title: Hypoxia, via stabilization of the hypoxia-inducible factor HIF-1alpha, is a direct and sufficient stimulus for brain-type natriuretic peptide induction.
abstract: BNP (brain-type natriuretic peptide) is a cardiac hormone with systemic haemodynamic effects as well as local cytoprotective and antiproliferative properties. It is induced under a variety of pathophysiological conditions, including decompensated heart failure and myocardial infarction. Since regional hypoxia is a potential common denominator of increased wall stretch and myocardial hypoperfusion, we investigated the direct effects of hypoxia on BNP expression, and the role of the HIF (hypoxia-inducible transcription factor) in BNP regulation. Using an RNase protection assay we found a strong hypoxic induction of BNP mRNA expression in different cell lines and in cultured adult rat cardiomyocytes. Systemic hypoxia and exposure to 0.1% CO induced BNP expression in the rodent myocardium in vivo, although this was at a lower amplitude. BNP promoter-driven luciferase expression increased 10-fold after hypoxic stimulation in transient transfections. Inactivation of four putative HREs (hypoxia-response elements) in the promoter by site-directed mutagenesis revealed that the HRE at -466 nt was responsible for hypoxic promoter activation. A functional CACAG motif was identified upstream of this HRE. The HIF-1 complex bound specifically and inducibly only to the HRE at -466 nt, as shown by EMSA (electrophoretic mobility-shift assay) and ChIP (chromatin immunoprecipitation). siRNA (small interfering RNA)-mediated knockdown of HIF-1alpha, but not HIF-2alpha, interfered with hypoxic BNP mRNA induction and BNP promoter activation, confirming that BNP is a specific HIF-1alpha target gene. In conclusion, BNP appears to be part of the protective program steered by HIF-1 in response to oxygen deprivation. Induction of BNP may therefore contribute to the potential benefits of pharmacological HIF inducers in the treatment of ischaemic heart disease and heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany. aweidemann@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Weidemann
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Klanke
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: Tilmann
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Volk
authors.forename: Carsten
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Willam
authors.forename: Michael S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Wiesener
authors.forename: Kai-Uwe
authors.initials: KU
authors.lastname: Eckardt
authors.forename: Christina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Warnecke
mesh_terms: D041721:3T3-L1 Cells; D020816:Amino Acid Motifs; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia; D051795:Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000473:pathology; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000473:pathology; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D020097:Natriuretic Peptide, Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D017208:Rats, Wistar