LEOPARD syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant "RASopathy" that manifests with congenital heart disease. Nearly all cases of LS are caused by catalytically inactivating mutations in the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP), non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11) gene that encodes the SH2 domain-containing PTP-2 (SHP2). RASopathies typically affect components of the RAS/MAPK pathway, yet it remains unclear how PTPN11 mutations alter cellular signaling to produce LS phenotypes. We therefore generated knockin mice harboring the Ptpn11 mutation Y279C, one of the most common LS alleles. Ptpn11 Y279C/+ (LS/+) mice recapitulated the human disorder, with short stature, craniofacial dysmorphia, and morphologic, histologic, echocardiographic, and molecular evidence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Heart and/or cardiomyocyte lysates from LS/+ mice showed enhanced binding of Shp2 to Irs1, decreased Shp2 catalytic activity, and abrogated agonist-evoked Erk/Mapk signaling. LS/+ mice also exhibited increased basal and agonist-induced Akt and mTor activity. The cardiac defects in LS/+ mice were completely reversed by treatment with rapamycin, an inhibitor of mTOR. Our results demonstrate that LS mutations have dominant-negative effects in vivo, identify enhanced mTOR activity as critical for causing LS-associated HCM, and suggest that TOR inhibitors be considered for treatment of HCM in LS patients.

OBJECTIVE-A high-protein diet (HPD) is known to promote the reduction of body fat, but the mechanisms underlying this change are unclear. AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) function as majors regulators of cellular metabolism that respond to changes in energy status, and recent data demonstrated that they also play a critical role in systemic energy balance. Here, we sought to determine whether the response of the AMPK and mTOR pathways could contribute to the molecular effects of an HPD.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Western blotting, confocal microscopy, chromatography, light microscopy, and RT-PCR assays were combined to explore the anorexigenic effects of an HPD.RESULTS-An HPD reduced food intake and induced weight loss in both normal rats and ob/ob mice. The intracerebroventricular administration of leucine reduced food intake, and the magnitude of weight loss and reduction of food intake in a leucine-supplemented diet are similar to that achieved by HPD in normal rats and in ob/ob mice, suggesting that leucine is a major component of the effects of an HPD. Leucine and HPD decrease AMPK and increase mTOR activity in the hypothalamus, leading to inhibition of neuropeptide Y and stimulation of pro-opiomelanocortin expression. Consistent with a cross-regulation between AMPK and mTOR to control food intake, our data show that the activation of these enzymes occurs in the same specific neuronal subtypes.CONCLUSIONS-These findings provide support for the hypothesis that AMPK and mTOR interact in the hypothalamus to regulate feeding during HPD in a leucine-dependent manner.

Abstract-Previously we reported that the rapid activation of the Fak/Src multicomponent signaling complex mediates load-induced activation of growth and survival signaling pathways in adult rat heart. In this study, we report that 5% to 20% (10-minute) cyclic stretch (1 Hz) of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes (NRVMs) was paralleled by increases of Fak phosphorylation at Tyr-397 (from 1.5-to 2.8-fold), as detected by anti-Fak-pY 397 phosphospecific antibody. Moreover, 15% cyclic stretch lasting from 10 to 120 minutes increased Fak phosphorylation at Tyr-397 by 2.5-to 3.5-fold. This activation was accompanied by a dramatic change in Fak localization in NRVMs from densely concentrated in the perinuclear regions in nonstretched cells to aggregates regularly distributed along the myofilaments in stretched cells. Furthermore, a 4-hour cyclic stretch enhanced the activity of an atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) promoter-luciferase reporter gene by 2.7-fold. Disrupting endogenous Fak/Src signaling either by expression of a dominant-negative Fak mutant with phenylalanine substituted for Tyr-397 or by treatment with a c-Src pharmacological inhibitor (PP-2) markedly attenuated stretch-induced Fak activation and clustering at myofilaments and inhibited stretch-induced ANF gene activation. On the other hand, overexpression of wild-type Fak potentiated the stretchinduced Fak phosphorylation but did not enhance either baseline or stretch-induced ANF promoter-luciferase reporter gene activity compared with the responses of nontransfected NRVMs. These findings identify Fak as an important element in the early responses induced by stretch in cardiac myocytes, indicating that it may coordinate the cellular signaling machinery that controls gene expression program associated with load-induced cardiac myocyte hypertrophy. Key Words: focal adhesion kinase Ⅲ mechanotransduction Ⅲ cell signaling Ⅲ hypertrophy M echanical overload is both cause and consequence of most heart diseases. 1 Cardiac myocytes respond to increased mechanical load by hypertrophic growth, but mechanical stress is also an important stimulus for triggering the initial steps toward cardiac myocyte degeneration and death, which play a critical role in the maladaptive myocardial remodeling and heart failure. 1,2 A major goal in this field is to decipher the mechanisms that link biomechanical forces to the activation of signaling pathways that mediate the hypertrophic as well as maladaptive responses of cardiac myocytes to mechanical stress.The mechanistic pathways that link mechanical stimuli to biochemical signals in cardiac myocytes are presently unclear, but a growing body of evidence indicates that costameres (complex structures constituted by integrins and cytoskeletal proteins at the junction of sarcolemma and Z-discs) have a critical role in sensing and transducing mechanical stress into biochemical signals that coordinate growth responses to hypertrophic stimuli in both cardiac and skeletal muscle. [3][4][5][6][7] The prominent location of integrins at the junc...

Nitazoxanide is widely available and exerts broad-spectrum antiviral activity in vitro. However, there is no evidence of its impact on SARS-CoV-2 infection.In a multicenter, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adult patients presenting up to 3 days after onset of Covid-19 symptoms (dry cough, fever, and/or fatigue) were enrolled. After confirmation of SARS-CoV2 infection by RT-PCR on a nasopharyngeal swab, patients were randomised 1:1 to receive either nitazoxanide (500 mg) or placebo, TID, for 5 days. The primary outcome was complete resolution of symptoms. Secondary outcomes were viral load, laboratory tests, serum biomarkers of inflammation, and hospitalisation rate. Adverse events were also assessed.From June 8 to August 20, 2020, 1575 patients were screened. Of these, 392 (198 placebo, 194 nitazoxanide) were analysed. Median time from symptom onset to first dose of study drug was 5 (4–5) days. At the 5-day study visit, symptom resolution did not differ between the nitazoxanide and placebo arms. Swabs collected were negative for SARS-CoV-2 in 29.9% of patients in the nitazoxanide arm versus 18.2% in the placebo arm (p=0.009). Viral load was also reduced after nitazoxanide compared to placebo (p=0.006). The percent viral load reduction from onset to end of therapy was higher with nitazoxanide (55%) than placebo (45%) (p=0.013). Other secondary outcomes were not significantly different. No serious adverse events were observed.In patients with mild Covid-19, symptom resolution did not differ between nitazoxanide and placebo groups after 5 days of therapy. However, early nitazoxanide therapy was safe and reduced viral load significantly.