Terzic, André

The signaling role of the Ca2+releaser inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) has been associated with diverse cell functions. Yet, the physiological significance of IP3in tissues that feature a ryanodine-sensitive sarcoplasmic reticulum has remained elusive. IP3generated by photolysis of caged IP3or by purinergic activation of phospholipase Cγ slowed down or abolished autonomic Ca2+spiking in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. Microinjection of heparin, blocking dominant-negative fusion protein, or anti-phospholipase Cγ antibody prevented the IP3-mediated purinergic effect. IP3triggered a ryanodine- and caffeine-insensitive Ca2+release restricted to the perinuclear region. In cells loaded with Rhod2 or expressing a mitochondria-targeted cameleon and TMRM to monitor mitochondrial Ca2+and potential, IP3induced transient Ca2+loading and depolarization of the organelles. These mitochondrial changes were associated with Ca2+depletion of the sarcoplasmic reticulum and preceded the arrest of cellular Ca2+spiking. Thus, IP3acting within a restricted cellular region regulates the dynamic of calcium flow between mitochondria and the endoplasmic/sarcoplasmic reticulum. We have thus uncovered a novel role for IP3in excitable cells, the regulation of cardiac autonomic activity.

Abstract Mitochondrial diseases display pathological phenotypes according to the mixture of mutant versus wild-type mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), known as heteroplasmy. We herein examined the impact of nuclear reprogramming and clonal isolation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) on mitochondrial heteroplasmy. Patient-derived dermal fibroblasts with a prototypical mitochondrial deficiency diagnosed as mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) demonstrated mitochondrial dysfunction with reduced oxidative reserve due to heteroplasmy at position G13513A in the ND5 subunit of complex I. Bioengineered iPSC clones acquired pluripotency with multilineage differentiation capacity and demonstrated reduction in mitochondrial density and oxygen consumption distinguishing them from the somatic source. Consistent with the cellular mosaicism of the original patient-derived fibroblasts, the MELAS-iPSC clones contained a similar range of mtDNA heteroplasmy of the disease-causing mutation with identical profiles in the remaining mtDNA. High-heteroplasmy iPSC clones were used to demonstrate that extended stem cell passaging was sufficient to purge mutant mtDNA, resulting in isogenic iPSC subclones with various degrees of disease-causing genotypes. On comparative differentiation of iPSC clones, improved cardiogenic yield was associated with iPSC clones containing lower heteroplasmy compared with isogenic clones with high heteroplasmy. Thus, mtDNA heteroplasmic segregation within patient-derived stem cell lines enables direct comparison of genotype/phenotype relationships in progenitor cells and lineage-restricted progeny, and indicates that cell fate decisions are regulated as a function of mtDNA mutation load. The novel nuclear reprogramming-based model system introduces a disease-in-a-dish tool to examine the impact of mutant genotypes for MELAS patients in bioengineered tissues and a cellular probe for molecular features of individual mitochondrial diseases.

Abstract Pluripotent stem cells have been the focus of bioengineering efforts designed to generate regenerative products, yet harnessing therapeutic capacity while minimizing risk of dysregulated growth remains a challenge. The risk of residual undifferentiated stem cells within a differentiated progenitor population requires a targeted approach to eliminate contaminating cells prior to delivery. In this study we aimed to validate a toxicity strategy that could selectively purge pluripotent stem cells in response to DNA damage and avoid risk of uncontrolled cell growth upon transplantation. Compared with somatic cell types, embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells displayed hypersensitivity to apoptotic induction by genotoxic agents. Notably, hypersensitivity in pluripotent stem cells was stage-specific and consistently lost upon in vitro differentiation, with the mean half-maximal inhibitory concentration increasing nearly 2 orders of magnitude with tissue specification. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting demonstrated that the innate response was mediated through upregulation of the BH3-only protein Puma in both natural and induced pluripotent stem cells. Pretreatment with genotoxic etoposide purged hypersensitive pluripotent stem cells to yield a progenitor population refractory to teratoma formation upon transplantation. Collectively, this study exploits a hypersensitive apoptotic response to DNA damage within pluripotent stem cells to decrease risk of dysregulated growth and augment the safety profile of transplant-ready, bioengineered progenitor cells.

Abstract —Communication between the cytoplasm and nucleoplasm of cardiac cells occurs by molecular transport through nuclear pores. In lower eukaryotes, nuclear transport requires the maintenance of cellular energetics and ion homeostasis. Although heart muscle is particularly sensitive to metabolic stress, the regulation of nuclear transport through nuclear pores in cardiomyocytes has not yet been characterized. With the use of laser confocal and atomic force microscopy, we observed nuclear transport in cardiomyocytes and the structure of individual nuclear pores under different cellular conditions. In response to the depletion of Ca 2+ stores or ATP/GTP pools, the cardiac nuclear pore complex adopted 2 distinct conformations that led to different patterns of nuclear import regulation. Depletion of Ca 2+ indiscriminately prevented the nuclear import of macromolecules through closure of the nuclear pore opening. Depletion of ATP/GTP only blocked facilitated transport through a simultaneous closure of the pore and relaxation of the entire complex, which allowed other molecules to pass into the nucleus through peripheral routes. The current study of the structural plasticity of the cardiac nuclear pore complex, which was observed in response to changes in cellular conditions, identifies a gating mechanism for molecular translocation across the nuclear envelope of cardiac cells. The cardiac nuclear pore complex serves as a conduit that differentially regulates nuclear transport of macromolecules and provides a mechanism for the control of nucleocytoplasmic communication in cardiac cells, in particular under stress conditions associated with disturbances in cellular bioenergetics and Ca 2+ homeostasis.

Abstract —Although the downregulation of creatine kinase activity has been associated with heart failure, creatine kinase–deficient transgenic hearts have a preserved contractile function. This suggests the existence of alternative phosphotransfer pathways in the myocardium, the identity of which is still unknown. In this study, we examined the contribution of adenylate kinase–catalyzed phosphotransfer to myocardial energetics. In the isolated mitochondria/actomyosin system, which possesses endogenous adenylate kinase activity in both compartments, substrates for adenylate kinase promoted the rate and amplitude of actomyosin contraction that was further enhanced by purified adenylate kinase. Inhibition of adenylate kinase activity diminished both actomyosin contraction and mitochondrial respiration, which indicated reduced energy flow between mitochondria and myofibrils. In intact myocardium, the net adenylate kinase–catalyzed phosphotransfer rate was 10% of the total ATP turnover rate as measured by 18 O-phosphoryl labeling in conjunction with gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. In pacing-induced failing heart, adenylate kinase–catalyzed phosphotransfer increased by 134% and contributed 21% to the total ATP turnover. Concomitantly, the contribution by creatine kinase dropped from 89% in normal hearts to 40% in failing hearts. These phosphotransfer changes were associated with reduced levels of metabolically active ATP but maintained overall ATP turnover rate. Thus, this study provides evidence that adenylate kinase facilitates the transfer of high-energy phosphoryls and signal communication between mitochondria and actomyosin in cardiac muscle, with an increased contribution to cellular phosphotransfer in heart failure. This phosphotransfer function renders adenylate kinase an important component for optimal myocardial bioenergetics and a compensatory mechanism in response to impaired intracellular energy flux in the failing heart.

Abstract—A defining property of ATP-sensitive K+(KATP) channels is inhibition by sulfonylurea drugs, yet the response of cardiac KATPchannels toward sulfonylureas during myocardial ischemia is not consistent. Altered channel sensitivity toward sulfonylureas has, in part, been ascribed to antagonism by cytosolic nucleotide diphosphates, although the mechanism of interaction remains unclear. Herein, in inside-out patches excised from cardiomyocytes, we observed a dual response of KATPchannels toward the sulfonylurea drug, glyburide, in the presence of cytosolic UDP. Specifically, glyburide failed to inhibit spontaneous KATPchannel activity in the presence of UDP but inhibited UDP-induced channel activity after rundown of spontaneous channel openings. Such behavior of KATPchannels cannot be explained by differences in the level of channel activity or by UDP-induced displacement of glyburide. Rather, the dual response toward the sulfonylurea could be attributed to a property of KATPchannels to switch between operative conditions (spontaneous versus UDP-induced) each associated with a distinct responsiveness toward ligands. Conversion of post-rundown KATPchannels to the spontaneously operative channel condition, by Mg-ATP, restored the ability of UDP to antagonize the inhibitory action of glyburide lost after rundown, suggesting that the response of the channel to glyburide is phosphorylation dependent. The existence of distinct operative conditions of cardiac KATPchannels could be the basis for the inconsistent response of the channel toward sulfonylurea drugs and should be considered when sulfonylureas are used to implicate the opening of KATPchannels in the myocardium.

Background —Mechanical load and humoral stimuli such as endothelin (ET) and angiotensin II (Ang II) are potent modulators of cardiac structure and endocrine function, specifically gene expression and production and release of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP). We define the contribution of mechanical load compared with neurohumoral stimulation in vivo with specific focus on myocardial and circulating ANP during chronic myocardial unloading produced by thoracic inferior vena caval constriction (TIVCC). Methods and Results —TIVCC was produced by banding the IVC for 10 days in 7 dogs, whereas in the 6 control dogs, the band was not constricted. TIVCC was characterized by a decrease in cardiac output, right atrial pressure, and left ventricular (LV) end-diastolic diameter and marked activation of ET and Ang II in plasma and atrial and ventricular myocardium. Despite neurohumoral stimulation, LV mass index and myocyte diameters in unloaded hearts decreased, reflecting myocyte atrophy. The total number of myocytes in the LV remained unchanged. Atrial stores of ANP increased, but plasma ANP did not change, in association with a trend toward ANP gene expression to decrease in unloaded hearts. Conclusions —Chronic mechanical unloading of the heart results in myocardial atrophy and lack of activation of ANP synthesis despite marked neurohumoral stimulation by the growth promoters ET and Ang II.

Background—Opening of cardiac ATP-sensitive K+(KATP) channels has emerged as a promising but still controversial cardioprotective mechanism. Defining KATPchannel function at the level of recombinant channel proteins is a necessary step toward further evaluation of the cardioprotective significance of this ion conductance.Methods and Results—KATPchannel–deficient COS-7 cells were found to be vulnerable to chemical hypoxia-reoxygenation injury that induced significant cytosolic Ca2+loading (from 97±3 to 236±11 nmol/L). In these cells, the potassium channel opener pinacidil (10 μmol/L) did not prevent Ca2+loading (from 96±3 nmol/L before to 233±12 nmol/L after reoxygenation) or evoked membrane current. Cotransfection withKir6.2/SUR2Agenes, which encode cardiac KATPchannel subunits, resulted in a cellular phenotype that, in the presence of pinacidil (10 μmol/L), expressed K+current and gained resistance to hypoxia-reoxygenation (Ca2+concentration from 99±7 to 127±11 nmol/L;P>0.05). Both properties were abolished by the KATPchannel blocker glyburide (1 μmol/L). In COS-7 cells transfected with individual channel subunitsKir6.2orSUR2A, which alone do not form functional cardiac KATPchannels, pinacidil did not protect against hypoxia-reoxygenation.Conclusions—The fact that transfer of cardiac KATPchannel subunits protected natively KATPchannel–deficient cells provides direct evidence that the cardiac KATPchannel protein complex harbors intrinsic cytoprotective properties. These findings validate the concept that targeting cardiac KATPchannels should be considered a valuable approach to protect the myocardium against injury.