[The aging heart: presbycardia].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N Ferrara.
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BACKGROUND: The impact of hyperlipidemia on collateral vessel development in vivo remains enigmatic. We sought to determine the anatomic extent and functional capacity of the collateral bed that develops in response to limb ischemia in a well characterized animal model of spontaneous hypercholesterolemia, the Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbit. We further characterized the impact of exogenous angiogenic cytokine administration on collateral vessel development and function in the same animal model. METHODS AND RESULTS: Weight-matched 6-month-old male homozygous WHHL (n=9) and normal New Zealand White (NZW) (n=9) rabbits underwent surgical resection of one femoral artery. Ten days later, the ischemic hindlimb was evaluated for collateral vessel formation, blood flow, and tissue damage. Collateral vasculature was less extensive among WHHL than NZW, as indicated by a significant reduction in angiographic score (0.19+/-0.02 versus 0.35+/-0.03, P<.001) and capillary density (46.4+/-4.1 versus 78.9+/-4.6/mm2, P<.0002). This was associated with a reduction in calf blood pressure index (9.5+/-3.5% versus 32.8+/-2.8%, P<.0001), arterial blood flow (7.5+/-0.6 versus 13.6+/-0.7 mL/min, P<.0001), and muscle perfusion index (40.1+/-3.2% versus 65.9+/-2.0%, P<.0001) and an increase in muscle necrosis (48.16+/-5.41% versus 25.90+/-3.83% negative 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining, P<.004). Treatment of WHHL rabbits (n=9) with recombinant human vascular endothelial growth factor produced a statistically significant improvement in all functional as well as anatomic indices of collateral development. CONCLUSIONS: Collateral vessel development associated with hindlimb ischemia in vivo is severely attenuated in an animal model of spontaneous hypercholesterolemia but nevertheless may be augmented by administration of angiogenic cytokines.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major mediator of angiogenesis associated with tumors and other pathological conditions, including proliferative diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration. The murine anti-human VEGF monoclonal antibody (muMAb VEGF) A.4.6.1 has been shown to potently suppress angiogenesis and growth in a variety of human tumor cells lines transplanted in nude mice and also to inhibit neovascularization in a primate model of ischemic retinal disease. In this report, we describe the humanization of muMAb VEGF A.4.6.1. by site-directed mutagenesis of a human framework. Not only the residues involved in the six complementarity-determining regions but also several framework residues were changed from human to murine. Humanized anti-VEGF F(ab) and IgG1 variants bind VEGF with affinity very similar to that of the original murine antibody. Furthermore, recombinant humanized MAb VEGF inhibits VEGF-induced proliferation of endothelial cells in vitro and tumor growth in vivo with potency and efficacy very similar to those of muMAb VEGF A.4.6.1. Therefore, recombinant humanized MAb VEGF is suitable to test the hypothesis that inhibition of VEGF-induced angiogenesis is a valid strategy for the treatment of solid tumors and other disorders in humans.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its two endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinases, Flk-1/KDR and Flt-1, play a key role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis. Hypoxia has been shown to be a major mechanism for up-regulation of VEGF and its receptors in vivo. When we exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells to hypoxic conditions in vitro, we observed increased levels of Flt-1 expression. In contrast, Flk-1/KDR mRNA levels were unchanged or slightly repressed. These findings suggest a differential transcriptional regulation of the two receptors by hypoxia. To identify regulatory elements involved in the hypoxic response, promoter regions of the mouse Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR genes were isolated and tested in conjunction with luciferase reporter gene. In transient transfection assays, hypoxia led to strong transcriptional activation of the Flt-1 promoter, whereas Flk-1/KDR transcription was essentially unchanged. Promoter deletion analysis demonstrated a 430-bp region of the Flt-1 promoter to be required for transcriptional activation in response to hypoxia. This region includes a heptamer sequence matching the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF) consensus binding site previously found in other hypoxia-inducible genes such as the VEGF gene and erythropoietin gene. We further narrowed down the element mediating the hypoxia response to a 40-base pair sequence including the putative HIF binding site. We show that this element acts like an enhancer, since it activated transcription irrespective of its location or orientation in the construct. Furthermore, mutations within the putative HIF consensus binding site lead to impaired transcriptional activation by hypoxia. These findings indicate that, unlike the KDR/Flk-1 gene, the Flt-1 receptor gene is directly up-regulated by hypoxia via a hypoxia-inducible enhancer element located at positions -976 to -937 of the Flt-1 promoter.
Melatonin (N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine), the principal hormone of the vertebral pineal gland, elicits several neurobiological effects. However, the effects of melatonin on cardiac muscle are still unknown. The first goal of the study was to investigate the role of melatonin on myocardial contractility in isolated rat papillary muscle using dose-response curves to melatonin, to isoproterenol and calcium either in the presence or in the absence of melatonin (0.3 nM). Response curves to isoproterenol were additionally performed in the presence of melatonin plus the specific receptor antagonist N-acetyltryptamine (10 microM); the adenylate-cyclase stimulator forskolin (10 microM) was also used. Melatonin has no direct inotropic effect in isolated rat papillary muscle but counteracts isoproterenol but not [Ca2+] effects. In fact, the EC50 for isoproterenol was significantly higher in the presence than in the absence of melatonin (p < 0.001). This anti-adrenergic action occurs through an interaction to a specific cardiac receptor. Forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase induced an increase of contractile force (+118 +/- 25%) which was reduced in the presence of melatonin (+26 +/- 10%; p < 0.01). In conclusion, we found that melatonin possess anti-adrenergic effect in isolated rat papillary muscle. This phenomenon was abolished in the presence of its receptor antagonist N-acetyl-tryptamine demonstrating that melatonin operates through a specific cardiac receptor. The reduction of contractility increase, induced by forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase, shows that melatonin may act through a reduction of cyclic AMP accumulation.
A decline in contractility in myocytes from ageing guinea-pig hearts was demonstrated, which is more pronounced for maximum beta-adrenoceptor-stimulated activity than contraction in high Ca2+. In this study the role of the inhibitory G-proteins (Gi) in this process was investigated. Comparisons were made between young (Y, < 400 g, < 4 weeks), adult (A. > 600 g, > 8 weeks) and senescent guinea pigs (S, 58-65 weeks, 1136 +/- 30 g). Gi alpha activity, detected by pertussis toxin-catalysed ADP ribosylation, was significantly increased in senescent compared to young animals, but immunodetectable levels of Gi alpha were unchanged, beta-adrenoceptor number was decreased by 27% in senescent compared with young animals (P < 0.002). Pertussis toxin treatment increased the maximum response to isoproterenol in contacting myocytes so that there was no longer any significant decline with age. Maximum contraction amplitudes (sarcomere length change, micron) with isoproterenol before pertussis toxin were 0.144 +/- 0.011 (Y, n = 22 animals), 0.104 +/- 0.009 (A. 18) and 0.098 +/- 0.009 (S. 14), P < 0.01 by analysis of variance (ANOVA). Following toxin treatment amplitudes were 0.140 +/- 0.012 (Y. 12), 0.117 +/- 0.010 (A. 10) and 0.117 +/- 0.018 (S. 8), P = N.S. Pertussis toxin treatment also reversed the effects of ageing on contraction and relaxation velocity in isoproterenol. In contrast, the effect of age on contraction amplitude or velocity in maximum Ca2+ was more pronounced after toxin treatment. The EC50 value for isoproterenol increased with age: pertussis treatment decreased the EC50 in each group, but the effect was especially pronounced for senescent animals. There was no significant difference in the concentration-response curves for the negative inotropic effect of adenosine (in the presence of isoprotenerol) between the three age groups before toxin treatment. All effects of adenosine were abolished after pertussis exposure. We conclude that increased Gi alpha activity is likely to contribute to the decreased response to isoproterenol, but not to high Ca2+, in myocytes from ageing guinea-pigs.
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In chronic heart failure substantial and characteristic changes occur in the function of the adrenergic nervous system. Studies in isolated left ventricular muscle and in single cardiomyocytes from experimental models of aging and, recently, from humans show an age-related reduced contractile response to beta-adrenoceptor stimulation. "beta-adrenoceptor desensitization" is thought to be a general and common mechanism to explain the age- and heart failure-related decrease in beta-adrenoceptor response. The aim of this review is to compare alterations in beta-adrenoceptor mechanisms in physiological cardiovascular aging and chronic heart failure. From an analysis of the overall data on the role of aging in beta-adrenoceptor regulation in human and animal hearts, it is possible to conclude that the reduced response to beta-agonists is common to all species and all cardiac tissues. Moreover, the age-related changes are limited to beta-adrenoceptor-G-protein (s)-adenylyl cyclase system abnormalities, while the type and level of abnormalities change with species and tissues. The modifications shown in the aging heart are not very different from some observed in heart failure. In particular, both in aged and failing hearts we may see that the decrease in beta-adrenoceptor responsiveness is related to changes in G-protein function.
BACKGROUND: Hypoxic endothelial cell activation plays a key role in the myocardial dysfunction resulting from ischemia-reperfusion injury. Recent evidence suggests that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) may, in addition to promoting angiogenesis, modulate various aspects of endothelial function and repair. We examined whether administration of VEGF in the cardioplegic solution might have a beneficial effect on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in an isolated rat heart model. METHODS: Hearts from Sprague-Dawley rats were perfused with Krebs-Henseleit solution in a modified Langendorff apparatus. Percent recovery of cardiac output, coronary flow, stroke work, and percent increase in coronary vascular resistance were measured after 2 hours of global ischemia and 40 minutes of reperfusion. Coronary effluent was collected after ischemia and reperfusion for measurement of creatine kinase. RESULTS: Hearts receiving cardioplegia solution containing 125 microg VEGF showed significantly improved recovery of cardiac output, coronary flow, and stroke work, and significantly reduced coronary vascular resistance compared with hearts receiving hyperkalemic cardioplegia only (p < 0.05). Coadministration of a nitric oxide synthase inhibitor attenuated the VEGF-induced cardiprotective effects. Hearts treated with VEGF released significantly less creatine kinase compared with control hearts. CONCLUSIONS: Addition of VEGF to hyperkalemic cardioplegia protects against myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in the isolated rat heart.
OBJECTIVES: The present study examined whether angina 48 h before myocardial infarction provides protection in adult and elderly patients. BACKGROUND: The mortality rate for coronary artery disease is greater in elderly than in young patients. In experimental studies, ischemic preconditioning affords an endogenous form of protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury in adult but not in senescent hearts. Angina before myocardial infarction, a clinical equivalent of experimental ischemic preconditioning, has a protective effect in adult patients. It is not known whether angina before myocardial infarction is also protective in aged patients. METHODS: We retrospectively verified whether antecedent angina within 48 h of myocardial infarction exerts a beneficial effect on in-hospital outcomes in adult (< 65 years old, n = 293) and elderly (> or = 65 years old, n = 210) patients. RESULTS: In-hospital death was more frequent in adult patients without than in those with previous angina (10% vs. 2.6%, p < 0.01), as were congestive heart failure or shock (10.7% vs. 3.3%, p < 0.02) and the combined end points (in-hospital death and congestive heart failure or shock) (20.7% vs. 5.9%, p < 0.0003). In contrast, the presence or absence of previous angina before acute myocardial infarction in elderly patients seems not to influence the incidence of in-hospital death (14.4% vs. 15.2%, p = 0.97), congestive heart failure or shock (11.0% vs. 11.9%, p = 0.99) and the combined end points (25.4% vs. 27.1%, p = 0.89). Logistic regression analysis models for in-hospital end points show that previous angina is a positive predictor in adult but not in elderly patients. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of angina before acute myocardial infarction seems to confer protection against in-hospital outcomes in adults; this effect seemed to be less obvious in elderly patients. This study suggests that the protection afforded by angina in adult patients may involve the occurrence of ischemic preconditioning, which seems to be lost in senescent patients.
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the cross-sectional relationship between arterial blood pressure and cognitive impairment in a group of elderly subjects, controlling for such confounding variables as age, education, depression, drug use and antihypertensive treatment. DESIGN AND SETTING: A cross-sectional survey in Campania, a region in southern Italy. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A random sample of 1339 elderly subjects aged 65-95 years (mean 73.9 +/- 6.2 years) selected from the electoral rolls was interviewed by trained physicians. Sociodemographic characteristics, results of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS), blood pressure and whether antihypertensive treatment was being administered were recorded. When subjects with neurological diseases and those under psychotropic therapy were excluded from the analyses, the population numbered 1106. RESULTS: The MMSE score was less than 24 for 27.9% of the subjects and the mean GDS score was 10.8 +/- 6.3. The mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 145.3 +/- 19.0 mmHg and the mean diastolic blood pressure (DBP) was 82.0 +/- 9.2 mmHg. Logistic regression analysis showed that female sex, age, GDS score and DBP but not SBP were predictive of cognitive impairment. Educational level and antihypertensive treatment, on the contrary, play a protective role. DBP was associated with cognitive impairment in subjects aged 75 years (odds ratio 1.62, 95% confidence interval 1.16-2.25) and over (odds ratio 5.16, 95% confidence interval 1.50-17.71) but not in those aged 65-74 years. CONCLUSION: DBP but not SBP is predictive of cognitive impairment in subjects aged 75 years and over without neurological disorders independently from sex, age, education, GDS and antihypertensive treatment
Low-to-high frequency ratio (LF/HF) is an indirect index of sympathovagal balance derived by heart rate spectral analysis. We investigated the effect of glucose ingestion on LF/HF in 17 healthy, normotensive young subjects (9 male, 8 female) with a wide body fat content range (body fat = 29 +/- 5.9%; range = 19-42%) and a normal thyroid hormone status. Before and after an oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), the Holter technique and indirect calorimetry allowed us to determine heart rate and substrate oxidation in all subjects. At baseline, LF/HF correlated with body fat (r = 0.60, P < 0.005), waist-to-hip ratio (r = 0.57, P < 0.01), fasting plasma insulin (r = 0.55, P < 0.04), leptin (r = 0.56, P < 0.01), and norepinephrine (r = 0.58, P < 0.009) concentrations. Age-, body fat-, content-, and fat-free mass-adjusted respiratory quotient (r = 0.59, P < 0.007) and basal metabolic rate (r = 0.61, P < 0.001) were also correlated with basal LF/HF. Along with OGTT plasma glucose, insulin and norepinephrine concentrations and basal LF/HF significantly rose at 60 min and then declined throughout the test. Area under the curve (AUC) for LF/HF correlated with body fat (r = -0.66, P < 0.004), fasting plasma leptin concentration (r = -0.57, P < 0.01), glucose induced thermogenesis (r = 0.62, P < 0.001), glucose uptake (r = 0.59, P < 0.007), and AUC for plasma norepinephrine concentration (r = 0.63, P < 0.001). Water instead of glucose ingestion does not significantly affect LF/HF (n = 8). In conclusion, our study supports the hypothesis that glucose ingestion affects LF/HF and that such change is related to the amount of body fat.
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Congestive heart failure (CHF) is an insulin-resistant state which constitutes the main risk factor for the development of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Our study investigated the predictive role of CHF on the development of NIDDM in 1,339 elderly subjects with a mean ( +/- SD) age of 74.2 +/- 6.4 years. CHF had a 9.5% prevalence, and 14.7% of the subjects had NIDDM. After stratification by age, subjects between 80 and 84 years had the highest prevalence of CHF and a total of 29.6% of CHF patients had NIDDM. In multiple logistic regression analysis, CHF was associated with NIDDM [odds ration (OR) = 2.0, 95% confidence interval (CI) - 1.6-2.5] independent of age, sex, family history of diabetes, body mass index, (BMI), waist/hip ratio, and diastolic blood pressure. When only untreated CHF patients were taken into account, the association between CHF and NIDDM was even stronger (OR = 4.0, 95% CI = 3.4-5.8). When untreated CHF patients were grouped into those with low (I and II) and high (III and IV) New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes, the association of CHF and NIDDM was stronger with the worsening of CHF. In a longitudinal study, CHF predicted NIDDM independently of age, sex, family history of diabetes, BMI, waist/hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and therapy for CHF (OR = 1.4, 95% CI = 1.1-1.8). CHF was associated with a higher prevalence of NIDDM and was a risk factor for its development. Elevated FFA concentrations may play a pivotal role.
The hyperpermeability of tumor vessels to macromolecules, compared with normal vessels, is presumably due to vascular endothelial growth factor/vascular permeability factor (VEGF/VPF) released by neoplastic and/or host cells. In addition, VEGF/VPF is a potent angiogenic factor. Removal of this growth factor may reduce the permeability and inhibit tumor angiogenesis. To test these hypotheses, we transplanted a human glioblastoma (U87), a human colon adenocarcinoma (LS174T), and a human melanoma (P-MEL) into two locations in immunodeficient mice: the cranial window and the dorsal skinfold chamber. The mice bearing vascularized tumors were treated with a bolus (0.2 ml) of either a neutralizing antibody (A4.6.1) (492 micrograms/ml) against VEGF/VPF or PBS (control). We found that tumor vascular permeability to albumin in antibody-treated groups was lower than in the matched controls and that the effect of the antibody was time-dependent and influenced by the mode of injection. Tumor vascular permeability did not respond to i.p. injection of the antibody until 4 days posttreatment. However, the permeability was reduced within 6 h after i.v. injection of the same amount of antibody. In addition to the reduction in vascular permeability, the tumor vessels became smaller in diameter and less tortuous after antibody injections and eventually disappeared from the surface after four consecutive treatments in U87 tumors. These results demonstrate that tumor vascular permeability can be reduced by neutralization of endogenous VEGF/ VPF and suggest that angiogenesis and the maintenance of integrity of tumor vessels require the presence of VEGF/VPF in the tissue microenvironment. The latter finding reveals a new mechanism of tumor vessel regression-i.e., blocking the interactions between VEFG/VPF and endothelial cells or inhibiting VEGF/VPF synthesis in solid tumors causes dramatic reduction in vessel diameter, which may block the passage of blood elements and thus lead to vascular regression.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic hormone that is produced by and supports the growth of many types of malignancies. The present study shows that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I), a mitogen that promotes the propagation of cancers through autocrine and paracrine mechanisms, increases the expression of mRNA for VEGF and production of VEGF protein by COLO 205 colon carcinoma cells. IGF-I also induces expression of VEGF mRNA in SW620, LSLiM6, and HCT15 colon carcinoma cells showing that this is a common response to IGF-I. Whereas IGF-I induced VEGF mRNA in each cell line examined (2.3-12-fold), it induced proliferation only in COLO 205 and LSLiM6 cells. Thus, the proliferative response induced by IGF-I and its ability to induce VEGF occur through distinguishable mechanisms. IGF-I increases the cellular content of VEGF mRNA by increasing the rate of transcription (5-fold after 4 h) and also by increasing the half-life of VEGF mRNA (0.6 +/- 0.07 h in control cells to 2.0 +/- 0.37 h in IGF-I-treated cells). Monoclonal antibody (alphaIR3) directed against the type 1 IGF receptor significantly attenuated the ability of IGF-I to promote expression of VEGF mRNA. Interestingly, by itself alphaIR3 acted as a weak agonist and induced a modest increase in the cellular content of VEGF mRNA. alphaIR3 also promoted tyrosine phosphorylation of the beta subunit of the IGF-I receptor, and the magnitude of this response was comparable with that induced by IGF-I. These observations point to a nonlinear relationship between activation of the IGF-I receptor and induction of VEGF mRNA. Thus, in addition to its direct, growth stimulatory effect on transformed cells, IGF-I induces the expression of VEGF which can promote the progression of cancer by regulating the development of new blood vessels.
The plasmid phVEGF165, expressing the 165-amino-acid isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), an endothelial cell specific mitogen, was applied to the polymer coating of an angioplasty balloon and delivered percutaneously to the iliac artery of rabbits in which the femoral artery had been excised to cause hindlimb ischemia. Site-specific transfection of phVEGF165 resulted in augmented development of collateral vessels documented by serial angiograms, and increased capillary density as well as increased capillary/myocyte ratio documented histochemically at necropsy. Consequent amelioration of the hemodynamic deficit in the ischemic limb was documented by improvement in the calf blood pressure ratio (ischemic/normal limb) to 0.70 +/- 0.08 in the VEGF-transfected group vs 0.50 +/- 0.18 in controls (p < 0.05). These findings suggest that site-specific arterial gene transfer of VEGF165 may achieve physiologically meaningful therapeutic modulation of vascular insufficiency.
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is an angiogenic inducer that mediates its effects through two high affinity receptor tyrosine kinases, Flt-1 and KDR. Flt-1 is required for endothelial cell morphogenesis whereas KDR is involved primarily in mitogenesis. Flt-1 has an alternative ligand, placenta growth factor (PlGF). Both Flt-1 and KDR have seven immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domains in the extracellular domain. The significance and function of these domains for ligand binding and receptor activation are unknown. Here we show that deletion of the second domain of Flt-1 completely abolishes the binding of VEGF. Introduction of the second domain of KDR into an Flt-1 mutant lacking the homologous domain restored VEGF binding. However, the ligand specificity was characteristic of the KDR receptor. We then created chimeric receptors where the first three or just the second Ig-like domains of Flt-1 replaced the corresponding domains in Flt-4, a receptor that does not bind VEGF, and analyzed their ability to bind VEGF. Both swaps conferred upon Flt-4 the ability to bind VEGF with an affinity nearly identical to that of wild-type Flt-1. Furthermore, transfected cells expressing these chimeric Flt-4 receptors exhibited increased DNA synthesis in response to VEGF or PlGF. These results demonstrate that a single Ig-like domain is the major determinant for VEGF-PlGF interaction and that binding to this domain may initiate a signal transduction cascade.