O Cor pulmonale induzido pela administração intraperitoneal de monocrotalina é um dos modelos mais utilizados para estudar os efeitos dessa síndrome sobre o sistema cardiovascular. Essa síndrome é caracterizada por um desequilíbrio no estado redox celular e uma consequente alteração no imunoconteúdo de proteínas sinalizadoras para a hipertrofia e insuficiência cardíaca. Normalmente, o peróxido de hidrogênio caracteriza-se como a espécie reativa do oxigênio mais estável, e por isso, a molécula mais envolvida com a modulação dessa sinalização. O exercício físico aeróbio tem sido extensamente estudado devido ao fato de ser uma prática que altera o estado redox celular e, consequentemente, a sinalização nos cardiomiócitos. Dessa forma, o objetivo deste estudo foi testar a hipótese de que o exercício físico poderia modular o estado redox no ventrículo direito em animais tratados com monocrotalina e, ao mesmo tempo, provocar alterações na sinalização celular, estrutura e função cardíaca. Ratos Wistar machos com aproximadamente 180 gramas de massa corporal foram treinados por quatro semanas após a injeção de monocrotalina ou solução salina. Os grupos experimentais (n=6-9 animais/grupo) foram: controle sedentário (CS) – ratos sedentários que receberam uma dose única de solução salina (i.p), monocrotalina sedentário (MS) – ratos sedentários que receberam uma dose única de monocrotalina (i.p), controle treinado (CT) - ratos treinados que receberam uma dose única de solução salina (i.p) e monocrotalina treinado (MT) - ratos treinados que receberam uma dose única de monocrotalina (i.p). As medidas hemodinâmicas foram realizadas após 24 horas da última sessão de exercício físico aeróbio. Os dados de pressão diastólica final do ventrículo direito (PDFVD), pressão sistólica do ventrículo direito (PSVD), derivada pressão/tempo máxima (dP/dtmax) e derivada pressão/tempo mínima (dP/dtmin) foram analisados. Após a análise hemodinâmica, os ratos foram mortos por deslocamento cervical e seus órgãos (coração, pulmão e fígado) foram coletados para análises morfométricas, bioquímicas e moleculares. As concentrações de peróxido de hidrogênio e a relação GSH/GSSG foram medidas obtidas com o objetivo de verificar o estado redox nos diferentes grupos experimentais. A massa dos órgãos foi utilizada para analisar a hipertrofia cardíaca, congestão pulmonar e hepática. A massa ventricular direita foi utlizada em cortes histológicos e para a análise de proteínas relacionadas com o remodelamento cardíaco pela técnica de Western Blot. A administração de monocrotalina provocou hipertrofia do ventrículo direito, congestão pulmonar, aumento da PDFVD, da PSVD, da dP/dtmax e da dP/dtmin nos animais MS e MT. Além disso, nos animais MS e CT, notamos uma redução nas concentrações de peróxido de hidrogênio, sugerindo uma modificação do sistema de defesa antioxidante provocada pela monocrotalina e pelo exercício físico. Já quanto ao volume de vasos, no grupo MS tivemos uma diminuição dessa variável em relação ao seu controle (CS), sendo que, o exercício físico preveniu este efeito nos animais MT em relação ao grupo MS. O exercício físico aeróbio promoveu uma redução no volume intersticial e na espessura da túnica média da artéria pulmonar nos animais MT. A monocrotalina provocou uma redução na relação p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β no grupo MT, sendo que que o exercício físico foi capaz de provocar um aumento nessa relação. Dessa forma, acreditamos que o exercício físico aeróbio possa alterar a função de proteínas redox-sensíveis e, dessa forma, modular a hipertrofia cardíaca nos animais que receberam a monocrotalina. / The Cor pulmonale induced by monocrotaline intraperitoneal administration is one of the most widel used models to study the effects of this syndrome on the cardiovascular system. This syndrome is characterized by an imbalance in cellular redox state and a consequent change in immunocontent of signaling proteins for hypertrophy and heart failure. Mostly, hydrogen peroxide is characterized as the most stable reactive oxygen species, and therefore the most involved molecule in the modulation of these signaling pathways. The aerobic exercise has been extensively studied due to the fact that it is a practice that alters the cellular redox state and thus signaling in cardiomyocytes. Thus, the aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that exercise could modulate the redox state of the right ventricle in animals treated with monocrotaline and, at the same time, cause changes in cell signaling, structure and cardiac function. Male Wistar rats approximately 180 grams of body mass were trained for four weeks after injection of monocrotaline or saline. The experimental groups (n = 6-9 animals / group) were: sedentary control (SC) - sedentary rats that received a single dose of saline (ip), sedentary monocrotaline (SM) - sedentary rats that received a single dose of monocrotaline (ip), trained control (TC) - trained rats that received a single dose of saline (ip) and trained monocrotaline (TM) - trained rats that received a single dose of monocrotaline (ip). Hemodynamic measurements were performed 24 hours after the last session of aerobic exercise. Data for end-diastolic pressure of the right ventricle (EDPRV), right ventricular systolic pressure (RVSP), maximum derived from pressure/time (dP/ dtmax) and minimum derived pressure/time (dP/dtmin) were analyzed. After hemodynamic analysis, mice were killed by cervical dislocation and their organs (heart, lung and liver) were colected. The hydrogen peroxide concentrations and GSH/GSSG are measurements with the aim of verifying the redox state in different experimental groups. The organ weights was used to analyze cardiac hypertrophy, pulmonary and hepatic congestion. A portion of the right ventricular mass was utilized for histological examination and other part fot analyze proteins related to cardiac remodeling, by Western blot. Morphometric analysis were performed after the removal of organs. Administration of monocrotaline caused right ventricular hypertrophy, pulmonary congestion, increased EDPRV, RVSP, dP/dtmax and dP/dtmin in SM and TM animals. Furthermore, in animals and SM and TC, we visualized a reduction in the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide, suggesting a change in the antioxidant defense system caused by monocrotaline and by exercise. Already for the volume of vessels in the SM group, we note a decrease of this variable in relation to its control (SC). At the same time, TM animals had an increase in the volume of vessels in relation to the SM group, showing that exercise promotes an increase in this item. The aerobic exercise promoted a decrease in interstitial volume and thickness of the muscle layer of the pulmonary artery in animals TM. The monocrotaline caused a decrease in the p-GSK-3β/GSK-3β in the TM group, showed that exercise was able to cause an increase in this ratio. Thus, we believe that aerobic exercise can alter the function of signaling proteins and thereby modulate cardiac hypertrophy in animals that received monocrotaline.

Orientador: Miguel Arcanjo Areas / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T09:28:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Cabrini_FernandaPenereiroHenrique_M.pdf: 1657467 bytes, checksum: 7c816d3914b81e0a3be2f7be4b123777 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: A Hipertensão Arterial Pulmonar (HAP) é uma doença cardiopulmonar caracterizada pelo aumento da resistência dos vasos pulmonares, progredindo para um aumento na pressão arterial pulmonar e hipertrofia do ventrículo direito, prejudicando a função pulmonar, no que diz respeito à perfusão dos gases. Este quadro pode levar à falência cardíaca. A HAP pode ser induzida em animais com administração de Monocrotalina (MCT), substância que exerce sua toxicidade em poucos dias. Com relação à função cardíaca, a HAP torna o coração menos eficiente em suprir as necessidades metabólicas do organismo, acarretando em outras anormalidades como a redução da tolerância ao exercício e a diminuição do condicionamento físico, comprometendo, assim, a qualidade de vida. Além disso, o principal fator relacionado à fisiopatologia de HAP é a disfunção endotelial, com aumento na produção e liberação de substâncias vasoconstritoras e diminuição da produção e liberação de substâncias vasodilatadoras. Este trabalho teve por objetivo implantar o modelo experimental de Hipertensão Arterial Pulmonar induzida por monocrotalina em ratos Wistar machos adultos no laboratório cardiovascular de esforço, através da determinação da atividade elétrica cardíaca pelo registro do eletrocardiograma, da pressão arterial sistêmica, da reatividade vascular e da histologia cardíaca, pulmonar e hepática. Os animais tratados com monocrotalina apresentaram aumento do peso relativo cardíaco e pulmonar, aumento da espessura arterial pulmonar, hipertrofia ventricular direita, megalocitose hepática, redução do peso corpóreo, alterações eletrocardiográficas indicativas de risco de morte súbita, redução da pressão arterial média e diminuição da resposta máxima à noradrenalina da artéria pulmonar. Esses resultados permitiram concluir que esses animais tornaram-se portadores de HAP estabelecendo-se, portanto, um modelo para estudos de intervenções terapêuticas relativas a essa doença. / Abstract: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a life-threatening, progressive disorder of pulmonary blood vessels leading to an increase in pressure in pulmonary artery, that ultimately causes right ventricle heart failure with a lethal outcome. PAH can be induced, in animals, pharmacologically, by Monocrotaline (MCT) administration, which exerts its toxic effects in a few days.With regard to cardiac function, PAH makes the heart less efficient, resulting in abnormalities such as exercise intolerance and physical fitness decline, therefore, quality of life impairment.Moreover, the main factor related to the pathophysiology of PAH is endothelial dysfunction, leading to an increase in production and release of vasoconstrictor substances and reduction in production and release of vasodilators substances. The purpose of this study was to propose a Monocrotaline-induced Pulmonary Hypertension model in Wistar male rats, through Electrocardiogram (ECG) analysis, mean arterial blood pressure, vascular reactivity technique; and cardiac, pulmonary and hepatic morphology. Animals treated with monocrotalina showed increased relative weight of heart and lung, increased pulmonary artery thickness, right ventricular hypertrophy, megalocytosis liver, decrease body weight, electrocardiographic changes indicative of risk of sudden death, reduction of mean arterial pressure and decreased maximum response to norepinephrine artery lung. These results showed that these animals become carriers of PAH-setting is therefore a model for studies of therapeutic interventions for this disease. / Mestrado / Fisiologia / Mestre em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Orientador: Dora Maria Grassi Kassisse / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-20T10:02:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Crege_DaniloRobertoXavierdeOliveira_D.pdf: 1062657 bytes, checksum: 6d99ee0443e8bca419a135928e80df63 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: A mudança no estilo de vida, principalmente por conta do sedentarismo e da ingestão de dietas com grandes quantidades calóricas, tem aumentado significativamente a prevalência de doenças crônico-degenerativas na população. Diversas pesquisas mostram que a obesidade é responsável por predispor uma grande variedade de distúrbios metabólicos que muitas vezes aparecem combinados levando a chamada síndrome metabólica. A síndrome metabólica é caracterizada pela presença de um grupo de fatores de risco como obesidade central, resistência à insulina, aumento da pressão arterial e esteatose hepática. Nosso laboratório realiza desde 1996, estudos envolvendo a utilização de dietas hiperlipídicas e as implicações nestes tecidos, a fim de contribuir para o esclarecimento de como cardiopatias e alterações metabólicas são instaladas nestes modelos. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar as alterações metabólicas e cardiovasculares em ratos submetidos ao tratamento com dieta hiperlipídica por quatro semanas e comparar com outros modelos estudados no laboratório. Para análise das alterações metabólicas nos ratos que fizeram ingesta da dieta hiperlipídica foram utilizadas técnicas de: clamp euglicêmicohiperinsulinêmico, isolamento de adipócitos do panículo epididimal para verificação da captação de glicose e produção de lactato e glicerol, além da análise morfométrica destes adipócitos. A análise das alterações cardiovasculares foi realizada utilizando parâmetros eletrocardiográficos e procedimentos de histologia cardíaca. Nossos resultados mostraram que ratos, que fizeram ingesta da dieta hiperlipídica por quatro semanas, apresentaram resistência à insulina verificada pela redução na taxa de infusão de glicose durante o clamp euglicêmico-hiperinsulinêmico. Além disso, a captação de glicose pelos adipócitos isolados da região epididimal também foi significativamente menor. A redução na captação de glicose, provavelmente, foi responsável pela diminuição na produção de lactato por estes adipócitos isolados dos ratos hiperlipidêmicos. A lipólise basal não foi alterada, entretanto, a estimulada por agonistas adrenérgicos apresentou-se diminuída, sendo que estas alterações não comprometeram a morfometria dos adipócitos epididimais. Os ratos dislipidêmicos também apresentaram alterações cardíacas, como a hipertrofia, avaliada pela análise histológica do coração. Estes resultados demonstram que a ingesta de dieta hiperlipídica por quatro semanas é capaz de promover alterações metabólicas, sugerindo instalação do quadro de resistência à insulina, sem causar alterações na glicemia, além de levar a hipertrofia cardíaca, sendo, portanto, um modelo útil para o estudo de complicações iniciais decorrentes da ingestão de dieta hiperlipídica / Abstract: Changes in lifestyle, especially due to sedentarism and intake of high caloric diets have significantly increased the prevalence of chronic diseases in the population. Many researches show that obesity is responsible to a huge variety of metabolic disorders that usually appears combined leading to a disease known as the metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by the presence of a group of risk factors such as central obesity, insulin resistance, increase in blood pressure and hepatic steatosis. Our laboratory conducts, since 1996, studies involving the use of high-fat diet and the implications in these tissues in order to contribute to the comprehension of how cardiopathies and metabolic disorders are installed in these models. The aim of this study was to evaluate the metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in rats fed with highfat diet during four weeks and to compare this information with other models used in our laboratory. To analyze the metabolic changes in rats that were fed with high-fat diet, we used the following techniques: euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp, adipocytes isolation from epididymal panniculus, for the verification of glucose uptake, lactate and glycerol production, besides morphometric analysis of these adipocytes. The analyses of cardiovascular disorders were performed using electrocardiographic parameters and cardiac histology procedures. Our results demonstrated that, rats, fed with high-fat diet during four weeks showed insulin resistance, verified by reduction in the rate of glucose infusion, during euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp. In addition, glucose uptake by isolated adipocytes from epididymal tissue was significantly lower. The reduction in glucose uptake probably was the responsible for diminish lactate production by these isolated adipocytes of hyperlipidemic rats. Basal lipolysis was not altered, however, the one stimulated by adrenergic agonists was reduced, and these changes did not affect the morphometry of epididymal adipocytes. The dislipidemic rats also showed cardiac alterations, such as hypertrophy, observed in a hystologic analyses of the heart. These results demonstrate that the intake of high-fat diet during for weeks is able to promote metabolic disorders, suggesting insulin resistance development, however, without promotes glycemic alterations, besides leads to cardiac hypertrophy, and is therefore, a useful model to study these initial complications resulting from the ingestion of high-fat diet / Doutorado / Fisiologia / Doutor em Biologia Funcional e Molecular

Familial Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) causes ventricle walls to thicken and often leads to sudden death especially in adults. Mutations in the subfragment 2 (S2) of β-cardiac myosin are implicated in the genetic disorder. This S2 region is a coiled-coil rod region resulting from the dimeric form of myosin II. It has been proposed that an elastic quality allows normal S2 to absorb force during the powerstroke according to the sliding filament model. To test the flexibility of single molecules of S2 against levels of physiological force, the Gravitational Force Spectrometer (GFS) is being developed. This novel system employs a standard microscope on an equatorial mount that allows the spectrometer to be rotated freely in space. Stationary glass beads are attached to a microscope slide where the molecule is tethered between the stationary bead and a smaller mobile bead. The GFS is oriented so that the force of gravity can act on the mobile bead and so impart a small force to the tethered subfragment. Additionally, a video system in conjunction with ImageJ software makes a distance measurement of the molecule possible with a resolution of around 11 nm. The S2 can be stretched parallel or perpendicular to the coiled coil to elucidate different structural properties of the rod. This study is the first to show structural evidence that S2 in vertebrate skeletal myosin uncoils proportionally to physiological force loads. Because of this, the usefulness and promise of the novel GFS is highlighted, and the biological role of S2's flexibility can be directly commented on. If the dimer undergoes uncoiling at physiological force loads as shown, then it is reasonable to think that this might occur in nature in response to the stress of the powerstroke on a single molecule. This unwinding could be to absorb force as a mechanism to protect the muscle fiber.

Orientador: Heitor Moreno Junior / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T19:55:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Melo_SilviaElainedeSousaFerreiraCarvalhode_D.pdf: 6801672 bytes, checksum: d5d157af717b53ac33305c8ec554a2d0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: O óxido nítrico (NO) é um mediador biológico multifuncional que serve como molécula chave em muitos processos fisiopatológicos, sintetizado nas células endoteliais em resposta a estímulos fisiológicos ou patológicos. Sua síntese se dá a partir da clivagem do terminal nitrogênio-guanidina do aminoácido L-arginina, em uma reação catalizada pela enzima óxido nítrico sintase (NOS). Há três isoformas de NOS: a NOS endotelial (eNOS), a NOS neuronal (nNOS) e a NOS induzível (iNOS). A eNOS e a nNOS são isoformas expressas constitutivamente nas células endoteliais vasculares e nas células neuronais, respectivamente; e a iNOS que a forma induzível, expressa em células inflamatórias após a indução por citocinas e outros mediadores inflamatórios. Após sua síntese o NO se difunde para as células do músculo liso vascular ativando a enzima guanilato ciclase solúvel (GCs), que converte guanosina-tri-fostato (GTP) em guanosina-3¿,5¿-monofosfato cíclica (GMPc), um segundo mensageiro para seus diversos efeitos biológicos, dentre os quais o relaxamento da musculatura lisa vascular. A síntese de NO pode ser inibida por vários compostos análogos à L-arginina, como L-NMMA, L-NAA, L-NAME e L-NIO de forma dose-dependente. A inibição crônica da síntese de óxido nítrico pela administração crônica de L-NAME é um modelo complexo e bem estabelecido de hipertensão arterial e miocardiopatia hipertensiva. É caracterizado por elevação da pressão arterial (PA) de forma severa, redução na freqüência cardíaca, no fluxo coronário e débito cardíaco (DC), aumento da resistência vascular periférica total (RVPT), diminuição do relaxamento vascular e alterações na contratilidade cardíaca, hipertrofia cardíaca, aumento do tamanho cardiomiócito, remodelamento miocárdico e microvascular com fibrose perivascular, sendo que o índice peso cardíaco/peso corporal e peso ventricular esquerdo/peso corporal estão usualmente aumentados. As fosfodiesterases são enzimas que degradam os nucleotídeos cíclicos GMPc e AMPc nas suas formas inativas. São conhecidas 11 famílias de enzimas (PDE1 ¿ PDE11) que diferem com relação ao padrão distribuição, especificidade de substrato, regulação pelas PKs e proteínas ligantes. Estão envolvidas em diversos processos fisiológicos e patológicos, tais como ereção peniana, asma, hipertensão pulmonar, aterosclerose, insuficiência cardíaca e diabetes. Consequentemente, os inibidores seletivos de PDE são interessantes e promissores alvos farmacológicos. Os inibidores das PDEs inpedem a degradação do AMPc, GMPc, elevando seus níveis intracelulares. Esses inibidores mimetizam as estruturas do AMPc e GMPc, mas não são degradados. Sildenafil é um inibidor seletivo da PDE5 induzindo o e relaxamento do músculo vascular liso e têm sido utilizados com sucesso no tratamento da disfunção erétil. A base racional para este projeto é a hipótese de que o sildenafil, por inibir de forma seletiva a PDE5 e conseqüentemente aumentar a disponibilidade de GMPc, possa ter efeitos cardiovasculares benéficos na inibição crônica da síntese de NO que reduz os níveis de GMPc no músculo cardíaco e vascular. Para isso foram estudados 4 grupos experimentais divididos aleatoriamente em: CONTROLE, L-NAME, SILDENAFIL e SILDENAFIL + L-NAME, durante 8 semanas de tratamento. Analisamos as alterações hemodinâmicas através das medidas da pressão arterial média, débito cardíaco, freqüência cardíaca e resistência vascular. As análises histológicas foram feitas através de técnicas morfométricas para determinação do diâmetro de miócito, lesões miocárdicas e espessura da camada média vascular e análises imunohistológicas. Nossos resultados demonstraram que a administração crônica de sildenafil altera os padrões hemodinâmicos e histolólgicos do modelo de miocardiopatia hipertensiva induzida pela inibição da síntese de NO por L-NAME. A inibição da PDE5 restaurou parcialmente os padrões hemodinâmicos, avaliados através da PA, DC e RVPT, além de protege parcialmente o miocárdio e músculo vascular liso contra as lesões e remodelamento cardiovascular característicos deste modelo experimental. A biodisponibilidade de GMPc, nos animais do grupo L-NAME + sildenafil, foi totalmente restaurada após 8 semanas de tratamento e a expressão das enzimas PDE3 e PDE5 estavam modificadas no músculo vascular liso e nos discos intercalares dos miócitos. Dessa forma, concluimos que o sildenafil, através da inibição da PDE5, aumentando a biodisponibilidade do GMPc, resulta em um efeito cardioprotetor e antiproliferativo contra as alterações cardiovasculares descritas no modelo de miocardiopatia hipertensiva induzida pela inibição crônica da síntese de NO em ratos Wistar / Abstract: Many of the physiological responses to nitric oxide (NO) are mediated by cyclic 5'-guanosine monophosphate (cGMP), the intracellular levels of which are regulated by phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5). In situations of reduced NO formation, the inhibition of PDE5 by selective inhibitors such as sildenafil could be beneficial in restoring physiological functions by enhancing the intracellular levels of cGMP. In this study, we evaluated the effects of sildenafil on the hemodynamic and histological alterations induced by the chronic treatment of rats with Nw¿nitro-L¿arginine¿methyl ester (L-NAME). After 8 weeks of concomitant treatment with sildenafil and L-NAME, arterial blood pressure was significantly lower (P<0.05) than in L-NAME treated rats. The fall in blood pressure was associated with a slight reduction in the total peripheral vascular resistance (P<0.05). Sildenafil partially restored the decrease in cardiac output seen in L-NAME-treated rats. Morphologically, sildenafil reduced the total area of the myocardial lesions and attenuated the cardiomyocyte and vascular smooth muscle remodeling seen with L-NAME. These results show that sildenafil reversed the deleterious hemodynamic and morphological alterations associated with L-NAME-induced hypertension. This beneficial effect was probably mediated by an increase in cardiac and vascular cGMP levels as reflected in circulating plasma cGMP levels / Doutorado / Doutor em Farmacologia

Thesis (MSc)--University of Stellenbosch, 2004. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Progressive familial heart block type II (PFHBII) is an inherited cardiac conduction disorder of unknown aetiology, which has been described in a South African family. The disorder was mapped to a 2.9 centimorgan (cM) locus on chromosome 1q32.2-32.3. Clinically, PFHBII manifests cardiac conduction aberrations, that progress to a disease of the heart muscle, dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is also reported as an end phase in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), another heart muscle disorder. These cardiomyopathies are genetically heterogeneous with some of the genes reported as causes of both disorders. Therefore, genes identified as causes of HCM and DCM were considered plausible candidates for PFHBII mutation analysis. Additionally, this study provided an opportunity to assess potential modifiers of HCM. HCM exhibits marked phenotypic variability, observed within and between families harbouring the same causative mutation. Genes within the PFHBII locus were selected for PCR-SSCP analysis based on homology to genes previously reported as causing conduction system disorders associated with arrhythmias, DCM and/or HCM. Results were confirmed by direct sequencing and association between the detected variants and HCM parameters was assessed using a quantitative transmission disequilibrium test (QTDT). Eleven plausible candidate genes were selected within the PFHBII locus and two of the genes, PFKFB2 and ATF3, that encode for 6-phosphofructo-2,6-bisphosphatase (PFK-2/FBPase-2) and activating transcription factor 3 (ATF3), respectively, were analysed for PFHBII-causing and HCM main locus and/or HCM modifying mutations. Mutation analysis of PFKFB2 and ATF3 in the PFHBII family revealed no PFHBII causal mutation. PFKFB2 and ATF3 were later localised outside the PFHBII locus, and, therefore, were excluded as PFHBII plausible candidates. Further analysis of the two genes for HCM main locus and/or HCM modifying mutations in the HCM panel identified several sequence variants. QTDT analysis of these variants showed no significant association. Completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) and annotation of new genes within the PFHBII locus allowed the identification of more PFHBII plausible candidate genes. Identification of causal mutations in plausible PFHBII candidate genes will allow molecular diagnosis of PFHBII pathophysiology. Furthermore, identification of both HCM-modifying and HCM-causing genes will give insight into the phenotypic variability noted among South African HCM-affected individuals and into the molecular cause of the disease among individuals with HCM-like clinical features. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Progressiewe familiële hartblok tipe II (PFHBII) is ʼn oorgeërfde hart geleidingsiekte van onbekende etiologie wat in ʼn Suid-Afrikaanse familie beskryf is. Die siekte is ʼn 2.9 sentimorgan (cM) lokus op chromosoom 1q32.2-32.3 gekarteer. Klinies presenteer PFHBII met geleidingsfwykings wat uitloop op gedilateerde kardiomiopatie (DCM). DCM word ook gerapporteer as ʼn endfase in hipertrofiese kardiomiopatie (HCM), ʼn ander hartspiersiekte. Die kardiomiopatieë is geneties heterogeen, met ʼn aantal gene wat as oorsaak van altwee siektetoestande gerapporteer word. Daarom is alle gene wat geïdentifiseer is as oorsake van DCM en HCM, as moontlike kandidaatgene vir PFHBII mutasieanaliese beskou. Bykomend het hierdie studie die geleentheid gebied om potensiële modifiseerders van HCM te assesseer. HCM toon beduidende fenotipiese variasie binne en tussen families wat dieselfde siekteveroorsakende mutasie het. Gene binne die PFHBII-lokus is geselekteer vir PCR-SSCP-analiese gebaseer op homologie met gene wat voorheen gerapporteer is om betrokke te wees by geleidingsiesisteemsiektes, geassosieerde arritmieë, DCM en/of HCM. Resultate is bevestig deur volgordebepaling. Assosiasie tusssen ontdekte variante en die siekteparameter is bepaal met ʼn kwantitatiewe transmissie disekwilibrium toets (QTDT). Elf moontlike kandidaatgene in die PFHBII-lokus is geselekteer en twee van die gene, PFKFB2 en ATF3, wat kodeer vir 6-fosfofrukto-2,6-bifosfatase (PFK-2/FBPase-2) en aktiveringstranskripsiefaktor 3 (ATF3) respektiewelik, is vir PFHBII-oorsakende en HCMhooflokus en/of HCM-modifiseerende mutasies ondersoek. Mutasie-analiese van PFKFB2 en ATF3 in die PFHBII-familie het nie ʼn siekteveroorsakende mutasie onthul/uitgelig nie. PFKFB2 en ATF3 is later buite die PFHBII-lokus geplaas en dus ook as moontlike PFHBII-kandidate uitgesluit. Verdere ondersoek van díe twee gene vir HCM-hooflokus en/of HCM-modifiserende mutasies in die HCM-paneel het ʼn aantal volgorde variante geïdentifiseer. QTDT-analiese van die variante het geen beduidende assosiasies aangetoon nie. Voltooiing van die Menslike Genoom Projek (HGP) en annotasie van nuwe gene in die PFHBIIlokus het tot die identifikasie van verdere moontlike PFHBII-kandidaatgene gelei. Identifikase van siekte-veroorsaakende mutasies in die moontlike PFHBII-kandidaatgene sal die molekulêre diagnose van PFHBII toelaat en insig in die patofisiologie van die siekte gee. Verder, identifikasie van beide HCM-veroorsakende of HCM-modifiserende gene kan insig gee in die fenotipiese varieerbaarheid wat onder Suid-Afrikaanse HCM-geaffekteerde individue waargeneem word en ook in die molekulêre oorsake van die siekte in individue met HCMsoortige kliniese kenmerke.

Herbs have been used for many centuries in diverse civilizations for the treatment of heart disease. Only a few natural supplements claim to have direct cardiovascular actions including hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) and berberine derived from the Berberidaceae family. Several different studies indicate important cardiovascular effects of hawthorn and berberine. For example, both exert positive inotropic effects and have been used in the treatment of congestive heart failure. Recently, it was shown that hawthorn extract preparations cause negative chronotropic effects in a cultured neonatal murine cardiomyocyte assay independent of beta-adrenergic receptor blockade. The aim of this study was to further characterize the effect of hawthorn extract to decrease the contraction rate of cultured cardiomyocytes. We hypothesized that hawthorn extract may be acting through muscarinic receptors to decrease contraction rate of cardiomyocytes. Atrial and ventricular cardiomyocytes were treated with hawthorn extract in the presence of atropine or himbacine. Changes in the contraction rate of cultured cardiomyocytes revealed that both muscarinic antagonists significantly attenuated the negative chronotropic activity of hawthorn extract. Using quinuclidinyl benzilate, L-[benzylic-4,4'-3H] ([³H]-QNB) as a radioligand antagonist, the effect of a partially purified hawthorn extract fraction to inhibit muscarinic receptor binding was quantified. Hawthorn extract fraction 3 dose-dependently inhibited [³H]-QNB binding to mouse heart membranes. These findings suggest that muscarinic receptors may be involved in the negative chronotropic effect of hawthorn extracts in neonatal murine cardiomyocytes. Berberine exhibits variable positive and negative chronotropic effects in different species. Our first aim was to examine the effect of berberine in a cultured neonatal murine cardiomyocyte assay. Our study demonstrates that berberine has significant negative chronotropic actions on cardiomyocytes which is not an effect of beta-adrenergic receptor blockade. Pertussis toxin (PTX), a Gi/o protein inhibitor, blocked the negative chronotropic activity of berberine. Muscarinic, adenosine, opioid, and α₂ receptors are coupled through a G-protein (Gi/o) to adenylyl cyclase in an inhibitory fashion. Activation of these receptors are primarily responsible for PTX-sensitive negative chronotropic effects in heart. We hypothesized that berberine may be acting through one of these receptor type to decrease contraction rate of cardiomyocytes. For this purpose, we studied the effects of the muscarinic-receptor antagonists, atropine, himbacine, or AF- DX 116 on the negative chronotropic activity of berberine. Muscarinic antagonists completely blocked the effect of berberine on contraction rate of cardiomyocytes, whereas the bradycardic effect of berberine was not inhibited by the opioid, adenosine, or α2 receptor antagonists naloxone, CGS 15943, or phentolamine, respectively. Using [³H]QNB as a radioligand, we demonstrated that berberine bound to muscarinic receptors of adult mouse heart membranes with relatively high affinity. Furthermore, berberine dose-dependently inhibited [³H]QNB binding to muscarinic M2 receptors exogenously expressed in HEK 293 cells. Therefore, the findings of the present study suggest that berberine has muscarinic agonist effects in cultured neonatal murine cardiomyocytes, potentially explaining reported physiological effects of berberine. Cardiac hypertrophy represents the most important factor in the development of congestive heart failure. We investigated the inhibitory effect of berberine on hypertrophy of H9c2 cells. In rat heart-derived H9c2 myoblast cells treated with different hypertrophic agonists such as insulin growth factor II (IGF-II), arginine vasopressin (AVP), phenylephrine, and isoproterenol, protein content and size of cells were significantly increased compared to control group. However, the number of H9c2 cells after treatment with hypertrophic agonists did not differ significantly compared to control. The increases in area of cells and protein content induced by the hypertrophic agonists were inhibited by treatment with berberine in a concentration-dependent manner. Our findings have provided the first scientific evidence that berberine may have an inhibitory effect on hypertrophy of heart-derived cells, and provide a rationale for further studies to evaluate berberine's cardiac activity. / Graduation date: 2010

Experiments were conducted to investigate the role of free radicals in exercise induced cardiac adaptations and to determine if statin administration would adversely affect cardiac adaptations to exercise. In the first experiment myocardial antioxidant enzymes, cardiac function and cardiac hypertrophy were assessed following a chronic exercise protocol previously used by our lab. MPG effectively reduced myocardial oxidative stress and activation of the signaling proteins Akt and S6 following an exercise bout. Skeletal muscle mitochondria content increased to similar levels in E and E+MPG. Similar increases (P<0.05) in both exercised groups were observed for heart wt and heart wt to body wt ratio. Cardiac function at the high workload improved in E vs S as indicated by higher (P<0.05) peak systolic pressure (SP), cardiac output (CO), coronary flow, COxSP and mechanical efficiency (COxSP/VO2). MPG prevented these exercise-induced functional improvements. This study provides evidence that free radicals do not play a role in the development of exercise-induced cardiac hypertrophy, however, they are involved in functional cardiac adaptations, which may be mediated through the PI3K/Akt pathway. In the second experiment a similar exercise protocol was used to determine if statins which have been shown to prevent pathological forms of cardiac hypertrophy, would be detrimental to exercise induced cardiac adaptations. In addition to the sedentary and exercise groups sedentary+statin and exercise+statin groups were assessed. Hearts were isolated and perfused and assessed for function at low and high workloads. Exercise treatment resulted in cardiac hypertrophy in absolute and relative terms to a similar extent in statin-treated and untreated exercised rats. Additionally it resulted in significant functional increases for SP, CO, COxSP, VO₂, and EFF in both exercised groups. In conclusion, these studies provide evidence that exercise in the cold is a valid model for physiological cardiac hypertrophy and that pathological and physiological cardiac hypertrophy signal through different pathways due to the fact that two well established treatments (mpg and statins) that prevent pathological cardiac hypertrophy did not affect exercise induced cardiac hypertrophy. / text

[Truncated abstract] The innate ability of the heart to compensate for an increase in workload as a result of disease or injury, through an increase in size and mass is known as cardiac hypertrophy. The hypertrophy of the heart compensates for an increase in workload with an increase in cardiac output. However, excessive hypertrophy can result in cardiac dysfunction and substantially increases the risk of cardiac failure and mortality. The molecular mechanisms that regulate the development of cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac failure are not entirely understood. Traditionally, the G-protein Coupled Receptor (GPCR) and the downstream Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase (MAPK) family of proteins have been implicated. However, elevated circulating and ventricular levels of several classes of cytokines also suggested that signaling by the downstream effectors of cytokine receptors, such as the Signal Transducers and Activators of Transcription (STATs), may be important. The aim of this thesis was, therefore, to characterize the involvement of MAPK and STAT pathways in regulating cardiac hypertrophy and cardiac failure. A function for MAPK and STAT signaling in regulating cardiac hypertrophy stimulated by the inflammatory cytokine IL-1Β was initially defined in primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes. In this study, it was demonstrated that the chemical inhibition of ERK or p38MAPK was sufficient to inhibit IL-1Β-stimulated ANF expression. In contrast, simultaneous inhibition of both ERK and p38MAPK was required to ablate the hypertrophic morphology of cardiac myocytes treated with IL-1Β. These results demonstrated differential signaling from the MAPK isoforms in regulating the gene expression and morphological components of cardiac hypertrophy. In addition, it was revealed that IL-1Β treatment resulted in a delayed response (>60 min) in STAT3α tyrosine phosphorylation, which was subsequently shown to require the initial rapid activation of either ERK or p38MAPK. IL-1Β-stimulated STAT3 phosphorylation was also dependent on the de novo synthesis of secondary signaling molecules. The ablation of the STAT3 tyrosine phosphorylation by the inhibition of ERK or p38MAPK activity, correlated with the attenuation of IL-1Β-stimulated ANF expression, suggesting that signaling through STAT3α may be involved in regulating gene expression associated with IL-1Β cardiac hypertrophy

[Truncated abstract] The enlargement of the heart, also known as myocardial hypertrophy, is thought to be a compensatory process that maintains the mechanical function of the heart in response to stress factors such as pressure or volume overload. Although this process is initially compensatory, it frequently results in heart failure and death. Cardiac hypertrophy is a complex process involving changes in the individual cardiac muscle cells, cardiac myocytes. As well as the morphological changes that result from hypertrophy, there are molecular changes within each cell that regulate the hypertrophic process. These molecular changes involve many different pathways within the cardiac myocytes and remain poorly understood . . . Both STAT3α and β overexpression resulted in the upregulation of the VEGF, MnSOD and SOCS-3 genes. This indicates that in the heart, STAT3β is able to activate the gene expression of these genes in a similar manner to STAT3α. However, STAT3α or β activation alone is not enough to induce cardiac hypertrophy. In conclusion, the results presented in this thesis determined a novel role for ERK in the induction of cell death in the heart and revealed many changes in cardiac gene expression following ERK activation. These genes may be the mediators of ERK responses and their identification provides valuable information and direction for further research in this area. One consequence of ERK activation was the negative regulation of the STAT3 pathway. Further investigation revealed for the first time that the STAT3 proteins themselves may not be involved in the induction of cardiac hypertrophy and that STAT3β, initially thought to be a transcriptional repressor, can induce the expression of genes that are known to be activated by STAT3α in the heart. Therefore, these results help to better understand the roles of these two signalling pathways in the heart.