We studied the implication of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in cardiac mitochondrial biogenesis induced by mechanical stress. Prolonged stretching (2-12 h) of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVM) upregulated the main components of mitochondrial transcription cascade [peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor coactivator-1 (PGC-1α), nuclear respiratory factor (NRF-1), and mitochondrial transcription factor A]. Concomitantly, prolonged stretching enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis [copy number of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), content of the subunit IV of cytochrome oxidase, and mitochondrial staining-green fluorescence intensity of Mitotracker green] and induced the hypertrophic growth (cell size and atrial natriuretic peptide transcripts) of NRVM. Furthermore, the stretching of NRVM enhanced phosphorylation, nuclear localization, and association of FAK with PGC-1α. Recombinant FAK COOH-terminal, but not the NH(2)-terminal or kinase domain, precipitated PGC-1α from nuclear extracts of NRVM. Depletion of FAK by RNA interference suppressed the upregulation of PGC-1α and NRF-1 and markedly attenuated the enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis and hypertrophic growth of stretched NRVM. In the context of energy metabolism, FAK depletion became manifest by a reduction of ATP levels in stretched NRVM. Complementary studies in adult mice left ventricle demonstrated that pressure overload upregulated PGC-1α, NRF-1, and mtDNA. In vivo FAK silencing transiently attenuated the upregulation of PGC-1α, NRF-1, and mtDNA, as well as the left ventricular hypertrophy induced by pressure overload. In conclusion, activation of FAK signaling seems to be important for conferring enhanced mitochondrial biogenesis coupled to the hypertrophic growth of cardiomyocytes in response to mechanical stress, via control of mitochondrial transcription cascade.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an endocrine disruptor associated with higher risk of insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases especially in susceptible populations. Because malnutrition is a nutritional disorder associated with high cardiovascular risk, we sought to compare the effects of short-term BPA exposure on cardiovascular parameters of healthy and protein-malnourished mice. Postweaned male mice were fed a normo- (control) or low-protein (LP) diet for 8 weeks and then exposed or not to BPA (50 μg kg−1 day−1) for the last 9 days. Systolic blood pressure was higher in BPA or LP groups compared with the control group. However, diastolic blood pressure was enhanced by BPA only in malnourished mice. Left ventricle (LV) end diastolic pressure (EDP), collagen deposition, and CTGF mRNA expression were higher in the control or malnourished mice exposed to BPA than in the respective nonexposed groups. Nevertheless, mice fed LP diet exposed to BPA exhibited higher angiotensinogen and cardiac TGF-β1 mRNA expression than mice treated with LP or BPA alone. Wall:lumen ratio and cross-sectional area of intramyocardial arteries were higher either in the LP or BPA group compared with the control mice. Taken together, our data suggest that short-term BPA exposure results in LV diastolic dysfunction and fibrosis, and intramyocardial arteries inward remodeling, besides potentiate protein malnutrition-induced hypertension and cardiovascular risk.

No abstract

Myocardial fibrosis is maladaptive, accelerating the evolution of diseased hearts to failure. The pathogenesis of myocardial fibrosis is critically dependent on complex processes of activation (i.e. enhanced proliferation, production and secretion of soluble factors, collagen and matrix metalloproteinases) and terminal differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts into myofibroblasts, resultant from the mobilization of numerous signaling molecules by physical and humoral stimuli. Noting that Focal Adhesion Kinase (FAK) is activated in areas of ongoing myocardial fibrosis, we sought to examine whether it is a critical mediator of fibrogenesis in load-induced hypertrophic hearts. Isolated fibroblasts from hypertrophic hearts of mice subjected to transverse aortic constriction (TAC; 1 to 8 weeks) were highly activated as recognized by markers that indicate enhanced proliferation (nuclear Ki67), production of collagen and matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and differentiation into myofibroblasts (expression of α-smooth muscle actin - α-SMA). In these cells, FAK was upregulated, as also were its dowstream pathways Src/ERK1/2 and PI3K/AKT/mTOR. Depletion of FAK (∼80%) after treatment with small interfering RNA (siRNA-FAK) markedly attenuated cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and significantly reduced the number of activated fibroblasts harvested from overloaded hearts. Restoration of FAK function by overexpressing a full-length FAK construct in these cells, selectively enhanced the activity of the downstream PI3K/AKT/mTOR and rescued the activated phenotype of fibroblasts. Transfection with an inactive FAK mutant (Tyr397 substituted by phenylalanine) did not rescue the activated phenotype of fibroblasts harvested from overloaded hearts depleted of FAK. However, cells harvested from overloaded hearts depleted of FAK and treated with the mTOR activating aminoacid leucine showed typical phenotype of activated fibroblasts. These findings uncover a role for FAK in regulating the signaling cascade PI3K/AKT/mTOR in cardiac fibroblasts, which seems to be critical for the pathogenesis of myocardial fibrosis in hypertrophic hearts. Targeting this pathway may provide a novel strategy for treating hypertrophic heart diseases.