title: Prolactin mediates effects of chronic psychological stress on induction of fibrofatty cells in the heart.
abstract: Cardiocyte apoptosis plays an important role in the pathogenesis of heart diseases. The mechanism is unclear. It is reported that prolactin (PRL) is involved in cardiac disorders. This study aims to investigate the role of PRL in mediating the psychological stress-induced fibrofatty cell differentiation in the heart. In this study, BALB/c mice were treated with a 30-day restraint stress. The heart tissue was processed by paraffin embedding and hematoxylin and eosin. The expression of Sca1 in NIH3T3 cells was assessed by cell culture, flow cytometry and Western blotting. The results showed that chronic stress induced fibrofatty cells in the mouse heart and high serum PRL levels. The induction of fibrofatty cell was mimicked by administration with recombinant PRL. The stress also induced the expression of Sca1 in the mouse heart. Exposure of NIH3T3 cells (a fibroblast cell line) to PRL in the culture enhanced the expression of stem cell antigen-1 (Sca1), phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) and expression of adipocyte-related protein molecules, including adiponectin, fatty acid binding protein (aP2), peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-g (PPARg) and CCAAT/enhancer binding protein (C/EBP)α, in the cells. We conclude that psychological stress-derived PRL induces fibroblasts to differentiate into fibrofatty cells in the heart.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Jiangping
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Mangyuan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Zhizhao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Kun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Fuwai Hospital, National Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College 167A Beilishi Road, Xi Cheng District, Beijing 100037, China.
authors.forename: Pingchang
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yang
keywords: Heart; apoptosis; chronic stress; fibrofatty cells; prolactin