AIMS Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is the most frequent cardiac complication in chronic renal disease. Previous studies implicate elevated serum phosphorus as a risk factor for LVH. METHODS We treated 5/6 nephrectomized rats with enalapril or enalapril + sevelamer carbonate for 4 months to determine if sevelamer carbonate had an additional beneficial effect on the development of LVH and ...

Developing organs acquire a specific three-dimensional form that ensures their normal function. Cardiac function, for example, depends upon properly shaped chambers that emerge from a primitive heart tube. The cellular mechanisms that control chamber shape are not yet understood. Here, we demonstrate that chamber morphology develops via changes in cell morphology, and we determine key regulator...

Previous attempts to delineate the consequences of Galpha (q) activation in cardiomyocytes relied largely on molecular strategies in cultures or transgenic mice. Modest levels of wild-type Galpha(q) overexpression induce stable cardiac hypertrophy, whereas intense Galpha(q) stimulation induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis. The precise mechanism(s) whereby traditional targets of Galpha (q) subunits t...

M ineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists are beneficial in heart failure and can reduce the incidence of sudden cardiac death, although side effects (including hyperkalemia) limit their widespread use. Establishing tissue-specific roles for MR signaling is critical to develop selective target therapies to achieve the beneficial effects of MR blockade without del-eterious side effects. MR si...

BACKGROUND The high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) protein mediates the cardiomyocyte-cardiac fibroblast interaction that contributes to induction of myocardial fibrosis in diabetes mellitus (DM). In the present study, we aim to investigate the intracellular signaling pathway that leads to cardiomyocyte HMGB1 expression under a diabetic environment. RESULTS HMGB1 expression is increased in high...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS. Dysregulation of Akt has been implicated in diseases such as cancer and diabetes, although little is known about the role of Akt deficiency on cardiomyocyte contractile function. This study was designed to examine the effect of Akt2 knockout-induced cardiomyocyte contractile response and the effect of dietary supplementation of short-chain fatty acid propionate on Akt2 knoc...

Female gender and estrogen-replacement therapy in postmenopausal women are associated with improved heart failure survival, and physiological replacement of 17beta-estradiol (E2) reduces infarct size and cardiomyocyte apoptosis in animal models of myocardial infarction (MI). Here, we characterize the molecular mechanisms of E2 effects on cardiomyocyte survival in vivo and in vitro. Ovariectomiz...

OBJECTIVE We have recently demonstrated that endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) promotes cardiomyocyte proliferation. However, mechanisms by which eNOS regulates cardiomyocyte proliferation are not fully understood. The goal of the present study was to investigate the role of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-3 (TIMP-3) in eNOS-mediated cardiomyocyte proliferation. METHODS AND RESUL...

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a sphingolipid metabolite that regulates many essential biological processes in various cells and tissues. S1Pmay act as an extracellular ligand to specific G protein-coupled S1P receptors (S1P1–5) or as an intracellular second messenger. Sphingosine is derived from cleavage of ceramide by ceramidases in the sphingolipid degradative pathway. It can be catalyzed ...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effect of nicotine on cardiomyocyte apoptosis in vitro and explore the potential mechanisms involved. METHODS The MTT assay was used to detect the viability of cultured cardiomyocytes exposed to different concentrations of nicotine (0.1-100 microM). Laser confocal microscopy, TUNEL assay and flow cytometry were utilized to detect cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Oxidative...