Background: MLIP (muscle enriched A-type lamin-interacting protein) is a unique protein of yet unknown function. Results: MLIP impacts cardiac activity of Akt/mTOR pathways and is associated with and required for precocious cardiac adaptation to stress. Conclusion: MLIP might be a new cardiac stress sensor. Significance: These findings provide the first insight into the role of MLIP in vivo.

The post-natal heart adapts to stress and overload through hypertrophic growth, a process that may be pathologic or beneficial (physiologic hypertrophy). Physiologic hypertrophy improves cardiac performance in both healthy and diseased individuals, yet the mechanisms that propagate this favorable adaptation remain poorly defined. We identify the cytokine cardiotrophin 1 (CT1) as a factor capable of recapitulating the key features of physiologic growth of the heart including transient and reversible hypertrophy of the myocardium, and stimulation of cardiomyocyte-derived angiogenic signals leading to increased vascularity. The capacity of CT1 to induce physiologic hypertrophy originates from a CK2-mediated restraining of caspase activation, preventing the transition to unrestrained pathologic growth. Exogenous CT1 protein delivery attenuated pathology and restored contractile function in a severe model of right heart failure, suggesting a novel treatment option for this intractable cardiac disease.

Purpose Exercise training post myocardial infarction (MI) is beneficial for preserving cardiac function, but underlying mechanisms are still unclear. Exercise increases brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the non‐infarct area of the left ventricle (LV) with an improvement of ejection fraction (EF) and LV end‐diastolic pressure (LVEDP). Whether these effects are mediated by downstream pathways of BDNF via its binding receptor tropomyosin‐related kinase B receptor (TrkB) has not yet been assessed. Therefore, impact of exercise training post MI on cardiac function and one of downstream effectors of BDNF‐TrkB signaling, Ca2+/calmodulin dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), were investigated in exercising rats treated with vehicle or TrkB blocker, ANA‐12. Methods After sham surgery (n=10) or ligation of coronary artery, surviving MI rats were divided into 3 groups: sedentary MI with vehicle (Sed‐MI‐Veh, n=17), exercise MI with vehicle (ExT‐MI‐Veh, n=17) and exercise MI with ANA‐12 (ExT‐MI‐ANA‐12, n=7). Exercise training was done for 4 weeks (5 days/week) on a motor‐driven treadmill with or without ANA‐12 (0.5 mg/kg). At the end, LV function was evaluated by echocardiography and Millar catheter, and mature BDNF (mBDNF), phospho‐CaMKII (p‐CaMKII) and CaMKII (pan) levels were assessed in the non‐infarct area of the LV by Western blotting. Results MI size was similar among the MI groups. ExT‐MI‐Veh showed higher EF compared to Sed‐MI‐Veh (63 ± 2 vs. 54 ± 2%, ExT‐MI‐Veh vs. Sed‐MI‐Veh). Exercise‐induced improvement of EF was inhibited by ANA‐12 (56 ± 2%). LVEDP was significantly lower in exercise MI groups (11.6 ± 0.9 and 12.8 ± 1.6 mmHg, Veh and ANA‐12) compared to Sed‐MI‐Veh (18.4 ± 0.9 mmHg). After MI, p‐CaMKII and p‐CaMKII/CaMKII (pan) were significantly decreased (0.6 ± 0.04 and 0.5 ± 0.1, fold of Sham, respectively). Exercise increased mBDNF (0.9 ± 0.1 vs. 0.7 ± 0.1 vs. fold of Sham, ExT‐MI‐Veh vs. Sed‐MI‐Veh) and p‐CaMKII (0.8 ± 0.1, fold of Sham). ANA‐12 prevented exercise‐induced increases in mBDNF (0.6 ± 0.1, fold of Sham) and p‐CaMKII (0.6 ± 0.1, fold of Sham). Conclusions : Exercise post MI increases EF and decreases LVEDP, but TrkB blockade only inhibits the improvement of EF, but not of LVEDP. Exercise increases mBDNF and p‐CaMKII in the non‐infarct area of the LV, which are attenuated by ANA‐12. This indicates that exercise‐induced improvement of EF is mediated by TrkB and downstream effector CaMKII, and BDNF‐TrkB signaling may be mainly associated with improvement in systolic function by exercise training. Support or Funding Information FRN:MOP‐136923 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

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The capacity to isolate and study single cardiomyocytes has dramatically enhanced our understanding of the fundamental mechanisms of the heart. Currently, 2 primary methods for the isolation of cardiomyocytes are employed: (i) the neonatal isolation protocol and (ii) the Langendorff isolation method. A major limiting feature of both procedures is the inability to isolate cardiomyocytes between 3 days and 3 weeks after birth. Herein, we report the establishment and validation of a new method for the rapid and efficient isolation of mouse cardiomyocytes, regardless of age. This novel procedure utilizes whole heart perfusion of a trypsin–collagenase Krebs-based buffer through the left ventricle at a high flow rate. Cardiomyocytes can be isolated in significantly less time with a simple, syringe-pump-based apparatus. Typically, we can digest 10–15 hearts per hour. Altogether, we have established an efficient and reproducible method for the rapid isolation of fresh cardiomyocytes from postnatal mouse hearts of any age.

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During fetal development, the mammalian myocardium undergoes a period of hyperplastic growth, which establishes the number of cardiomyocytes in the adult heart. After birth, cardiomyocytes proceed through a final round of cell division in the absence cytokinesis that results in binucleation of >95% of adult cardiomyocytes. Nearly all subsequent increase in myocardial mass is due to myocardial hypertrophy, with extremely low number of new cardiomyocytes being produced throughout post‐natal life. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, little is known about the molecular/genetic basis, especially with regard to the role of micro‐RNAs, for the transition from hyperplastic to hypertrophic‐based myocardial growth.We hypothesize a specific perinatal heart micro‐RNA‐mediated gene program is necessary for the normal transition from a fetal heart to an adult heart gene program.To identify the molecular mechanisms and genetic pathways involved in cardiac myocyte differentiation, RNA was isolated from E19, and 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 35‐day old mouse hearts (n=9 hearts/time point pooled). Cardiomyocyte micro‐RNA profiles (n=3 arrays/time point) were measured and bioinformatic analysis was used to identify genes that are transiently and significantly changing (p<0.05, fold change >1.5) during the perinatal period.Our analysis identified microRNA‐205 as a candidate for playing a role in the cardiac transitional program. Previous studies have shown a global knockout of miR‐205 to be neonatally lethal. We observe a transient 20‐fold increase in miR‐205 expression between day 1 and day 5 of post‐natal life, with levels returning to baseline by day 10. In‐situ hybridization revealed miR‐205 expression to be restricted to the epicardium of the heart.Mice harbouring a cardiomyocyte‐specific deletion of miR‐205 using αMHC‐Cre are born healthy with expected Mendelian ratios, and develop through the neonatal period normally. Hearts collected from adult mice show signs of abnormal growth and hypertrophy, up to 50% larger than controls. Previous studies demonstrated that miR‐205 directly targets YAP within the evolutionarily conserved hippo pathway that controls organ size. Hearts lacking miR‐205 exhibit a substantial increase in YAP protein expression. Increased cardiac size has been demonstrated in a constitutively active YAP transgenic mouse model. We conclude that miR‐205 plays a direct role in regulating post‐natal heart size through direct modulation of the Hippo pathway.This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2018 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal.

During fetal and early perinatal development the myocardium undergoes a period of hyperplastic growth, which results in an exponential increase in the number of cardiomyocytes (CM) that will constitute the adult heart. Soon after birth, CMs proceed through a final round of cell division in the absence cytokinesis that results in binucleation of >95% of adult CMs. Fetal heart genes are re-activated with the onset of pathological hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathies, yet there is no evidence of CM re-entry into the cell cycle. Despite the importance of this phenomenon, little is known about the molecular basis for the transition from hyperplastic to hypertrophic-based myocardial growth. Hypothesis: A perinatal heart gene program is necessary for the normal transition from a fetal heart gene program to an adult heart gene program. To identify the molecular mechanisms and pathways involved in CM differentiation during the perinatal transition, RNA was isolated from E18, and 1, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 35d old mouse hearts. CM gene expression and micro-RNA profiles (n=3 arrays/time point) were determined by oligonucleotide array analysis. The raw array data was normalized by Robust Multi-array analysis. Empirical Bayes estimation of gene-specific variances was performed between each of the time points in order to identify genes that are transiently and significantly changed at days 3 and 5 as compare to E18 and 10d post-birth. The analysis identified 2,799 genes (E18 v 5d) and 3,347 genes (5d v 10d) that were then clustered to determine significant pathway enrichment (p<0.05) with Ingenuity Pathway Analysis. Our analysis confirmed previous observations of a down regulation of glucose oxidative metabolism (p=0.02) with an up-regulation of fatty acid metabolism (p=0.0001) between E18 and 5d post-birth. Also, 63 cell cycle genes are collectively down regulated (p=4.3x10-4) between 5d and 10d post-birth. We identified 131 genes that are transiently up regulated at 5d compared to E18 and 10d and this transition was proceeded by a specific cohort of miRNAs. The data generated from this study provide new insight into the molecular mechanisms by which CMs regulate and permanently exit from the cell cycle.