title: Thymosin β4 Prevents Angiotensin II-Induced Cardiomyocyte Growth by Regulating Wnt/WISP Signaling.
abstract: Thymosin beta-4 (Tβ4) is a ubiquitous protein with many properties relating to cell proliferation and differentiation that promotes wound healing and modulates inflammatory mediators. However, the role of Tβ4 in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy is currently unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the cardio-protective effect of Tβ4 in angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced cardiomyocyte growth. Neonatal rat ventricular cardiomyocytes (NRVM) were pretreated with Tβ4 followed by Ang II stimulation. Cell size, hypertrophy marker gene expression and Wnt signaling components, β-catenin, and Wnt-induced secreted protein-1 (WISP-1) were evaluated by quantitative real-time PCR, Western blotting and fluorescent microscopy. Pre-treatment of Tβ4 resulted in reduction of cell size, hypertrophy marker genes and Wnt-associated gene expression, and protein levels; induced by Ang II in cardiomyocyte. WISP-1 was overexpressed in NRVM and, the effect of Tβ4 in Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte growth was evaluated. WISP-1 overexpression promoted cardiomyocytes growth and was reversed by pretreatment with Tβ4. This is the first report which demonstrates that Tβ4 targets Wnt/WISP-1 to protect Ang II-induced cardiomyocyte growth. J. Cell. Physiol. 231: 1737-1744, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.|Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.
authors.forename: Rakeshwar S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Guleria
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.
authors.forename: Suresh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Peking University Health Science Center, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Cheng-Lin
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.
authors.forename: Kenneth M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Baker
authors.affiliation: Division of Molecular Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Temple, Texas.|Baylor Scott and White Health, Temple, Texas.|Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, Temple, Texas.
authors.forename: Sudhiranjan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gupta
mesh_terms: D021581:Active Transport, Cell Nucleus; D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000633:toxicity*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D055511:CCN Intercellular Signaling Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D048429:Cell Size / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D032383:Myocytes, Cardiac / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013947:Thymosin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014162:Transfection; D060449:Wnt Signaling Pathway / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics; D051176:beta Catenin / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000099201:Thymosin beta(4)
chemical_list: D000804:Angiotensin II; D055511:CCN Intercellular Signaling Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D013947:Thymosin; D051176:beta Catenin; D000099201:Thymosin beta(4); C492066:CCN4 protein, rat; C495268:Ctnnb1 protein, rat