Heterozygous knockout of neuregulin-1 gene in mice exacerbates doxorubicin-induced heart failure.
Neuregulins and their erbB receptors are essential for cardiac development and postulated to be cardioprotective in the presence of injury in the postnatal heart. We tested the hypothesis that the development of doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity in vivo is more severe in mice with heterozygous knockout of the neuregulin-1 gene (NRG-1(+/-)) compared with wild-type mice (WT). Three-month old NRG-1(+/-) and WT mice were injected with a single dose of doxorubicin (20 mg/kg ip). Survival was analyzed by the Kaplan-Meier approach. Left ventricular (LV) function and signaling pathways were analyzed 4 days after treatment. Fifteen days after treatment, survival was significantly lower in doxorubicin-treated NRG-1(+/-) mice (NRG-1(+/-)-Dox) compared with doxorubicin-treated WT mice (WT-Dox) (15% vs. 33%, P < 0.01). LV mass was significantly lower in NRG-1(+/-)-Dox but not in WT-Dox compared with nontreated animals. LV systolic pressure and LV midwall fractional shortening were significantly lower in NRG-1(+/-)-Dox compared with WT-Dox mice. LV protein levels of NRG-1, erbB2, and erbB4 receptors were similar in WT-Dox and NRG-1(+/-)-Dox mice. However, levels of phosphorylated erbB2, Akt, and ERK-1/2 were significantly decreased in NRG-1(+/-)-Dox compared with WT-Dox mice. A significant decrease in phosphorylated P70S6K levels was also observed in NRG-1(+/-)-Dox compared with nontreated NRG-1(+/-) mice. These results demonstrate that heterozygous knockout of the neuregulin-1 gene worsens survival and LV function in the presence of doxorubicin-induced cardiac injury in vivo. This is associated with the depression of activation of the erbB2 receptor as well as Akt, p70S6K, and ERK-1/2 pathways.
Liu
Fen-Fen
FF
Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Ave., Rm. SL-221, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Stone
James R
JR
Schuldt
Adam J T
AJ
Okoshi
Katashi
K
Okoshi
Marina P
MP
Nakayama
Masaharu
M
Ho
Kalon K L
KK
Manning
Warren J
WJ
Marchionni
Mark A
MA
Lorell
Beverly H
BH
Morgan
James P
JP
Yan
Xinhua
X
D000818:Animals; D002303:Cardiac Output, Low / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004317:Doxorubicin; D004452:Echocardiography; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D006439:Hemodynamics; D006579:Heterozygote; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D051379:Mice; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D020890:Neuregulin-1 / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000235:genetics; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015398:Signal Transduction; D016019:Survival Analysis
D004317:Doxorubicin; D066246:ErbB Receptors; D020890:Neuregulin-1; D018719:Erb-b2 Receptor Tyrosine Kinases; D066247:Receptor, ErbB-4; C587690:Erbb4 protein, mouse