Abstract-Voltage-gated T-type Ca 2ϩ channels (T-channels) are normally expressed during embryonic development in ventricular myocytes but are undetectable in adult ventricular myocytes. Interestingly, T-channels are reexpressed in hypertrophied or failing hearts. It is unclear whether T-channels play a role in the pathogenesis of cardiomyopathy and what the mechanism might be. Here we show that the ␣ 1H voltage-gated T-type Ca 2ϩ channel (Ca v 3.2) is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy via the activation of calcineurin/nuclear factor of activated T cells (NFAT) pathway. Specifically, pressure overload-induced hypertrophy was severely suppressed in mice deficient for Ca v 3.2 (Ca v 3.2 Ϫ/Ϫ ) but not in mice deficient for Ca v 3.1 (Ca v 3.1 Ϫ/Ϫ ). Angiotensin II-induced cardiac hypertrophy was also suppressed in Ca v 3.2 Ϫ/Ϫ mice. Consistent with these findings, cultured neonatal myocytes isolated from Ca v 3.2 Ϫ/Ϫ mice fail to respond hypertrophic stimulation by treatment with angiotensin II. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of Ca v 3.2 in the development of cardiac hypertrophy both in vitro and in vivo. To test whether Ca v 3.2 mediates the hypertrophic response through the calcineurin/NFAT pathway, we generated Ca v 3.2 Ϫ/Ϫ , NFAT-luciferase reporter mice and showed that NFAT-luciferase reporter activity failed to increase after pressure overload in the Ca v 3.2 Ϫ/Ϫ /NFAT-Luc mice. Our results provide strong genetic evidence that Ca v 3.2 indeed plays a pivotal role in the induction of calcineurin/NFAT hypertrophic signaling and is crucial for the activation of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. H ypertrophic growth and remodeling of the adult heart begin as normal compensatory responses to a variety of physiological and pathological stimuli including exercise, pregnancy, pressure overload, hypertension, myocardial infarction, and primary genetic abnormalities. [1][2][3] Prolonged hypertrophic response may eventually lead to heart failure and death. Pathological hypertrophy is often associated with structural and functional remodeling of the heart. Profound changes in gene expression during pathological cardiac hypertrophy are common, particularly in the case of genes that code for proteins involved in regulating contraction ion channels, for example. 4 Alterations of intracellular Ca 2ϩ handling could lead to abnormal Ca 2ϩ signaling cascades, a phenomenon that has been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. 5,6 However, the detailed mechanism of how the cardiac myocytes distinguish Ca 2ϩ transients that occur at every heartbeat from those meant to trigger intracellular hypertrophic signaling remains largely unknown. Intracellular Ca 2ϩ levels could be altered because of either changes in Ca 2ϩ release from intracellular organelles or the influx of extracellular Ca 2ϩ , and in both cases, this could be attributable to the activities of either ligand-or voltage-activated Ca 2ϩ channels. Indeed, ligand-activated Ca 2ϩ channels, such as ...

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Treatments for chronic musculoskeletal pain, such as lower back pain, fibromyalgia, and myofascial pain syndrome, remain inadequate because of our poor understanding of the mechanisms that underlie these conditions. Although T-type Ca 2ϩ channels (T-channels) have been implicated in peripheral and central pain sensory pathways, their role in chronic musculoskeletal pain is still unclear. Here, we show that acid-induced chronic mechanical hyperalgesia develops in Ca v 3.1-deficient and wild-type but not in Ca v 3.2-deficient male and female mice. We also show that T-channels are required for the initiation, but not maintenance, of acid-induced chronic muscle pain. Blocking T-channels using ethosuximide prevented chronic mechanical hyperalgesia in wild-type mice when administered intraperitoneally or intracerebroventricularly, but not intramuscularly or intrathecally. Furthermore, we found an acid-induced, Ca v 3.2 T-channeldependent activation of ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) in the anterior nucleus of paraventricular thalamus (PVA), and prevention of the ERK activation abolished the chronic mechanical hyperalgesia. Our findings suggest that Ca v 3.2 T-channel-dependent activation of ERK in PVA is required for the development of acid-induced chronic mechanical hyperalgesia.