No abstract

Barth syndrome is an X-linked genetic disorder caused by mutations in the tafazzin (taz) gene and characterized by dilated cardiomyopathy, exercise intolerance, chronic fatigue, delayed growth, and neutropenia. Tafazzin is a mitochondrial transacylase required for cardiolipin remodeling. Although tafazzin function has been studied in non-mammalian model organisms, mammalian genetic loss of function approaches have not been used. We examined the consequences of tafazzin knockdown on sarcomeric mitochondria and cardiac function in mice. Tafazzin knockdown resulted in a dramatic decrease of tetralinoleoyl cardiolipin in cardiac and skeletal muscles and accumulation of monolysocardiolipins and cardiolipin molecular species with aberrant acyl groups. Electron microscopy revealed pathological changes in mitochondria, myofibrils, and mitochondrion-associated membranes in skeletal and cardiac muscles. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed severe cardiac abnormalities, including left ventricular dilation, left ventricular mass reduction, and depression of fractional shortening and ejection fraction in tafazzin-deficient mice. Tafazzin knockdown mice provide the first mammalian model system for Barth syndrome in which the pathophysiological relationships between altered content of mitochondrial phospholipids, ultrastructural abnormalities, myocardial and mitochondrial dysfunction, and clinical outcome can be completely investigated.

FT-based assessment of epsilon(cc) correlates highly with epsilon(cc) derived from tagged images in a large DMD patient population with a wide range of cardiac dysfunction and can be performed without additional imaging.

Following myocardial infarction, nonischemic myocyte death results in infarct expansion, myocardial loss, and ventricular dysfunction. Here, we demonstrate that a specific proapoptotic gene, Bnip3, minimizes ventricular remodeling in the mouse, despite having no effect on early or late infarct size. We evaluated the effects of ablating Bnip3 on cardiomyocyte death, infarct size, and ventricular remodeling after surgical ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury in mice. Immediately following IR, no significant differences were observed between Bnip3(-/-) and WT mice. However, at 2 days after IR, apoptosis was diminished in Bnip3(-/-) periinfarct and remote myocardium, and at 3 weeks after IR, Bnip3(-/-) mice exhibited preserved LV systolic performance, diminished LV dilation, and decreased ventricular sphericalization. These results suggest myocardial salvage by inhibition of apoptosis. Forced cardiac expression of Bnip3 increased cardiomyocyte apoptosis in unstressed mice, causing progressive LV dilation and diminished systolic function. Conditional Bnip3 overexpression prior to coronary ligation increased apoptosis and infarct size. These studies identify postischemic apoptosis by myocardial Bnip3 as a major determinant of ventricular remodeling in the infarcted heart, suggesting that Bnip3 may be an attractive therapeutic target.