Search

BACKGROUND – Sepsis is characterized by an overwhelming systemic inflammatory response to infection that may lead to multiple organ failure and death in over 20% of the estimated 49 million annual cases worldwide. Because sepsis-related inflammatory processes disturbing cardiac and endothelial cells homeostasis are still poorly understood, only few therapeutic strategies reached added-value efficacy in terms of mortality reduction in the critical care units. Using an innovative transgenic mouse line to detect the acute changes of newly synthetized proteins, we propose to assess the protein expression profile of cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells in a murine model of polymicrobial sepsis. METHODS – The Cre-recombinase mediated expression of mutant L274G-methionyl-tRNA synthetase (MetRS*) in transgenic mouse crosses enables the selective in vivo incorporation of azidonorleucine (ANL), a non-canonical methionine analog, in newly synthetized proteins. MetRS* mice expressing CDH5-creERT2 (CDH5, endothelial cells) or αMHC-MerCreMer (MCM, cardiomyocytes) underwent CLP (cecal ligation and puncture). The sepsis model was validated by echocardiography, inflammatory cytokine profiling and histology. Labeling efficiency of nascent proteins from MCM and CDH5 cells (heart and lung) were visualized by FUNCAT (Fluorescence non-canonical amino acid tagging) or purified by BONCAT (bioorthogonal non-canonical amino acid tagging) for mass spectrometry analysis. RESULTS – Significant elevation of circulating inflammatory cytokines proves the systemic inflammatory state of mice submitted to CLP compared to SHAM mice. Our experimental model also displays a significant impairment of the LV function at both systolic (reduced cardiac index) and diastolic levels (increased E/A and isovolumic relaxation time) confirming hemodynamics alteration related to sepsis. Metascape analysis showed expression changes for several proteins involved in the acute response to stress in both MCM and CDH5 samples. Overall, nascent protein synthesis is mainly reduced in MCM samples in sepsis (14 up/98 down), something not observed in CDH5 samples both in the heart (69 up/97 down) and in the lungs (137 up/43 down). Alterations in metabolic pathways such as pyruvate metabolism and glycolysis/gluconeogenesis were only observed in MCM samples while protein associated with focal adhesion, for example, was observed in heart and lungs CDH5 samples. CONCLUSIONS – The results of this study provide a better understanding of which proteins are altered in specific cell types in a sepsis model. We confirmed previously identified markers of inflammatory response in tissues, while identifying new protein candidates and signaling pathways that may contribute to key steps of sepsis detrimental effects and thus, offering potential new therapeutic avenues to curb the fatal outcomes of this disease. Supported by Canadian Institute of Health Research (CIHR) - Project Grants (399567) This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Background: We previously revealed that oral administration of the β3-adrenergic receptor (AR) agonist mirabegron only elicited small increases in brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis when ingested at the maximal allowable dose (200 mg). This led to off-target binding of the β1- and β2-AR, thereby increasing cardiovascular responses and white adipose tissue lipolysis, respectively. We hypothesize that a balanced activation between β1- and β3-AR is key to stimulating metabolic benefits without cardiovascular side effects. Method: We performed a randomized crossover trial in 8 lean men over two study days. The intervention consisted of oral administration of mirabegron (200 mg) with or without the cardio selective β1-AR antagonist bisoprolol (10 mg). Dynamic [11C]-acetate and 2-deoxy-2-[18F]fluoro-D-glucose ([18F]FDG) PET/CT scans were performed sequentially starting at 210 min after oral administration of mirabegron ± bisoprolol. Results: Compared to baselines measures, mirabegron alone or with bisoprolol increased energy expenditure (EE) by 27% (+18.2±6.7 kcal/h) and 11% (7.4±8.1 kcal/h), respectively. However, EE was significantly lower when mirabegron was co-ingested with bisoprolol (P=0.0402) Compared to room temperature, mirabegron alone increased BAT oxidative metabolism (0.631±0.267 vs 1.695±1.097 min-1 from the [11C]-acetate, P=0.0421), but was not different from mirabegron with bisoprolol (1.273±0.651 min-1). Metabolic rate of glucose in BAT, measured using [18F]FDG PET, was significantly higher with mirabegron than mirabegron combined with bisoprolol (24±10 vs 16±8 nmol/g/min, P=0.0284). Mirabegron also increased systolic blood pressure (+5±5 vs -6±10 mmHg, P=0.0252) and heart rate (6±7 vs -5±6 beats·min-1, P=0.0081) relative to baseline levels, which was prevented with bisoprolol. The glycerolipid-fatty acid cycling was not different between mirabegron without or with bisoprolol treatment (total cycling: 118.1±346.9 vs 168.5±439.5 μmol·min-1, P=0.8023). Conclusion: The administration of a β1-AR antagonist decreases the adverse cardiovascular effects of mirabegron. However, at the provided dose, it also restricts the stimulating effects of mirabegron on the thermogenesis. Public foundation grants This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.

Despite many decades of research examining thermoregulatory responses under varying cold stresses in humans, very little is known about the variability in metabolic heat production and shivering activity. Here, we used a novel closed-loop mean skin temperature clamping technique with a liquid-conditioned suit to isolate the effects of mean skin temperature on the subjective evaluation of thermal sensation, heat production, shivering responses, and oxidative fuel selection in young, lean, and healthy men ( n = 12) and women ( n = 12). Our results showed a skin temperature-dependent increase in metabolic heat production (5.2 ± 1.2 kJ/min, 5.9 ± 1.5 kJ/min, and 7.0 ± 1.8 kJ/min with skin temperature maintained at 31 ± 0.1°C, 29 ± 0.2°C, and 27 ± 0.1°C, respectively; P < 0.0001) and shivering intensity in both men and women [0.6 ± 0.1% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), 1.1 ± 0.4% MVC, and 2.5 ± 0.7% MVC, respectively; P < 0.0001], including sex-dependent differences in heat production at all three temperatures ( P < 0.005). Even when controlling for lean body mass and fat mass, sex differences persisted ( P = 0.048 and P = 0.004, respectively), whereas controlling for differences in body surface area eliminated these differences. Interestingly, there were no sex differences in the cold-induced change in thermogenesis. Despite clamping skin temperature, there was tremendous variability in the rate of heat production and shivering intensity. Collectively this data suggests that many of the interindividual differences in thermogenesis and shivering may be explained by differences in morphology and body composition.

Pharmacological stimulation of human brown adipose tissue (BAT) has been hindered by either ineffective activation or undesirable off-target secondary effects. Oral administration of the maximal allowable dose of mirabegron (200 mg), a β3-adrenergic receptor (β3-AR) agonist, has been effective in stimulating BAT thermogenesis and whole-body energy expenditure. However, this too has been accompanied by undesirable cardiovascular effects. Combining mirabegron with a cardio-selective β1-AR antagonist could not only suppress these unwanted effects, but potentially increase the sensitivity of the β3-AR and β2-AR in WAT and BAT. Here we report that co-ingesting a high dose of the β1-AR antagonist bisoprolol with mirabegron suppresses the increase in heart rate, systolic blood pressure and myocardial oxygen consumption. However, it also blunted the mirabegron-stimulated increase in BAT lipolysis, thermogenesis and glucose uptake. Whether the attenuation in BAT blood flow induced by the large dose of bisoprolol limited BAT thermogenesis remains to be determined. Clinical Trial Registration ID #:NCT04823442

Apelin receptor (APJ) activation by apelin-13 (APLN-13) engages both Gαi proteins and β-arrestins, stimulating distinct intracellular pathways and triggering physiological responses like enhanced cardiac contractility. Substituting the C-terminal phenylalanine of APLN-13 with α-methyl-l-phenylalanine [(l-α-Me)Phe] or p-benzoyl-l-phenylalanine (Bpa) generates biased analogs inducing APJ functional selectivity toward Gαi proteins. Using these original analogs, we proposed to investigate how the canonical Gαi signaling of APJ regulates the cardiac function and to assess their therapeutic impact in a rat model of isoproterenol-induced myocardial dysfunction. In vivo and ex vivo infusions of either Bpa or (l-α-Me)Phe analogs failed to enhance rats' left ventricular (LV) contractility compared with APLN-13. Inhibition of Gαi with pertussis toxin injection optimized the cardiotropic effect of APLN-13 and revealed the inotropic impact of Bpa. Moreover, both APLN-13 and Bpa efficiently limited the forskolin-induced and PKA-dependent phosphorylation of phospholamban at the Ser16 in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. However, only Bpa significantly reduced the inotropic effect of forskolin infusion in isolated-perfused heart, highlighting its efficient bias toward Gαi. Compared with APLN-13, Bpa also markedly improved isoproterenol-induced myocardial systolic and diastolic dysfunctions. Bpa prevented cardiac weight increase, normalized both ANP and BNP mRNA expressions, and decreased LV fibrosis in isoproterenol-treated rats. Our results show that APJ-driven Gαi/adenylyl cyclase signaling is functional in cardiomyocytes and acts as negative feedback of the APLN-APJ-dependent inotropic response. Biased APJ signaling toward Gαi over the β-arrestin pathway offers a promising strategy in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases related to myocardial hypertrophy and high catecholamine levels.NEW & NOTEWORTHY By using more potent Gαi-biased APJ agonists that strongly inhibit cAMP production, these data point to the negative inotropic effect of APJ-mediated Gαi signaling in the heart and highlight the potential protective impact of APJ-dependent Gαi signaling in cardiovascular diseases associated with left ventricular hypertrophy.

Srsf3 was recently reported as being necessary to preserve RNA stability via an mTOR mechanism in a cardiac mouse model in adulthood. Here, we demonstrate the link between Srsf3 and mitochondrial integrity in an embryonic cardiomyocyte-specific Srsf3 conditional knockout (cKO) mouse model. Fifteen-day-old Srsf3 cKO mice showed dramatically reduced (below 50%) survival and reduced left ventricular systolic performance, and histological analysis of these hearts revealed a significant increase in cardiomyocyte size, confirming the severe remodelling induced by Srsf3 deletion. RNA-seq analysis of the hearts of 5-day-old Srsf3 cKO mice revealed early changes in expression levels and alternative splicing of several transcripts related to mitochondrial integrity and oxidative phosphorylation. Likewise, the levels of several protein complexes of the electron transport chain decreased, and mitochondrial complex I-driven respiration of permeabilized cardiac muscle fibres from the left ventricle was impaired. Furthermore, transmission electron microscopy analysis showed disordered mitochondrial length and cristae structure. Together with its indispensable role in the physiological maintenance of mouse hearts, these results highlight the previously unrecognized function of Srsf3 in regulating mitochondrial integrity.

The p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway is essential for normal heart function. However, p38 also contributes to heart failure pathogenesis by affecting cardiomyocytes contractility and survival. To unravel part of the complex role of p38 in cardiac function, we performed an APEX2-based proximity assay in cultured neonatal rat ventricular myocytes and identified the protein interaction networks (interactomes) of two highly expressed p38 isoforms in the heart. We found that p38α and p38γ have distinct interactomes in cardiomyocytes under both basal and osmotic stress-activated states. Interestingly, the activated p38α interactome contains many RNA-binding proteins implicated in splicing, including the serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 3 (SRSF3). Its interaction with the activated p38α was validated by co-immunoprecipitation. The cytoplasmic abundance and alternative splicing function of SRSF3 are also both modulated by the p38 signaling pathway. Our findings reveal a new function for p38 as a specific regulator of SRSF3 in cardiomyocytes.

Objectives Apelin-13 was recently proposed as an alternative to the recommended β-adrenergic drugs for supporting endotoxin-induced myocardial dysfunction. Since Apelin-13 signals through its receptor (Apelin peptide jejunum) to exert singular inotropic/vasotropic actions and to optimize body fluid balance, this candidate pathway might benefit septic shock management. Whether the newly discovered ELABELA (ELA), a second endogenous ligand of the Apelin peptide jejunum receptor highly expressed in the kidney, further improves cardio-renal impairment remains unknown. Design, setting, and subjects Interventional study in a rat model of septic shock (128 adult males) to assess the effects of ELA and Apelin-13 on vascular and cardio-renal function. Experiments were performed in a tertiary care University-based research institute. Interventions Polymicrobial sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction was produced by cecal ligation puncture to assess hemodynamic efficacy, cardioprotection, and biomechanics under acute or continuous infusions of the apelinergic agonists ELA or Apelin-13 (39 and 15 µg/kg/hr, respectively) versus normal saline. Measurements and main results Apelinergic agonists improved 72-hour survival after sepsis induction, with ELA providing the best clinical outcome after 24 hours. Apelinergic agonist infusion counteracted cecal ligation puncture-induced myocardial dysfunction by improving left ventricular pressure-volume relationship. ELA-treated cecal ligation puncture rats were the only group to 1) display a significant improvement in left ventricular filling as shown by increased E-wave velocity and left ventricular end-diastolic volume, 2) exhibit a higher plasma volume, and 3) limit kidney injury and free-water clearance. These beneficial renal effects were superior to Apelin-13, likely because full-length ELA enabled a distinctive regulation of pituitary vasopressin release. Conclusions Activation of the apelinergic system by exogenous ELA or Apelin-13 infusion improves cardiovascular function and survival after cecal ligation puncture-induced sepsis. However, ELA proved better than Apelin-13 by improving fluid homeostasis, cardiovascular hemodynamics recovery, and limiting kidney dysfunction in a vasopressinergic-dependent manner.

Background Recent genetic studies in model organisms, such as Drosophila, C. elegans and mice, have highlighted a critical role for dual leucine zipper kinase (DLK) in neural development and axonal responses to injury. However, exactly how DLK fulfills these functions remains to be determined. Using RNA-seq profiling, we evaluated the global changes in gene expression that are caused by shRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous DLK in differentiated Neuro-2a neuroblastoma cells. Results Our analysis led to the identification of numerous up- and down-regulated genes, among which several were found to be associated with system development and axon guidance according to gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analyses, respectively. Because of their importance in axonal growth, pruning and regeneration during development and adult life, we then examined by quantitative RT-PCR the mRNA expression levels of the identified axon guidance genes in DLK-depleted cells. Consistent with the RNA-seq data, our results confirmed that loss of DLK altered expression of the genes encoding neuropilin 1 (Nrp1), plexin A4 (Plxna4), Eph receptor A7 (Epha7), Rho family GTPase 1 (Rnd1) and semaphorin 6B (Sema6b). Interestingly, this regulation of Nrp1 and Plxna4 mRNA expression by DLK in Neuro-2a cells was also reflected at the protein level, implicating DLK in the modulation of the function of these axon guidance molecules. Conclusions Collectively, these results provide the first evidence that axon guidance genes are downstream targets of the DLK signaling pathway, which through their regulation probably modulates neuronal cell development, structure and function. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13064-016-0068-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Genes down-regulated by two-fold or more in DLK-depleted cells. (PDF 94 kb)

Primers used in this study. (PDF 60 kb)

Genes up-regulated by two-fold or more in DLK-depleted cells. (PDF 103 kb)