title: Gene expression profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells reveal transcriptional signatures as novel biomarkers of cardiac remodeling in rats with aldosteronism and hypertensive heart disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In searching for a noninvasive surrogate tissue mimicking the pro-oxidant/proinflammatory hypertensive heart disease (HHD) phenotype, we turned to peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). We tested whether iterations in [Ca2+]i, [Zn2+]i, and oxidative stress in cardiomyocytes and PBMCs would complement each other, eliciting similar shifts in gene expression profiles in these tissues demonstrable during the preclinical (week 1) and pathological (week 4) stages of aldosterone/salt treatment (ALDOST).
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Inappropriate neurohormonal activation contributes to pathological remodeling of myocardium in HHD associated with aldosteronism. In rats receiving long-term ALDOST, evidence of reparative fibrosis replacing necrotic cardiomyocytes and coronary vasculopathy appears at week 4 associated with the induction of oxidative stress by mitochondria that overwhelms endogenous, largely Zn2+-based, antioxidant defenses. Biomarker-guided prediction of risk before the appearance of cardiac pathology would prove invaluable.
  
  
  METHODS
  In PBMCs and cardiomyocytes, quantitation of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ and Zn2+, H2O2, and 8-iosprostane levels and isolation of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and gene expression together with statistical and clustering analyses and confirmation of genes by in situ hybridization and reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared with controls, at weeks 1 and 4 of ALDOST, we found comparable increments in [Ca2+]i, [Zn2+]i, and 8-isoprotane coupled with increased H2O2 production in cardiac mitochondria and PBMCs, together with the common networks of expression profiles dominated by genes involved in oxidative stress, inflammation, and repair. These included 3 central Ingenuity pathway-linked genes: p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, a stress-responsive protein; nuclear factor-κB, a redox-sensitive transcription factor and a proinflammatory cascade that it regulates; and transforming growth factor-β1, a fibrogenic cytokine involved in tissue repair.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Significant overlapping demonstrated in the molecular mimicry of PBMCs and cardiomyocytes during preclinical and pathological stages of ALDOST implies that transcriptional signatures of PBMCs may serve as early noninvasive and novel sentinels predictive of impending pathological remodeling in HHD.
authors.forename: Ivan C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Gerling
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ahokas
authors.forename: German
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Kamalov
authors.forename: Wenyuan
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: Syamal K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Bhattacharya
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Karl T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Weber
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000235:genetics; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000378:metabolism; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000235:genetics*; D006973:Hypertension / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D028421:Isoprostanes / Q000378:metabolism; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000502:physiology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D066253:Vascular Remodeling / Q000235:genetics; D015032:Zinc / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D028421:Isoprostanes; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D015032:Zinc; D002118:Calcium