Ghrelin is a GH-releasing peptide mainly excreted from the stomach. Ghrelin administration has been shown to inhibit cardiac sympathetic nerve activity (CSNA), reduce malignant arrhythmia, and improve prognosis after acute myocardial infarction (MI). We therefore investigated the effects and potential mechanisms of the action of endogenous ghrelin on survival rate and CSNA after MI by using ghrelin-knockout (KO) mice. MI was induced by left coronary artery ligation in 46 KO mice and 41 wild-type mice. On the first day, malignant arrhythmia-induced mortality was observed within 30 min of the ligation and had an incidence of 2.4% in wild-type and 17.4% in KO mice (P < 0.05). We next evaluated CSNA by spectral analysis of heart rate variability. CSNA, represented by the low frequency/high frequency ratio, was higher in KO mice at baseline (2.18 ± 0.43 vs. 0.98 ± 0.09; P < 0.05), and especially after MI (25.5 ± 11.8 vs. 1.4 ± 0.3; P < 0.05), than in wild-type mice. Ghrelin (150 μg/kg, s.c.) 15 min before ligation suppressed the activation of CSNA and reduced mortality in KO mice. Further, this effect of ghrelin was inhibited by methylatropine bromide (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or by perineural treatment of both cervical vagal trunks with capsaicin (a specific afferent neurotoxin). Our data demonstrated that both exogenous and endogenous ghrelin suppressed CSNA, prevented the incidence of malignant arrhythmia, and improved the prognosis after acute MI. These effects are likely to be via the vagal afferent nerves.
We have previously demonstrated the protective role of endogenous ghrelin against malignant arrhythmias in the very acute phase of myocardial infarction (MI). However, the role of endogenous ghrelin in the chronic phase is unknown. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to focus on the effects of endogenous ghrelin on cardiac function and sympathetic activation after acute MI. In 46 ghrelin-knockout (KO) and 41 wild-type (WT) male mice, MI was produced by left coronary artery ligation. The mortality due to heart failure within 2 weeks was 0% in WT and 10.9% in KO (P < 0.05). At the end of this period, lung weight/tibial length, atrial natriuretic peptide and brain natriuretic peptide transcripts, end-systolic and end-diastolic volumes were all significantly greater in KO mice, whereas systolic function, represented by ejection fraction (16.4 ± 4.7% vs 25.3 ± 5.1%), end-systolic elastance, and preload-recruitable stroke work, was significantly inferior to that in WT mice (P < 0.05). Telemetry recording and heart rate variability analysis showed that KO mice had stronger sympathetic activation after MI than did WT mice. Metoprolol treatment and ghrelin treatment in KO mice prevented excessive sympathetic activation, decreased plasma epinephrine and norepinephrine levels, and improved heart function and survival rate after MI. Our data demonstrate that endogenous ghrelin plays a crucial role in protecting heart function and reducing mortality after myocardial infarction, and that these effects seem to be partly the result of sympathetic inhibition.
Cardiac hypertrophy, which is commonly caused by hypertension, is a major risk factor for heart failure and sudden death. Endogenous ghrelin has been shown to exert a beneficial effect on cardiac dysfunction and postinfarction remodeling via modulation of the autonomic nervous system. However, ghrelin’s ability to attenuate cardiac hypertrophy and its potential mechanism of action are unknown. In this study, cardiac hypertrophy was induced by transverse aortic constriction in ghrelin knockout mice and their wild-type littermates. After 12 weeks, the ghrelin knockout mice showed significantly increased cardiac hypertrophy compared with wild-type mice, as evidenced by their significantly greater heart weight/tibial length ratios (9.2±1.9 versus 7.9±0.8 mg/mm), left ventricular anterior wall thickness (1.3±0.2 versus 1.0±0.2 mm), and posterior wall thickness (1.1±0.3 versus 0.9±0.1 mm). Furthermore, compared with wild-type mice, ghrelin knockout mice showed suppression of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway, as indicated by reduced parasympathetic nerve activity and higher plasma interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 levels. The administration of either nicotine or ghrelin activated the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and attenuated cardiac hypertrophy in ghrelin knockout mice. In conclusion, our results show that endogenous ghrelin plays a crucial role in the progression of pressure overload–induced cardiac hypertrophy via a mechanism that involves the activation of the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway.
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