title: A pro-survival effect of polyamine depletion on norepinephrine-mediated apoptosis in cardiac cells: role of signaling enzymes.
abstract: Recent studies report that the primary transmitter of sympathetic nervous system norepinephrine (NE), which is actively produced in failing human heart, is able to induce apoptosis of rat cardiomyocytes. Apoptotic cell death of cardiomyocytes is involved in several cardiovascular diseases including ischemia, hypertrophy and heart failure, therefore representing a potential therapeutic target. The natural occurring polyamines, putrescine, spermidine and spermine, are biogenic amines involved in many cellular processes, including apoptosis. Thus, we have studied the involvement of polyamines in the apoptosis of cardiac cells induced by the treatment with NE. The results indicate that NE caused an early induction of the activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the first enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, followed by a later increase of apoptotic cell death. This effect was prevented in the presence of α-difluoromethylornithine, an irreversible inhibitor of ODC. Moreover, the study of some key signal transduction pathways revealed an involvement of AMP-activated protein kinase, AKT and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, in the modulation by polyamines of the response of cardiomyocytes to NE. In fact, polyamine-depleted cells showed an altered activation pattern of these kinases that may contrast apoptosis and appeared to result from a differential effect on the specific phosphatases that dephosphorylate and switch off these signaling proteins. In conclusion, these results indicate that in cardiac cells polyamines are involved in the execution of the death program activated by NE, and suggest that their apoptosis facilitating action is mediated by a network of specific phosphatases and kinases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry G. Moruzzi, University of Bologna, Via Irnerio 48, 40126, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cetrullo
authors.forename: Benedetta
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tantini
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Facchini
authors.forename: Carla
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pignatti
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Stefanelli
authors.forename: Claudio Marcello
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Caldarera
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Flamigni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002470:Cell Survival; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000518:Eflornithine / Q000494:pharmacology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000166:cytology / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000473:pathology; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase / Q000378:metabolism; D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011073:Polyamines / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D065108:Ornithine Decarboxylase Inhibitors; D011073:Polyamines; D051057:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt; D048051:p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D010744:Phosphoric Monoester Hydrolases; D009955:Ornithine Decarboxylase; D009638:Norepinephrine; D000518:Eflornithine