title: Changes in PPAR gene expression and myocardial tolerance to ischaemia: relevance to pleiotropic effects of statins.
abstract: Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR), which are key transcriptional regulators of lipid metabolism and energy production, have been suggested to play an important role in myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Their role in cardioprotection, however, is not yet fully elucidated. Statins have shown beneficial effects on I/R damage beyond lipid lowering, and some of their cardioprotective cholesterol-independent effects may be related to the regulation of PPAR. To clarify this issue, we explored a potential link between a response to I/R and changes in cardiac PPARalpha protein and gene expression in simvastatin-treated normocholesterolaemic rats. After 5 days of treatment with simvastatin (10 mg/kg per day, p.o.), Langendorff-perfused hearts were subjected to 30 min regional ischaemia (occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery) or global ischaemia and 2 h reperfusion for the evaluation of the infarct size (triphenyltetrazolium chloride and planimetry; as percentage of risk area), ischaemic arrhythmias, and postischaemic contractile recovery. Baseline PPARalpha mRNA and protein levels were increased by 3-fold and 2-fold, respectively, in simvastatin-treated hearts compared with the untreated controls. Simvastatin-treated hearts exhibited smaller size of infarction (11.5% +/- 0.4% vs. 33.7% +/- 4% in controls; p < 0.01), improved postischaemic contractile recovery, and lower severity of arrhythmias during ischaemia and early reperfusion. Enhanced resistance to I/R injury was associated with preservation of mRNA and protein levels of PPARalpha in contrast to their marked downregulation in controls. In conclusion, statin-induced changes in the expression of PPARalpha may contribute to attenuation of myocardial I/R injury and thus suggest the involvement of cardioprotective mechanisms independent of inhibition of HMG-CoA reductase.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Heart Research, Centre of Excellence for Cardiovascular Research of the SAS, Bratislava, Slovak Republic. usrdravi@savba.sk
authors.forename: Tána
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ravingerová
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adameová
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Efthymia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Antonopoulou
authors.forename: Dezider
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pancza
authors.forename: Mária
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ondrejcáková
authors.forename: Vinoth Kumar Megraj
authors.initials: VK
authors.lastname: Khandelwal
authors.forename: Slávka
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Carnická
authors.forename: Antigone
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lazou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000503:physiopathology; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D015151:Immunoblotting; D008297:Male; D017202:Myocardial Ischemia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D015428:Myocardial Reperfusion Injury / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology; D047493:PPAR alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D047492:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D019821:Simvastatin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D047493:PPAR alpha; D047492:Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptors; D002784:Cholesterol; D019821:Simvastatin