Immediately after ACF induction, eccentric LV remodeling is mediated by interstitial collagen loss without cardiomyocyte elongation. Acute BK2R blockade prevents eccentric LV remodeling and improves function. Chronic ACE inhibition does not prevent eccentric LV remodeling or improve function. These findings suggest that ACE inhibitor-mediated increase in LV BK exacerbates matrix loss and explains why ACE inhibition is ineffective in VO.

Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and intracellular Ca2+ overload are key mechanisms involved in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial injury. The relationship between I/R injury and Ca2+overload has not been fully characterized. The increase in Na+/H+ exchanger (NHE-1) activity observed during I/R injury is an attractive candidate to link increased ROS production with Ca2+ overload. We have shown that low doses of H2O2 increase NHE-1 activity in an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-dependent manner. In this study, we examined the effect of low doses of H2O2 on intracellular Ca2+ in fura 2-loaded, spontaneously contracting neonatal rat ventricular myocytes. H2O2 induced a time- and concentration-dependent increase in diastolic intracellular Ca2+ concentration that was blocked by inhibition of ERK1/2 activation with 5 μM U-0126 (88%) or inhibition of NHE-1 with 5 μM HOE-642 (50%). Increased NHE activity was associated with phosphorylation of the NHE-1 carboxyl tail that was blocked by U-0126. These results suggest that H2O2 induced Ca2+ overload is partially mediated by NHE-1 activation secondary to phosphorylation of NHE-1 by the ERK1/2 MAP kinase pathway.

Two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy (TPEFM) permits the investigation of the topology of intercellular events within living animals. TPEFM was used to monitor the distribution of mitochondrial reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(P)H) in murine skeletal muscle in vivo. NAD(P)H fluorescence emission was monitored ( approximately 460 nm) using 710-720 nm excitation. High-resolution TPEFM images were collected up to a depth of 150 microm from the surface of the tibialis anterior muscle. The NAD(P)H fluorescence images revealed subcellular structures consistent with subsarcolemmal, perivascular, intersarcomeric, and paranuclear mitochondria. In vivo fiber typing between IIB and IIA/D fibers was possible using the distribution and content of mitochondria from the NAD(P)H fluorescence signal. The intersarcomeric mitochondria concentrated at the Z-line in the IIB fiber types resulting in a periodic pattern with a spacing of one sarcomere (2.34 +/- 0.17 microm). The primary inner filter effects were nearly equivalent to water, however, the secondary inner filter effects were highly significant and dynamically affected the observed emission frequency and amplitude of the NAD(P)H fluorescence signal. These data demonstrate the feasibility, and highlight the complexity, of using NAD(P)H TPEFM in skeletal muscle to characterize the topology and metabolic function of mitochondria within the living mouse.

SummaryTwo-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy and backscattered-second harmonic generation microscopy permit the investigation of the subcellular events within living animals but numerous aspects of these experiments need to be optimized to overcome the traditional microscope geometry, motion and optical coupling to the subject. This report describes a stable system for supporting a living instrumented mouse or rabbit during endogenous reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide and exogenous dye two-photon excitation fluorescence microscopy measurements, and backscattered-second harmonic generation microscopy measurements. The system was a modified inverted LSM510 microscope (Carl Zeiss, Inc., Thornwood, NY, U.S.A.) with a rotating periscope that converted the inverted scope to an upright format, with the objective located approximately, 15 cm from the centre of the microscope base, allowing easy placement of an instrumented animal. An Olympus 20 × water immersion objective was optically coupled to the tissue, without a cover glass, via a saline bath or custom hydrated transparent gel. The instrumented animals were held on a specially designed holder that poised the animal under the objective as well as permitted different ventilation schemes to minimize motion. Using this approach, quality images were routinely collected in living animals from both the peripheral and body cavity organs. The remaining most significant issue for physiological studies using this approach is motion on the micrometre scale. Several strategies for motion compensation are described and discussed.