title: Raloxifene prevents cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction in pressure-overloaded mice.
abstract: 17beta-estradiol reduces myocardial hypertrophy and left ventricular mass, suggesting that the selective estrogen receptor modulator raloxifene may have similar effects. However, it is not clear whether raloxifene inhibits both cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction. We used transverse aortic-banded mice to produce pressure-overload cardiac hypertrophy and used neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes to investigate the cellular mechanisms of raloxifene on cardiac hypertrophy. Left ventricular mass and fractional shortening of mice hearts were measured by transthoracic echocardiography. Protein synthesis of cardiomyocytes was evaluated by incorporation of [3H]leucine into cardiomyocytes exposed to angiotensin II. Phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase was also observed in cardiomyocytes. Raloxifene prevented increases in left ventricular mass and decreases of fractional shortening at 4 weeks after aortic banding. Pretreatment with raloxifene before angiotensin II stimulation inhibited the increase in [3H]leucine incorporation into neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in a concentration-dependent manner. This inhibition was partially but not significantly attenuated by N(G)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase, and completely abolished by ICI182780, an estrogen receptor antagonist. Although the phosphorylation of p38 MAP kinase, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), or extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK) in cardiomyocytes was significantly increased by angiotensin II stimulation as compared with the control, pretreatment with raloxifene attenuated p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation, but neither JNK nor ERK phosphorylation. We conclude that raloxifene inhibits cardiac hypertrophy and dysfunction and that the inhibition of p38 MAP kinase phosphorylation after the stimulation of estrogen receptors may be involved in the cellular mechanisms of this agent.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine and Therapeutics, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Hisakazu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ogita
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Node
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liao
authors.forename: Fuminobu
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ishikura
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beppu
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Asanuma
authors.forename: Shoji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sanada
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takashima
authors.forename: Tetsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Minamino
authors.forename: Masatsugu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hori
authors.forename: Masafumi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kitakaze
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003250:Constriction; D004452:Echocardiography; D006439:Hemodynamics / Q000187:drug effects; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007930:Leucine / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D011312:Pressure; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D020845:Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D020845:Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators; D020849:Raloxifene Hydrochloride; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D007930:Leucine