FHL2 Inhibits Calcineurin and Represses Pathological Cardiac
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FHL2 INHIBITS CALCINEURIN AND REPRESSES PATHOLOGICAL CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY APPROVED BY SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE Joseph A. Hill, M.D., Ph.D. (Mentor) Joseph A. Garcia, M.D., Ph.D. (Committee Chair) Michael A. White, Ph.D. Keith A. Wharton, M.D., Ph.D. DEDICATION To Dr. Joseph A. Hill who has for many years been a mentor, a role model, and a friend. What impressed me the most is his passion and enthusiasm for cardiovascular research, his hard work running the division of cardiology and still keep up with everyone’s project in the laboratory. From him I learned not only how to design experiments, but also how to present the findings, and critically address the literature as well as my own data. He was always there to support me when I needed support. Thank you, Joe, I’ve learned a lot from you. To Dr. Beverly A. Rothermel and her open-door policy. Bev was very influential in my training and education over these years. This work would not have been possible without her contribution, suggestions and troubleshooting. To Dr. Thomas Gillette for his discussions and expertise inside and outside the laboratory. Tom helped me to wrap up the project by pinpointing the crucial experiments to strengthen my work and put it on paper. To my high school biology teacher, Rejep Tanish, who recognized my interest in biology and set in motion the trajectory which took me from Turkmenistan, to Turkey, to United States of America. To my parents, Akmele and Hajymammet, who gave me freedom and support to pursue my interest in biological sciences abroad, even though it meant leaving them for a long time. Their love and belief in me gave me strength throughout my education. Finally, to my beautiful wife, Jennet, for her love and support. She left her comfortable life and family to come to USA with me. She gave me a beautiful baby boy, Eziz, who was my motivation during writing of my thesis. FHL2 INHIBITS CALCINEURIN AND REPRESSES PATHOLOGICAL CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY by BERDYMAMMET HOJAYEV DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas Dallas, Texas June, 2010 Copyright by BERDYMAMMET HOJAYEV, 2010 All Rights Reserved FHL2 INHIBITS CALCINEURIN AND REPRESSES PATHOLOGICAL CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY BERDYMAMMET HOJAYEV, Ph.D. The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2010 JOSEPH A. HILL, M.D., Ph.D. Stress-induced cardiac hypertrophy is a hallmark feature of pathological remodeling which, left unchecked, predisposes hearts to arrhythmia and failure. FHL2 is a member of the four-and-a-half LIM domain (FHL) family of proteins expressed predominantly in the heart. Targeted disruption of FHL2 leads to an exaggerated response to beta-agonist (isoproterenol)-induced cardiac hypertrophy. Isoproterenol-induced hypertrophy relies on activation of the calcineurin-NFAT pathway, and inhibition of calcineurin is sufficient to block growth in response to isoproterenol. I also observed that FHL2 is up-regulated in mouse hearts after isoproterenol treatment. Based on this, we hypothesized that FHL2 negatively v regulates the calcineurin-NFAT pathway and consequently, the hypertrophic growth response. To determine whether calcineurin signaling is enhanced in the absence of FHL2, wild type (WT) and FHL2 knockout (FHL2-/-) mice were treated with isoproterenol (32 mg/kg/day). We observed a significant increase in isoproterenol-induced expression of the NFAT target genes RCAN1.4 and BNP in FHL2-/- hearts as compared to WT. To determine whether the effect of FHL2 on the abundance of NFAT target gene transcripts was mediated by calcineurin- NFAT-dependent transcription, HEK 293 cells were transfected with luciferase reporter constructs containing the NFAT-driven promoters of either RCAN1 or IL-2. Consistent with the in vivo data, knockdown of FHL2 message using siRNA led to increases in both RCAN1 and IL-2 promoter activities elicited by constitutively active calcineurin or the calcium ionophore, ionomycin. Importantly, activation of the RCAN1 promoter by ionomycin, in control and FHL2 knockdown cells, was abolished by the calcineurin inhibitor cyclosporin A, confirming the calcineurin dependence of the response. Over-expression of FHL2 in HEK 293 cells inhibited the activation of both NFAT reporters triggered by either constitutively active calcineurin or ionomycin. Furthermore, neonatal rat ventricular myocytes over-expressing FHL2 exhibited reduced hypertrophic growth in response to constitutively active calcineurin (measured by cell cross- sectional area and fetal gene expression). Finally, immunostaining of adult cardiomyocytes revealed co-localization of FHL2 and calcineurin predominantly vi at the sarcomere, and activation of calcineurin by endothelin-1 treatment resulted in interaction between FHL2 and calcineurin as demonstrated by co- immunoprecipitation. These observations demonstrate that FHL2 represses calcineurin-NFAT signaling and thereby suppresses hypertrophic cardiac growth at least in part by interacting with calcineurin and inhibiting its activation. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................... viii PRIOR PUBLICATIONS ........................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. xi ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. xii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION • Heart failure – epidemiologic burden……………..………………………2 • Progression to heart failure………………………………………………..3 • Hypertrophy as therapeutic target………………………………………....4 • Calcineurin/NFAT pathway…………………………………………….…5 • FHL2……………………………………………………………………....8 o FHL2 expression pattern and regulation…………………………..9 o FHL2 and MEK/ERK pathway………………………………….10 o FHL2 and β-catenin……………………………………………...13 o FHL2 in cancer…………………………………………………..16 o FHL2 as transcription factor……………………………………..18 o FHL2 in the heart………………………………………………...19 • Central thesis……………………………………………………………..22 • References……………………………………………………………….23 CHAPTER 2: FHL2 INHIBITS CALCINEURIN AND REPRESSES PATHOLOGICAL CARDIAC HYPERTROPHY • Introduction…………………………………………………………….30 • Results o Differential roles of FHL2 in various models of hypertrophy….33 β-adrenergic agonist induced hypertrophy………………….33 Pressure overload-induced hypertrophy…………………….34 Constitutively active calcineurin-induced hypertrophy……..35 o Increased FHL2 expression in WT mice treated with isoproterenol……………………………………………………..36 o Activation NFAT target genes in FHL2-/- mouse hearts………..38 o Increased expression of NFAT target genes in FHL2-/- mice…..40 o Knockdown of FHL2 protein in vitro enhances calcineurin- dependent NFAT promoter activation…………………………...41 viii o FHL2 levels in vitro modulate activation of NFAT target genes by calcineurin……………………………………………………….43 o FHL2 inhibits calcineurin-dependent hypertrophic responses in neonatal rat ventricular myocytes……………………………….44 o FHL2 localizes to the sarcomere in adult and neonatal cardiomyocytes………………………………………………….45 o FHL2 co-localizes and interacts with calcineurin…………….....46 • Interpretation and Conclusion o Inhibition of hypertrophy by FHL2 in vivo……………………..49 o Inhibition of calcineurin/NFAT pathway by FHL2……………..51 o Localization to sarcomere……………………………………….53 o FHL2 interacts with calcineurin………………………………...54 • Figures…………………………………………………………………...55 • Material and Methods…………………………………………………..73 • References………………………………………………………………78 CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSION • Increased FHL2 expression after isoproterenol infusion……………….82 • Inhibition of calcineurin by FHL2………………………………………84 • FHL2 and the MEK1/1-ERK1/2 pathway……………………………..87 • Suppression of MEK1/2-ERK1/2 pathway through calcineurin………..89 • FHL2 and FHL1………………………………………………………..91 • FHL2 in TAC and isoproterenol-induced hypertrophy…………………92 • Regulation of binding of FHL2…………………………………………94 • Perspective………………………………………………………………96 • Figures…………………………………………………………………..97 • References….............................................................................................98 ix PRIOR PUBLICATIONS Matta H, Hojayev B, Tomar R, Chugh P, & Chaudhary PM (2003) Use of lentiviral vectors for delivery of small interfering RNA. Cancer Biol Ther 2(2):206-210 x LIST OF FIGURES Figure 2.1: Absence of FHL2 amplifies isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy ………………………………………………………55 Figure 2.2: Increased expression of FHL2 in hearts of isoproterenol-treated mouse hearts…………………………………………..…………..57 Figure 2.3: Increased expression of NFAT target genes in FHL2 knockout mice following isoproterenol stimulation………………………………59 Figure 2.4: Induction NFAT target gene BNP by constitutively active calcineurin in FHL2-/- hearts …………………………..………..60 Figure 2.5: Absence of FHL2 enhances NFAT target gene expression in mouse hearts collected in the morning………………………..………….61 Figure 2.6: Increased heart weight to body weight ratio in FHL2-/- mice at 1 year of age…………………………………………………….…..63 Figure 2.7: Knockdown of FHL2 augments NFAT-dependent expression by calcineurin…………………………………………………….…..64 Figure 2.8: FHL2 modulates NFAT-dependent promoter activity by calcineurin………………………………………………………...66