Abstract-Protein kinase A (PKA) is a key regulatory enzyme that, on activation by cAMP, modulates a wide variety of cellular functions. PKA isoforms type I and type II possess different structural features and biochemical characteristics, resulting in nonredundant function. However, how different PKA isoforms expressed in the same cell manage to perform distinct functions on activation by the same soluble intracellular messenger, cAMP, remains to be established. Here, we provide a mechanism for the different function of PKA isoforms subsets in cardiac myocytes and demonstrate that PKA-RI and PKA-RII, by binding to AKAPs (A kinase anchoring proteins), are tethered to different subcellular locales, thus defining distinct intracellular signaling compartments. Within such compartments, PKA-RI and PKA-RII respond to distinct, spatially restricted cAMP signals generated in response to specific G protein-coupled receptor agonists and regulated by unique subsets of the cAMP degrading phosphodiesterases. Key Words: cAMP Ⅲ compartmentalization Ⅲ compartmentation Ⅲ adrenergic stimulation Ⅲ prostaglandin Ⅲ protein kinase A P rotein kinase A (PKA) is a key regulatory enzyme in the heart that is involved in the catecholamine-mediated control of excitation-contraction coupling, as well as in a myriad of other functions including activation of transcription factors and control of metabolic enzymes. The second messenger cAMP activates PKA by binding to the regulatory (R) subunits, causing release of the activated catalytic (C) subunits.The fact that, following cAMP-engagement, PKA mediates a plethora of cellular responses has raised the question of how specificity is maintained. In recent years, features of this pathway that contribute to specificity have been uncovered. 1 A key role is played by AKAPs (A kinase anchoring proteins), a family of proteins that act as molecular scaffolds to anchor PKA in the vicinity of specific substrate molecules, 2 thus focusing PKA activity toward relevant substrates.A second mechanism contributing to specificity revolves around the spatial control of the cAMP signal itself. Restriction of intracellular diffusion of cAMP has been shown by using a variety of approaches, [3][4][5] including direct imaging of gradients of cAMP in response to activation of various G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). 6 A key role in shaping cAMP intracellular pools is played by phosphodiesterases (PDEs), the enzymes that hydrolyze cAMP. 7 Indeed, individual PDE isoforms have been shown to be functionally coupled to specific GPCRs to degrade cAMP selectively in response to a given stimulus. 8 Cardiac myocytes express all four types of PKA isozymes, PKA-RI␣, PKA-RII␣, PKA-RI␤, and PKA-RII␤. 9 PKA isoforms show different subcellular localization, with PKA-RII being mainly associated with the particulate fraction of cell lysates whereas PKA-RI has been found preferentially in the cytosol. 10,11 PKA isoforms also show different biochemical properties. PKA-RI is more readily dissociated by cAMP than PKA-RII, 12,13 an...

Rationale 3′-5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) and 3′-5′-cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) are intracellular second messengers involved in heart pathophysiology. cGMP can potentially affect cAMP signals via cGMP-regulated phosphodiesterases (PDEs). Objective To study the effect of cGMP signals on the local cAMP response to catecholamines in specific subcellular compartments. Methods and results We used real-time FRET imaging of living rat ventriculocytes expressing targeted cAMP and cGMP biosensors to detect cyclic nucleotides levels in specific locales. We found that the compartmentalized, but not the global, cAMP response to isoproterenol is profoundly affected by cGMP signals. The effect of cGMP is to increase cAMP levels in the compartment where the PKA-RI isoforms reside but to decrease cAMP in the compartment where the PKA-RII isoforms reside. These opposing effects are determined by the cGMP-regulated PDEs, namely PDE2 and PDE3, with the local activity of these PDEs being critically important. The cGMP-mediated modulation of cAMP also affects the phosphorylation of PKA targets and myocyte contractility. Conclusions cGMP signals exert opposing effects on local cAMP levels via different PDEs the activity of which is exerted in spatially distinct subcellular domains. Inhibition of PDE2 selectively abolishes the negative effects of cGMP on cAMP and may have therapeutic potential.

Rationale : Chronic elevation of 3′-5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels has been associated with cardiac remodeling and cardiac hypertrophy. However, enhancement of particular aspects of cAMP/protein kinase A signaling seems to be beneficial for the failing heart. cAMP is a pleiotropic second messenger with the ability to generate multiple functional outcomes in response to different extracellular stimuli with strict fidelity, a feature that relies on the spatial segregation of the cAMP pathway components in signaling microdomains. Objective : How individual cAMP microdomains affect cardiac pathophysiology remains largely to be established. The cAMP-degrading enzymes phosphodiesterases (PDEs) play a key role in shaping local changes in cAMP. Here we investigated the effect of specific inhibition of selected PDEs on cardiac myocyte hypertrophic growth. Methods and Results : Using pharmacological and genetic manipulation of PDE activity, we found that the rise in cAMP resulting from inhibition of PDE3 and PDE4 induces hypertrophy, whereas increasing cAMP levels via PDE2 inhibition is antihypertrophic. By real-time imaging of cAMP levels in intact myocytes and selective displacement of protein kinase A isoforms, we demonstrate that the antihypertrophic effect of PDE2 inhibition involves the generation of a local pool of cAMP and activation of a protein kinase A type II subset, leading to phosphorylation of the nuclear factor of activated T cells. Conclusions : Different cAMP pools have opposing effects on cardiac myocyte cell size. PDE2 emerges as a novel key regulator of cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo, and its inhibition may have therapeutic applications.

Background The mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPR mt ) is activated when misfolded proteins accumulate within mitochondria and leads to increased expression of mitochondrial chaperones and proteases to maintain protein quality and mitochondrial function. Cardiac mitochondria are essential for contractile function and regulation of cell viability, while mitochondrial dysfunction characterizes heart failure. The role of the UPR mt in the heart is unclear. Objectives The purpose of this study was to: 1) identify conditions that activate the UPR mt in the heart; and 2) study the relationship among the UPR mt , mitochondrial function, and cardiac contractile function. Methods Cultured cardiac myocytes were subjected to different stresses in vitro. Mice were subjected to chronic pressure overload. Tissues and blood biomarkers were studied in patients with aortic stenosis. Results Diverse neurohumoral or mitochondrial stresses transiently induced the UPR mt in cultured cardiomyocytes. The UPR mt was also induced in the hearts of mice subjected to chronic hemodynamic overload. Boosting the UPR mt with nicotinamide riboside (which augments NAD + pools) in cardiomyocytes in vitro or hearts in vivo significantly mitigated the reductions in mitochondrial oxygen consumption induced by these stresses. In mice subjected to pressure overload, nicotinamide riboside reduced cardiomyocyte death and contractile dysfunction. Myocardial tissue from patients with aortic stenosis also showed evidence of UPR mt activation, which correlated with reduced tissue cardiomyocyte death and fibrosis and lower plasma levels of biomarkers of cardiac damage (high-sensitivity troponin T) and dysfunction (N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide). Conclusions These results identify the induction of the UPR mt in the mammalian (including human) heart exposed to pathological stresses. Enhancement of the UPR mt ameliorates mitochondrial and contractile dysfunction, suggesting that it may serve an important protective role in the stressed heart.

Control of cell cycle progression relies on unique regulation of centrosomal cAMP/PKA signals through PKA and PDE4D3 interaction with the A kinase anchoring protein AKAP9.

Original research article BACKGROUND: Myocardial fibrosis is a feature of many cardiac diseases. We used proteomics to profile glycoproteins in the human cardiac extracellular matrix (ECM). METHODS:Atrial specimens were analyzed by mass spectrometry after extraction of ECM proteins and enrichment for glycoproteins or glycopeptides.RESULTS: ECM-related glycoproteins were identified in left and right atrial appendages from the same patients. Several known glycosylation sites were confirmed. In addition, putative and novel glycosylation sites were detected. On enrichment for glycoproteins, peptides of the small leucine-rich proteoglycan decorin were identified consistently in the flowthrough. Of all ECM proteins identified, decorin was found to be the most fragmented. Within its protein core, 18 different cleavage sites were identified. In contrast, less cleavage was observed for biglycan, the most closely related proteoglycan. Decorin processing differed between human ventricles and atria and was altered in disease. The C-terminus of decorin, important for the interaction with connective tissue growth factor, was detected predominantly in ventricles in comparison with atria. In contrast, atrial appendages from patients in persistent atrial fibrillation had greater levels of full-length decorin but also harbored a cleavage site that was not found in atrial appendages from patients in sinus rhythm. This cleavage site preceded the N-terminal domain of decorin that controls muscle growth by altering the binding capacity for myostatin. Myostatin expression was decreased in atrial appendages of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and hearts of decorin null mice. A synthetic peptide corresponding to this decorin region dose-dependently inhibited the response to myostatin in cardiomyocytes and in perfused mouse hearts. CONCLUSIONS:This proteomics study is the first to analyze the human cardiac ECM. Novel processed forms of decorin protein core, uncovered in human atrial appendages, can regulate the local bioavailability of antihypertrophic and profibrotic growth factors.glycoproteomics reveals Decorin Peptides With anti-Myostatin activity in human atrial Fibrillation

Cardiac hypertrophic remodeling during chronic hemodynamic stress is associated with a switch in preferred energy substrate from fatty acids to glucose, usually considered to be energetically favorable. The mechanistic interrelationship between altered energy metabolism, remodeling, and function remains unclear. The ROS-generating NADPH oxidase-4 (Nox4) is upregulated in the overloaded heart, where it ameliorates adverse remodeling. Here, we show that Nox4 redirects glucose metabolism away from oxidation but increases fatty acid oxidation, thereby maintaining cardiac energetics during acute or chronic stresses. The changes in glucose and fatty acid metabolism are interlinked via a Nox4-ATF4–dependent increase in the hexosamine biosynthetic pathway, which mediates the attachment of O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAcylation) to the fatty acid transporter CD36 and enhances fatty acid utilization. These data uncover a potentially novel redox pathway that regulates protein O-GlcNAcylation and reprograms cardiac substrate metabolism to favorably modify adaptation to chronic stress. Our results also suggest that increased fatty acid oxidation in the chronically stressed heart may be beneficial.

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