Williams IA, Allen DG. Intracellular calcium handling in ventricular myocytes from mdx mice.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by deficiency of the cytoskeletal protein dystrophin. Oxidative stress is thought to contribute to the skeletal muscle damage in DMD; however, little is known about the role of oxidative damage in the pathogenesis of the heart failure that occurs in DMD patients. The dystrophin-deficient (mdx) mouse is an animal model of DMD that also lacks dystrophin. The current study investigates the role of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on mdx cardiomyocyte function, Ca(2+) handling, and the cardiac inflammatory response. Treated mice received 1% NAC in their drinking water for 6 wk. NAC had no effect on wild-type (WT) mice. Immunohistochemistry experiments revealed that mdx mice had increased dihydroethidine (DHE) staining, an indicator of superoxide production; NAC-treatment reduced DHE staining in mdx hearts. NAC treatment attenuated abnormalities in mdx cardiomyocyte Ca(2+) handling. Mdx cardiomyocytes had decreased fractional shortening and decreased Ca(2+) sensitivity; NAC treatment returned mdx fractional shortening to WT values but did not affect the Ca(2+) sensitivity. Immunohistochemistry experiments revealed that mdx hearts had increased levels of collagen type III and the macrophage-specific protein, CD68; NAC-treatment returned collagen type III and CD68 expression close to WT values. Finally, mdx hearts had increased NADPH oxidase activity, suggesting it could be a possible source of increased reactive oxygen species in mdx mice. This study is the first to demonstrate that oxidative damage may be involved in the pathogenesis of the heart failure that occurs in mdx mice. Therapies designed to reduce oxidative damage might be beneficial to DMD patients with heart failure.

The stretch-induced increase in force production of ventricular muscle is biphasic. An abrupt increase in force coincides with the stretch, which is then followed by a slower response that develops over minutes (the slow force response or SFR). The SFR is accompanied by a slow increase in the magnitude of the intracellular Ca2+ transient, but the stretch-dependent mechanisms that give rise to this remain controversial. We characterized the SFR using right ventricular trabeculae from mouse hearts. Application of three different blockers of stretch-activated non-selective cation channels (SAC NSC) reduced the magnitude of the SFR 60s after stretch (400 microM streptomycin: from 86+/-25% to 38+/-14%, P<0.01, n=9; 10 microM GdCl3: from 65+/-21%, to 12+/-7%, P<0.01, n=7; 10 microM GsMTx-4 from 122+/-40% to 15+/-8%, P<0.05, n=6). Streptomycin also decreased the increase in Ca2+ transient amplitude 60s after the stretch from 43.5+/-12.7% to 5.7+/-3.5% (P<0.05, n=4), and reduced the stretch-dependent increase in intracellular Ca2+ in quiescent muscles when stretched. The transient receptor potential, canonical channels TRPC1 and TRPC6 are mechano-sensitive, non-selective cation channels. They are expressed in mouse ventricular muscle, and could therefore be responsible for stretch-dependent influx of Na+ and/or Ca2+ during the SFR. Expression of TRPC1 was investigated in the mdx heart, a mouse model of Duchenne's muscular dystrophy. Resting Ca2+ was raised in isolated myocytes from old mdx animals, which was blocked by application of SAC blockers. Expression of TRPC1 was increased in the older mdx animals, which have developed a dilated cardiomyopathy, and might therefore contribute to the dilated cardiomyopathy.

1 We have explored the role of allergen sensitization and challenge in de®ning the response of the airways of the Brown Norway (BN) rat to adenosine. 2 In naõÈ ve animals or in rats sensitized to ovalbumin (OA) adenosine induced only weak bronchoconstrictor responses. Challenge of sensitized animals with OA induced a marked airway hyperresponsiveness to adenosine which was not seen with methacholine or bradykinin. 3 The augmented bronchoconstrictor response to adenosine was not a ected by acute bivagotomy or atropine nor mimicked by an i.v. injection of capsaicin. It was, however, blocked selectively by disodium cromoglycate methysergide or ketanserin and reduced in animals treated sub-chronically with compound 48/80. 4 The augmented response to adenosine was associated with increases in the plasma concentrations of both histamine and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), which were attenuated by pretreatment with disodium cromoglycate, and degranulation of mast cells in the lung. 5 Parenchymal strips from lungs removed from sensitized rats challenged with OA gave augmented bronchoconstrictor responses to adenosine relative to strips from sensitized animals challenged with saline. Responses were inhibited by methysergide and disodium cromoglycate. 6 These data demonstrate a marked augmentation of the bronchoconstrictor response to adenosine in actively sensitized BN rats challenged with OA. The augmented response is primarily a consequence of mast cell activation, leading to the release of 5-HT, which in turn induces bronchoconstriction. Our data further suggest the involvement of a discrete lung-based population of mast cells containing and releasing mainly 5-HT and brought into play by prior exposure to allergen.

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