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PubMed1987

Reduced vulnerability of the hypertrophied rat heart to oxygen-radical injury.

Effects of xanthine--xanthine oxidase produced oxygen radicals were studied in hypertrophied rat hearts in a Langendorff preparation. Heart hypertrophy was produced by banding of the abdominal aorta for 6 weeks. This resulted in a 22% increase in ventricle/body weight ratio compared with that of sham-operated controls. Perfusion with xanthine--xanthine oxidase caused contractile failure and a significant rise in the resting tension. Complete contractile failure in hypertrophied hearts was seen at 25.5 +/- 3.2 min, whereas in control hearts it happened at 14.4 +/- 5.6 min. Contractile failure due to oxygen radicals in both groups was associated with a decline in high energy phosphates, increased lipid peroxidation, and extensive structural damage. Sarcolemma in both groups became permeable to the extracellular tracer lanthanum. As compared with control, in hypertrophied hearts the malondialdehyde content, indicative of lipid peroxidation, was less by 40%; whereas superoxide dismutase, a free radical scavenger, was higher by a similar amount. These data show a greater capacity of the 6-week hypertrophied heart to withstand a free radical induced contractile failure. This delay in oxygen radical effect can be partially explained by the reduced lipid peroxide content and increased superoxide dismutase activity in the hypertrophied hearts.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Mitochondrial biogenesis during pressure overload induced cardiac hypertrophy in adult rats.

Existing literature provides an equivocal picture of the behavior of mitochondrial synthesis during the time course of cardiac hypertrophy. Therefore, we examined the effect of cardiac hypertrophy on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase (CYTOX) activity, the content of CYTOX subunit VIc mRNA, and the expression of molecular chaperones. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either abdominal aortic constriction to induce pressure overload (PO) or a sham operation (SH). Animals were studied 2, 4, 7, 14, 21, or 28 days after surgery. Aortic constriction resulted in a significant evaluation in arterial pressure by 4 days after surgery. Significant (p < 0.05) hypertrophy was attained by 4 days and was stabilized at 37% between 7 and 28 days. CYTOX activity (U/g) did not differ significantly between PO and SH animals at either early (< 7 days) or later time points, indicating that mitochondrial content increased in proportion to adaptive cellular hypertrophic growth. The concentration of the molecular chaperones HSP60 and GRP75 involved in mitochondrial protein import did not change with PO treatment. The levels of mRNAs encoding both CYTOX subunit VIc and HSP60 remained constant, in proportion to cardiac growth. This suggests that the accelerated synthesis of CYTOX and HSP60 during cardiac hypertrophy is regulated transcriptionally. The data help to resolve the controversy in the literature regarding mitochondrial biogenesis during moderate, stable cardiac hypertrophy, and they indirectly indicate that proportional mitochondrial synthesis relative to cellular hypertrophy is regulated at the transcriptional level.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Biventricular hypertrophy in dogs with chronic AV block: effects of cyclosporin A on morphology and electrophysiology.

Chronic atrioventricular (AV) block (CAVB) and biventricular hypertrophy in dogs increase susceptibility to drug-induced polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (PVT). In various rodent models, cyclosporin A (CsA) prevented hypertrophy. A similar effect in the CAVB model would allow us to determine whether hypertrophy represents an epiphenomenon, the cause of electrophysiological changes, and/or the anatomic substrate for PVTs. Upon AV node ablation, 6 dogs were studied acutely (AAVB), 25 dogs were kept for 6 (6W) and 12 wk (12W), receiving no treatment [CTL-CAVB-6W (n=6) and CTL-CAVB-12W (n=7)] or a daily oral dose of 10-20 mg/kg CsA directly (n=6, CsA-CAVB-6W) or 6 wk after radio-frequency ablation (n=6, CsA-CAVB-12W). For the final study, dogs were anesthetized, and 60 needles were inserted into both ventricles and connected to a multiplexer mapping system. Local effective refractory periods (ERPs) were determined at 56 +/- 22 randomly selected sites (extrastimulus technique, basic cycle length=800 ms). Arrhythmias within 30 min after application of almokalant (0.34 micromol/kg iv) were registered. The hearts were then excised to obtain the heart weight-body weight index (HBWI). Compared with AAVB, CTL-CAVB-6W and CTL-CAVB-12W showed increased HBWI and ERP associated with PVT inducibility in none of six AAVB dogs, four of six CTL-CAVB-6W dogs, and one of seven CTL-CAVB-12W dogs. Compared with CTL-CAVB-6W and CTL-CAVB-12W, CsA-CAVB-6W and CsA-CAVB-12W partially prevented hypertrophy or led to a regression of hypertrophy without reducing ERP prolongation. Despite ERP prolongation, PVTs were no longer inducible with CsA treatment. Thus prolongation of refractoriness seems to provide the trigger, but hypertrophy provides the essential substrate for the induction of PVTs in this model.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Does load-induced ventricular hypertrophy progress to systolic heart failure?

Ventricular hypertrophy develops in response to numerous forms of cardiac stress, including pressure or volume overload, loss of contractile mass from prior infarction, neuroendocrine activation, and mutations in genes encoding sarcomeric proteins. Hypertrophic growth is believed to have a compensatory role that diminishes wall stress and oxygen consumption, but Framingham and other studies established ventricular hypertrophy as a marker for increased risk of developing chronic heart failure, suggesting that hypertrophy may have maladaptive features. However, the relative contribution of comorbid disease to hypertrophy-associated systolic failure is unknown. For instance, coronary artery disease is induced by many of the same risk factors that cause hypertrophy and can itself lead to systolic dysfunction. It is uncertain, therefore, whether ventricular hypertrophy commonly progresses to systolic dysfunction without the contribution of intervening ischemia or infarction. In this review, we summarize findings from epidemiologic studies, preclinical experiments in animals, and clinical trials to lay out what is known-and not known-about this important question.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Eicosapentaenoic acid prevents endothelin-1-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy in vitro through the suppression of TGF-beta 1 and phosphorylated JNK.

The cardiovascular benefit of fish oil in humans and experimental animals has been reported. Endothelin (ET)-1 is a well-known cardiac hypertrophic factor. However, although many studies link a fish oil extract, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), to cardiac protection, the effects of EPA on cardiac hypertrophy and underlying mechanism(s) are unclear. The present study investigated whether EPA prevents ET-1-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy; the potential pathways likely to underlie such an effect were also investigated. Cardiomyocytes were isolated from neonatal rat heart, cultured for 3 days, and then treated for 24 h with vehicle only (control), treated with 0.1 nM ET-1 only, or pretreated with 10 microM EPA and then treated with 0.1 nM ET-1. The cells were harvested, and changes in cell surface area, protein synthesis, expression of a cytoskeletal (alpha-actinin) protein, and cell signaling were analyzed. ET-1 induced a 97% increase in cardiomyocyte surface area, a 72% increase in protein synthesis rate, and an increase in expression of alpha-actinin and signaling molecule [transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1), c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase (JNK), and c-Jun]. Development of these ET-1-induced cellular changes was attenuated by EPA. Moreover, the hypertrophied cardiomyocytes showed a 1.5- and a 1.7-fold increase in mRNA expression of atrial and brain natriuretic peptides, the classical molecular markers of cardiac hypertrophy, respectively; these changes were also suppressed by EPA. Here we show that ET-1 induces cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and expression of hypertrophic markers, possibly mediated by JNK and TGF-beta 1 signaling pathways. These ET-1-induced effects were blocked by EPA, a major fish oil ingredient, suggesting that fish oil may have beneficial protective effects on cardiac hypertrophy.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Contractile state of hypertrophied left ventricle in long-standing volume overload.

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the contribution of hypertrophy, the length-tension phenomenon, and inotropism to adaptation of the left ventricle (LV) to volume overload of up to 3 yr duration. Overload was produced in dogs by heart block, and contractile state was evaluated with a Walton-Brodie arch. Recording of contractile force (CF) in grams vs. muscle length from the LV indicated that dogs with hypertrophy were functioning at a higher point on the ascending limb of the length-tension curve than normals (76 percent Lmax in hypertrophy vs. 61 percent Lmax in normal). Additionally, in hypertrophy, all points on the length-tension curve above 80 percent Lmax were significantly elevated. None of these changes were seen in dogs in which block was induced on the day of the experiment. When CF was normalized for hypertrophy and expressed as CF/cm2, the length-tension curves were practically superimposable. These data suggest that adaptation was accomplished by hypertrophy, a shift up the length-tension curve without a depression of inotropic state.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Prolonged responsiveness to ouabain in hypertrophied rat heart: physiological and biochemical evidence.

The inotropic effect of ouabain on cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated on an isolated Langendorff rat heart preparation with performances registrated by means of an intraventricular balloon. These effects were compared with the drug action on the sarcolemma-bound Na+-K+-ATPase activity. On both normal and pressure-overload induced hypertrophied rat hearts (ventricular wt-to-body wt ratios of 2.1 and 3.3, respectively) the inotropic effect of ouabain (10(-9)-10(-4) M) was evaluated at 0.25 mM external Ca2+. Compared with normal hearts, the recovery of a normal contractile function after the inotropic response was significantly slower in hypertrophied hearts. This was valid with the two protocols applied. During a 30-min washout period, the inotropic response remained nearly unchanged in hypertrophied hearts, whereas it was almost completely reversed in control groups. Sarcolemmal vesicles from both heart groups exhibited high Na+-K+-ATPase activities (sp. act.: 105 +/- 16 mumol X h-1 X mg-1). In both normal and hypertrophied cardiac sarcolemmal preparations, the Na+-K+-ATPase was heterogeneous, with high- and low-sensitivity forms. Their relative proportion was two-to-one. In both heart groups, their respective apparent affinities for ouabain were similar (inhibitory concentration of 50% = 10(-8) and 10(-6) M, respectively). The release of ouabain from these two sites was measured, in washout experiments, by the rates of enzyme relief from inhibition. High- and low-sensitivity forms in hypertrophied heart preparations released ouabain at seven- and threefold lower rates, respectively, than the corresponding forms present in normal cardiac sarcolemmal vesicles.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Microtubule reorganization is related to rate of heart myocyte hypertrophy in rat.

Since stimulation of heart hypertrophy by pressure overload was previously shown to be accompanied by a densification of microtubule network in rat heart myocytes, we verified that similar process occurred during postnatal growth in euthyroid rats and in hypothyroid rats whose growth was stimulated by 4 micrograms/day L-thyroxine (T4). For this purpose, tubulin, the constituent protein of microtubules, was immunolabeled in myocytes isolated at various times after birth. Myocyte hypertrophy was evaluated by myocyte size, the number of nuclei per cell and isomyosin expression. In hypothyroid rats, the microtubule network, which was underdeveloped, was most dense around the nucleus. During the phase of fast myocyte hypertrophy observed in euthyroid rats during late postnatal development and in hypothyroid rats after T4 administration, transient microtubule densification occurred in a myocyte subpopulation in which size was mainly determined by the rate of myocyte hypertrophy. The densification process and its kinetics resembled those observed when heart hypertrophy was induced by pressure overload. It is concluded that in rat heart myocytes undergoing hypertrophy, microtubule densification might be related to fast sarcomerogenesis, whether the stimulus is mechanical (e.g., pressure overload) or hormonal (e.g., T4).

Aging↗
PubMed1987

Mechanisms for altered carnitine content in hypertrophied rat hearts.

Carnitine levels are reduced in hypertrophied hearts of rats subjected to aortic constriction (banding) and elevated in hypertrophied hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). In an attempt to determine the mechanisms for these alterations, L-[14C]carnitine transport was examined in isolated perfused hearts. Total carnitine uptake was significantly reduced by approximately 20% in hypertrophied hearts of banded rats at all perfusate carnitine concentrations employed. The reduction in total uptake was due to a 40% reduction in carrier-mediated carnitine uptake with no difference in uptake by diffusion. In contrast, carnitine uptake was not altered in isolated hypertrophied hearts of SHR. However, serum carnitine levels were elevated in SHR, which could result in increased myocardial carnitine uptake in vivo. The data suggest that altered carnitine content in hypertrophied hearts of aortic-banded rats is due to an alteration in the carrier-mediated carnitine transport system in the myocardium. However, altered carnitine content in hypertrophied hearts of SHR is not due to a change in the carnitine transport system per se but may rather be due to a change in serum carnitine levels.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Left ventricular function in experimental volume overload hypertrophy.

Left ventricular function in volume overload hypertrophy is controversial. In humans, chronic severe volume overload eventually results in left ventricular dysfunction; paradoxically, experimental volume overload hypertrophy has nearly always been associated with normal left ventricular function. However, in most cases, experimental volume overload hypertrophy has either been mild or only present for a short duration. To help resolve the issue of contractile function in volume overload hypertrophy, we examined ventricular function in a recently described model of severe chronic experimental mitral regurgitation. Left ventricular function was measured before and 3 mo after the creation of severe mitral regurgitation (averaged regurgitant fraction 0.64 +/- 0.04). At 3 mo end-diastolic volume had increased from 78 +/- 5 to 114 +/- 7 ml (P less than 0.01). Significant left ventricular hypertrophy had occurred with an increase in the left ventricular weight-to-body weight ratio from 3.84 +/- 0.2 to 5.22 +/- 0.2 (P less than 0.01). All indicators of left ventricular function (ejection fraction, the end ejection stress-volume relationship, this relationship corrected for eccentric hypertrophy, and mean velocity of circumferential fiber shortening at a common stress) were reduced at 3 mo. Our study produced 64% volume overload which was maintained for 3 mo at which time there was a 36% increase in left ventricular mass. This amount of volume overload of this duration produced significant left ventricular dysfunction.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Depressed intracellular calcium transients and contraction in myocytes from hypertrophied and failing guinea pig hearts.

We investigated the basis for impaired left ventricular function of hearts in which hypertrophy was produced by gradual pressure overload. We measured myoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) with fura-2 and sarcomere shortening in single myocytes isolated from control hearts and hypertrophied failing hearts. Diastolic [Ca2+]i was normal, but [Ca2+]i at the peak of contraction was depressed in myocytes from failing hypertrophied hearts. Increasing drive rate from 0.20 Hz to 5.00 Hz increased both diastolic and peak [Ca2+]i. Norepinephrine (3 x 10(-6) M) increased diastolic [Ca2+]i in all cells and tended to normalize peak [Ca2+]i in myocytes from hypertrophied failing hearts during 5.00 Hz drive. Depressed peak [Ca2+]i in the hypertrophied cells was paralleled by significant decreases in both the velocity and percent of sarcomere shortening, which were measured in cells not loaded with fura-2. Sarcomere length was correlated with estimates of [Ca2+]i in intact cells and with controlled levels of [Ca2+] in chemically "skinned" myocytes. A plot of sarcomere length against [Ca2+] gave a single continuous relationship that spanned resting and peak values at all drive rates in both the control and hypertrophied myocytes. Thus heart failure in this model is reflected in impaired myocyte contraction, which is closely related to reduced levels of [Ca2+]i during systole rather than to depressed myofilament sensitivity to Ca2+.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Diminished effect of cAMP on Ca2+ accumulation in skinned fibers of hypertrophied rat heart.

Sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ uptake is reduced in the hypertrophied ventricle. To determine whether events initiated by beta-adrenergic stimulation are involved, we compared the effects of adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) on SR Ca2+ uptake between normal and pressure-overloaded hypertrophied hearts using saponin-skinned rat left ventricular muscles. Left ventricular pressure overload was induced by partial ligation of the abdominal aorta for 4-6 wk before study. Age-matched normal rats served as controls. Pressure overload increased the left ventricular weight-to-body weight ratio 60.8%. The SR was loaded by exposing the muscles to 10(-6) M Ca2+ solution; SR Ca2+ release was induced by 5 or 25 mM caffeine, and the amount of Ca2+ released from the SR was estimated by the area under the caffeine-induced transient contraction. Concomitant exposure to 10(-4) M cAMP did not influence caffeine-induced Ca2+ release in either normal or hypertrophied fibers. When 10(-4) M cAMP was applied during the Ca(2+)-loading periods, the amount of Ca2+ accumulated by the SR increased in both normal and hypertrophied fibers. However, the extent of increase was significantly smaller in hypertrophied fibers than in normal fibers [10.9 +/- 1.7 and 27.4 +/- 5.3% in 1 min of Ca2+ loading (P < 0.05), 12.2 +/- 3.2 and 24.7 +/- 3.8% in 4 min of Ca2+ loading (P < 0.05), respectively]. cAMP (10(-4) M) shifted the force-pCa relationship to the right similarly in normal and hypertrophied muscles, and there was no difference in the force-pCa relationship between the two groups either with or without cAMP.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Ca2+ handling and myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity in ferret cardiac myocytes with pressure-overload hypertrophy.

Experiments were performed in aequorin-loaded left ventricular myocytes isolated from hypertrophied hearts and age-matched controls. Five to six months after postvalvular aortic banding, left ventricular hypertrophy was present, as indicated by a 97% (P < 0.001) increase in the left ventricular weight-to-body weight ratio and a 24% (P < 0.001) increase in cell width. In comparison with controls, the hypertrophied myocytes demonstrated that 1) contraction duration was prolonged by 37% (P < 0.001) and was associated with a 44% (P < 0.001) prolongation of the intracellular Ca2+ transient; 2) peak systolic shortening was decreased by 31% (P < 0.001) and was associated with a 21% (P < 0.001) decrease in peak systolic intracellular Ca2+ concentration; 3) both the peak systolic intracellular Ca2+ concentration-to-peak shortening relationship and the intracellular Ca2+ concentration-to-cell shortening relationship at the time of the peak twitch were shifted downward, suggesting a decrease in myofilament Ca2+ responsiveness; and 4) isoproterenol (5 x 10(-8) M) produced equal increases in the peak systolic intracellular Ca2+ of control and hypertrophied myocytes (88 vs. 90%; P > 0.05) in contrast to much smaller increases in the peak cell shortening (170 vs. 73%; P < 0.02) of the hypertrophied myocytes, suggesting a decrease in myofilament Ca2+ responsiveness. These data demonstrate that the hypertrophy-related abnormalities in intracellular Ca2+ handling and mechanical function, previously reported in aequorin-loaded multicellular muscle preparations, are present in isolated myocytes, arguing against changes in the interstitium as essential causative factors.

Aequorin↗
PubMed1994

Effect of hypertrophy on mechanisms of relaxation in isolated cardiac myocytes from guinea pig.

Modifications to cell relaxation and handling of intracellular Ca have been demonstrated in animals with cardiac cell hypertrophy leading to decompensated heart failure. A previously described model of renal hypertension leading to cardiac cell hypertrophy in the guinea pig, produced using the Goldblatt 2-kidney, 1-clip technique, was used to investigate which of the main mechanisms causing cell relaxation (the sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-adenosinetriphosphatase and Na/Ca exchanger) are altered in hypertrophy. Relaxation upon rewarming from a rapid cooling contracture was slowed in hypertrophied (H) compared with control (C) cells. Relaxation was further slowed in H compared with C cells when Na/Ca exchange was inhibited by rewarming in a Na-free, Ca-free solution and slowed most markedly in H cells in the presence of 10 mM caffeine. Hypertrophy led to greater modification of cell length relaxation in comparison with the decline in the indo-1 transient, but the force-pCa relationship in skinned muscles showed that myofilament sensitivity was unchanged. Such results indicate that cell relaxation and Ca handling are affected in hypertrophy, possibly involving modifications of Na/Ca exchange activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Recovery of glycolysis and oxidative metabolism during postischemic reperfusion of hypertrophied rat hearts.

We investigated the source and extent of recovery of ATP production during postischemic reperfusion of isolated working hearts from abdominal aortic-banded rats. Rates of glycolysis, glucose oxidation, lactate oxidation, and palmitate oxidation were measured in hypertrophied and control hearts [perfused with (in mM) 11 glucose, 0.5 lactate, and 1.2 palmitate] during and after 30 min of no-flow ischemia. In the initial aerobic period glycolytic rates were 1.87-fold higher in hypertrophied hearts compared with control hearts (P < 0.05), with rates of carbohydrate and palmitate oxidation being similar. During reperfusion, hypertrophied hearts recovered 40% of preischemic function compared with 71% in control hearts. Rates of glycolysis during reperfusion of hypertrophied hearts remained accelerated compared with control hearts (2.01-fold higher, P < 0.05), whereas oxidative metabolism returned to preischemic values in both groups. The efficiency of converting ATP production into mechanical work decreased to 29% of preischemic values in hypertrophied hearts during the postischemic reperfusion compared with a decrease to only 59% of preischemic values in control hearts. This suggests that the recovery of glycolysis and oxidative metabolism in the hypertrophied heart during postischemic reperfusion is not impaired, but rather the efficiency of converting ATP produced into mechanical function decreases.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1999

AT1-receptor blockade enhances ischemic preconditioning in hypertrophied rat myocardium.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether ischemic preconditioning protects contractile function in hypertrophied rat myocardium from ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Male salt-sensitive rats were fed a high-salt diet for 2 wk to induce myocardial hypertrophy. Nonhypertrophied hearts were obtained from age-matched Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats fed a regular diet. Heart weight-to-body weight ratios were higher in salt-sensitive rats than in SD rats (6.9 +/- 0.2 vs. 4.7 +/- 0.2 g/kg, P < 0.01). A second group of salt-sensitive and SD rats was administered losartan (10 mg. kg(-1). day(-1)), an AT(1)-receptor blocker, for 1 wk before the study. Isolated hearts were preconditioned with transient ischemia before global I/R. After I/R, preconditioned hypertrophied hearts exhibited greater recovery of left ventricular developed pressure compared with that of preconditioned normal hearts (73 +/- 8 vs. 18 +/- 8%, P < 0.01). Left ventricular developed pressure was further enhanced by losartan in both hypertrophied and normal myocardium (99 +/- 5 vs. 73 +/- 8%, P < 0.05 and 97 +/- 15 vs. 18 +/- 8%, P < 0.01). Hypertrophied rat myocardium can be protected from I/R-induced contractile dysfunction by ischemic preconditioning. Losartan improves the ischemic tolerance of normal and hypertrophied myocardium.

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed2000

Cyclosporin A inhibits cardiac hypertrophy and enhances cardiac dysfunction during postinfarction failure in rats.

Calcineurin has recently been implicated as a mediator in the signaling pathways that transform intracellular calcium signals to the phenotype of myocardial hypertrophy. The present study was conducted to examine the effects of cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of calcineurin, on myocardial hypertrophy and remodeling during congestive heart failure (CHF) in rats. After ligation of the left coronary artery, rats were randomized to treatment with CsA or vehicle for 14 days. Compared with vehicle, CsA substantially attenuated myocardial hypertrophy in the CHF rats as assessed by alterations in ventricular weight-to-tibial length ratios (P < 0.05). Myocardial gene expression of skeletal alpha-actin was also reduced in the failing left ventricle (LV) after treatment with CsA (P < 0. 05), although the mRNA levels were still substantially elevated relative to those of sham rats. CsA-induced inhibition of compensatory myocardial hypertrophy in the CHF rats led to increased dilatation of the LV cavity and reduced fractional shortening and peak positive and negative first derivatives of LV pressure (P < 0. 05). Plasma renin and endothelin-1 levels were increased in the CHF-CsA rats, providing humoral cues of aggravated cardiac function. Thus this study supports a crucial role of calcineurin-dependent pathways in the mechanisms of compensatory myocardial hypertrophy during CHF. In addition, our data indicate that inhibition of compensatory myocardial hypertrophy exerts detrimental effects on cardiac remodeling and function after myocardial infarction.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Low-dose ramipril treatment improves relaxation and calcium cycling after established cardiac hypertrophy.

Rapid cooling contractures were used in this study to test whether low-dose ramipril improves sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) uptake and Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger function in isolated hypertrophied rat myocytes. Compensated cardiac hypertrophy was induced by abdominal aortic constriction for 5 wk followed by administration of ramipril (50 microg x kg(-1) x day(-1)) or vehicle for 4 wk. Myocyte cell length and cell width were significantly (P < 0.05) increased in both hypertrophied groups (+/-ramipril). Myocytes were loaded with indo 1, and relaxation was investigated after rapid cooling. Hypertrophied myocyte relaxation in Na(+)-free/Ca(2+)-free solution was 63% slower (P < 0.01) and the fall in intracellular Ca(2+) was 60% slower (P < 0.05) than the relaxation of control cells. After ramipril treatment both relaxation and the decline in intracellular Ca(2+) returned to control rates through improved SR Ca(2+)-ATPase function. Relaxation in caffeine showed no change after hypertrophy; however, after ramipril treatment the time to 50% relaxation in caffeine decreased by 30% (P < 0.05). The improvement in Ca(2+) extrusion across the sarcolemmal membrane occurred independently of changes in Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger mRNA and protein abundance. These data demonstrate that ramipril improves both SR-dependent and non-SR-dependent calcium cycling after established cardiac hypertrophy. However, the improvements in function are independent of transcriptional activation and likely to involve altered intracellular ion concentrations.

Animals↗