title: Cardiac ankyrin repeat protein is a novel marker of cardiac hypertrophy: role of M-CAT element within the promoter.
abstract: CARP, a cardiac doxorubicin (adriamycin)-responsive protein, has been identified as a nuclear protein whose expression is downregulated in response to doxorubicin. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that CARP serves as a reliable genetic marker of cardiac hypertrophy in vivo and in vitro. CARP expression was markedly increased in 3 distinct models of cardiac hypertrophy in rats: constriction of abdominal aorta, spontaneously hypertensive rats, and Dahl salt-sensitive rats. In addition, we found that CARP mRNA levels correlate very strongly with the brain natriuretic peptide mRNA levels in Dahl rats. Transient transfection assays into primary cultures of neonatal rat cardiac myocytes indicate that transcription from the CARP and brain natriuretic peptide promoters is stimulated by overexpression of p38 and Rac1, components of the stress-activated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Mutation analysis and electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated that the M-CAT element can serve as a binding site for nuclear factors, and this element is important for the induction of CARP promoter activity by p38 and Rac1. Thus, our data suggest that M-CAT element is responsible for the regulation of the CARP gene in response to the activation of stress-responsive mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Moreover, given that activation of these pathways is associated with cardiac hypertrophy, we propose that CARP represents a novel genetic marker of cardiac hypertrophy.
authors.affiliation: Second Department of Internal Medicine, Gunma University School of Medicine, Maebashi, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Aihara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurabayashi
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Saito
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohyama
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takeda
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tomaru
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sekiguchi
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017089:Ankyrin Repeat; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000378:metabolism*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008297:Male; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000502:physiology; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000235:genetics; D009687:Nuclear Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D051381:Rats; D011918:Rats, Inbred SHR; D011921:Rats, Inbred WKY; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C491303:Ankrd1 protein, rat; D009124:Muscle Proteins; D009687:Nuclear Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012097:Repressor Proteins; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D020830:rac1 GTP-Binding Protein