Regulation of phospholipase C in cardiac hypertrophy

Targeting G protein-coupled receptors for heart failure treatment

Heart failure remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Current treatment for patients with heart failure include drugs targeting G protein-coupled receptors such as β-adrenoceptor antagonists (β-blockers) and angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonists (or angiotensin II receptor blockers). However, many patients progress to advanced heart failure with persistent symptoms, despite treatment with available therapeutics that have been shown to reduce mortality and mortality. GPCR targets currently being explored for the development of novel heart failure therapeutics include adenosine receptor, formyl peptide receptor, relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor, vasopressin receptor, endothelin receptor and the glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor. Many GPCR drug candidates are limited by insufficient efficacy and/or dose-limiting unwanted effects. Understanding the current challenges hindering successful clinical translation and the potential to overcome existing limitations will facilitate the future development of novel heart failure therapeutics. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed issue Therapeutic Targeting of G Protein-Coupled Receptors: hot topics from the Australasian Society of Clinical and Experimental Pharmacologists and Toxicologists 2021 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v181.14/issuetoc.

Nir1-LNS2 is a novel phosphatidic acid biosensor that reveals mechanisms of lipid production

Despite various roles of phosphatidic acid (PA) in cellular functions such as lipid homeostasis and vesicular trafficking, there is a lack of high-affinity tools to study PA in live cells. After analysis of the predicted structure of the LNS2 domain in the lipid transfer protein Nir1, we suspected that this domain could serve as a novel PA biosensor. We created a fluorescently tagged Nir1-LNS2 construct and then performed liposome binding assays as well as pharmacological and genetic manipulations of HEK293A cells to determine how specific lipids affect the interaction of Nir1-LNS2 with membranes. We found that Nir1-LNS2 bound to both PA and PIP2 in vitro. Interestingly, only PA was necessary and sufficient to localize Nir1-LNS2 to membranes in cells. Nir1-LNS2 also showed a heightened responsiveness to PA when compared to biosensors using the Spo20 PA binding domain (PABD). Nir1-LNS2's high sensitivity revealed a modest but discernible contribution of PLD to PA production downstream of muscarinic receptors, which has not been visualized with previous Spo20-based probes. In summary, Nir1-LNS2 emerges as a versatile and sensitive biosensor, offering researchers a new powerful tool for real-time investigation of PA dynamics in live cells.

Reciprocal regulation of transcription factors and PLC isozyme gene expression in adult cardiomyocytes

By employing a pharmacological approach, we have shown that phospholipase C (PLC) activity is involved in the regulation of gene expression of transcription factors such as c-Fos and c-Jun in cardiomyocytes in response to norepinephrine (NE). However, there is no information available regarding the identity of specific PLC isozymes involved in the regulation of c-Fos and c-Jun or on the involvement of these transcription factors in PLC isozyme gene expression in adult cardiomyocytes. In this study, transfection of cardiomyocytes with PLC isozyme specific siRNA was found to prevent the NE-mediated increases in the corresponding PLC isozyme gene expression, protein content and activity. Unlike PLC gamma(1) gene, silencing of PLC beta(1), beta(3) and delta(1) genes with si RNA prevented the increases in c-Fos and c-Jun gene expression in response to NE. On the other hand, transfection with c-Jun si RNA suppressed the NE-induced increase in c-Jun as well as PLC beta(1), beta(3) and delta(1) gene expression, but had no effect on PLC gamma(1) gene expression. Although transfection of cardiomyocytes with c-Fos si RNA prevented NE-induced expression of c-Fos, PLC beta(1) and PLC beta(3) genes, it did not affect the increases in PLC delta(1) and PLC gamma(1) gene expression. Silencing of either c-Fos or c-Jun also depressed the NE-mediated increases in PLC beta(1), beta(3) and gamma(1) protein content and activity in an isozyme specific manner. Furthermore, silencing of all PLC isozymes as well as of c-Fos and c-Jun resulted in prevention of the NE-mediated increase in atrial natriuretic factor gene expression. These findings, by employing gene silencing techniques, demonstrate that there occurs a reciprocal regulation of transcription factors and specific PLC isozyme gene expression in cardiomyocytes.