Augustus AS, Buchanan J, Addya S, Rengo G, Pestell RG, Fortina P, Koch WJ, Bensadoun A, Abel ED, Lisanti MP. Substrate uptake and metabolism are preserved in hypertrophic caveolin-3 knockout hearts. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 295: H657-H666, 2008. First published June 13, 2008 doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00387.2008, the primary protein component of caveolae in muscle cells, regulates numerous signaling pathways including insulin receptor signaling and facilitates free fatty acid (FA) uptake by interacting with several FA transport proteins. We previously reported that Cav3 knockout mice (Cav3KO) develop cardiac hypertrophy with diminished contractile function; however, the effects of Cav3 gene ablation on cardiac substrate utilization are unknown. The present study revealed that the uptake and oxidation of FAs and glucose were normal in hypertrophic Cav3KO hearts. Real-time PCR analysis revealed normal expression of lipid metabolism genes including FA translocase (CD36) and carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1 in Cav3KO hearts. Interestingly, myocardial cAMP content was significantly increased by 42%; however, this had no effect on PKA activity in Cav3KO hearts. Microarray expression analysis revealed a marked increase in the expression of genes involved in receptor trafficking to the plasma membrane, including Rab4a and the expression of WD repeat/FYVE domain containing proteins. We observed a fourfold increase in the expression of cellular retinol binding protein-III and a 3.5-fold increase in 17-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 11, a member of the short-chain dehydrogenase/ reductase family involved in the biosynthesis and inactivation of steroid hormones. In summary, a loss of Cav3 in the heart leads to cardiac hypertrophy with normal substrate utilization. Moreover, a loss of Cav3 mRNA altered the expression of several genes not previously linked to cardiac growth and function. Thus we have identified a number of new target genes associated with the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy. cardiomyopathy; caveolae; fatty acids; isolated perfused hearts; adenosine 3Ј,5Ј-cyclic monophosphate FIRST DESCRIBED NEARLY sixty years ago, caveolae are 50-to 100-nm flask-shaped plasma membrane invaginations enriched in cholesterol, sphingolipids, and the primary protein component, caveolin. Caveolins and caveolae are involved in a number of diverse cellular processes including signal transduction, vesicular transport, and cholesterol metabolism. The caveolin gene family consists of three gene products including caveolin-1 and -2, which are coexpressed in several tissues including adipocytes, fibroblast, smooth muscle, and endothelial cells. Caveolin-3 (Cav3) is expressed in skeletal, smooth, and cardiac muscle and is involved in several myocyte-specific functions. During development, Cav3 expression increases threefold beginning at postnatal day 2 until day 90 in the rat heart (41). Cav3 associates with the T tubule system during development (40) and localizes to the sarcolemma in mature muscle fibers (43). Furthermore, Cav...