machinery; dysregulation of immune system genes; reduced growth factor signalling; constitutive responses to stress and DNA damage; dysregulation of gene expression and mRNA processing. These encompass widely reported features of ageing such as increased senescence and inflammation, reduced electron transport chain activity and reduced ribosome synthesis, but also reveal a surprising lack of gene expression responses to known age-linked cellular stresses. We discuss how the existence of conserved transcriptomic hallmarks relates to genome-wide epigenetic differences underlying ageing clocks, and how the changing transcriptome results in proteomic alterations where data is available and to variations in cell physiology characteristic of ageing. Identification of gene expression events that occur during ageing across distant organisms should be informative as to conserved underlying mechanisms of ageing, and provide additional biomarkers to assess the effects of diet and other environmental factors on the rate of ageing.

Proteomic analysis of short-term preload-induced eccentric cardiac hypertrophy

BACKGROUND

Hemodynamic load leads to cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. While afterload (pressure overload) induces concentric hypertrophy, elevation of preload (volume overload) yields eccentric hypertrophy and is associated with a better outcome. Here we analysed the proteomic pattern of mice subjected to short-term preload.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Female FVB/N mice were subjected to aortocaval shunt-induced volume overload that leads to an eccentric hypertrophy (left ventricular weight/tibia length +31 %) with sustained systolic heart function at 1 week after operation. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2-DE) followed by mass spectrometric analysis showed alteration in the expression of 25 protein spots representing 21 different proteins. 64 % of these protein spots were up-regulated and 36 % of the protein spots were consistently down-regulated. Interestingly, α-1-antitrypsin was down-regulated, indicating higher elastin degradation and possibly contributing to the early dilatation. In addition to contractile and mitochondrial proteins, polymerase I and transcript release factor protein (PTRF) was also up-regulated, possibly contributing to the preload-induced signal transduction.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings reveal the proteomic changes of early-stage eccentric myocardial remodeling after volume overload. Induced expression of some of the respiratory chain enzymes suggests a metabolic shift towards an oxidative phosphorylation that might contribute to the favorable remodeling seen in early VO. Down-regulation of α-1-antitrypsin might contribute to extracellular matrix remodeling and left ventricular dilatation. We also identified PTRF as a potential signaling regulator of volume overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy.

The proteome profiles of the olfactory bulb of juvenile, adult and aged rats - an ontogenetic study

Background

In this study, we searched for proteins that change their expression in the olfactory bulb (oB) of rats during ontogenesis. Up to now, protein expression differences in the developing animal are not fully understood. Our investigation focused on the question whether specific proteins exist which are only expressed during different development stages. This might lead to a better characterization of the microenvironment and to a better determination of factors and candidates that influence the differentiation of neuronal progenitor cells.

Results

After analyzing the samples by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2DE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS), it could be shown that the number of expressed proteins differs depending on the developmental stages. Especially members of the functional classes, like proteins of biosynthesis, regulatory proteins and structural proteins, show the highest differential expression in the stages of development analyzed.

Conclusion

In this study, quantitative changes in the expression of proteins in the oB at different developmental stages (postnatal days (P) 7, 90 and 637) could be observed. Furthermore, the expression of many proteins was found at specific developmental stages. It was possible to identify these proteins which are involved in processes like support of cell migration and differentiation.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12953-014-0058-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Proteomic profiling of the dystrophin-deficient mdx phenocopy of dystrophinopathy-associated cardiomyopathy

Cardiorespiratory complications are frequent symptoms of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a neuromuscular disorder caused by primary abnormalities in the dystrophin gene. Loss of cardiac dystrophin initially leads to changes in dystrophin-associated glycoproteins and subsequently triggers secondarily sarcolemmal disintegration, fibre necrosis, fibrosis, fatty tissue replacement, and interstitial inflammation. This results in progressive cardiac disease, which is the cause of death in a considerable number of patients afflicted with X-linked muscular dystrophy. In order to better define the molecular pathogenesis of this type of cardiomyopathy, several studies have applied mass spectrometry-based proteomics to determine proteome-wide alterations in dystrophinopathy-associated cardiomyopathy. Proteomic studies included both gel-based and label-free mass spectrometric surveys of dystrophin-deficient heart muscle from the established mdx animal model of dystrophinopathy. Comparative cardiac proteomics revealed novel changes in proteins associated with mitochondrial energy metabolism, glycolysis, signaling, iron binding, antibody response, fibre contraction, basal lamina stabilisation, and cytoskeletal organisation. This review summarizes the importance of studying cardiomyopathy within the field of muscular dystrophy research, outlines key features of the mdx heart and its suitability as a model system for studying cardiac pathogenesis, and discusses the impact of recent proteomic findings for exploring molecular and cellular aspects of cardiac abnormalities in inherited muscular dystrophies.