title: Ca2+ oscillation frequency decoding in cardiac cell hypertrophy: role of calcineurin/NFAT as Ca2+ signal integrators.
abstract: The role of Ca(2+) signaling in triggering hypertrophy was investigated in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in vitro. We show that an increase in cell size and sarcomere reorganization were elicited by receptor agonists such as Angiotensin II, aldosterone, and norepinephrine and by a small rise in medium KCl concentration, a treatment devoid of direct effects on receptor functions. All these treatments increased the frequency of spontaneous [Ca(2+)] transients, caused nuclear translocation of transfected NFAT(GFP), and increased the expression of a NFAT-sensitive reporter gene. There was no increase in Ca(2+) spark frequency in the whole cell or in the perinuclear region under these conditions. Hypertrophy and NFAT translocation but not the increased frequency of [Ca(2+)] transients were inhibited by the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporine A. Hypertrophy by the different stimuli was insensitive to inhibition of myofilament contraction. We concluded that calcineurin-NFAT can act as integrators of the contractile Ca(2+) signal, and that they can decode alterations in the frequency even of rapid Ca(2+) oscillations.
authors.affiliation: Department of General and Environmental Physiology, University of Bari, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Matilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colella
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Grisan
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Robert
authors.forename: Jay D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Tullio
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Pozzan
mesh_terms: D000450:Aldosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D019703:Calcineurin / Q000378:metabolism*; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D006984:Hypertrophy / Q000378:metabolism; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D050778:NFATC Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000378:metabolism; D021381:Protein Transport; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D050778:NFATC Transcription Factors; D000804:Angiotensin II; D000450:Aldosterone; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D019703:Calcineurin; D002118:Calcium; D009638:Norepinephrine