Biventricular differences in β-adrenergic receptor signaling following burn injury

PLoS One. 2017 Dec 12;12(12):e0189527. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189527. eCollection 2017.

Abstract

Burn injury detrimentally affects the myocardium, primarily due to over-activation of β-adrenergic receptors (β-AR). Autopsy reports from our institution reveal that patients often suffer from right ventricle (RV) failure. Since burn injury affects β-AR signaling in the left ventricle (LV), we proposed that β-AR signaling may also be altered in the RV. A rodent model with a scald burn of 60% of the total body surface area was used to test this hypothesis. Ventricles were isolated 7 days post-burn. We examined the expression of β-ARs via Western blotting and the mRNA expression of downstream signaling proteins via qRT-PCR. Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) production and protein kinase A (PKA) activity were measured in membrane and cytosolic fractions, respectively, using enzyme immunoassay kits. β1-AR protein expression was significantly increased in the RV following burn injury compared to non-burned RV but not in the LV (p = 0.0022). In contrast, β2-AR expression was unaltered among the groups while Gαi expression was significantly higher in the LV post-burn (p = 0.023). B-arrestin-1 and G-protein coupled receptor kinase-2 mRNA expression were significantly increased in the left ventricle post-burn (p = 0.001, p<0.0001, respectively). cAMP production and PKA activity were significantly lower in the LV post-burn (p = 0.0063, 0.0042, respectively). These data indicate that burn injury affects the β-AR signaling pathway in the RV independently of the LV. Additionally, non-canonical β-AR signaling may be activated in the RV as cAMP production and PKA activity were unchanged despite changes in β1-AR protein expression.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cyclic AMP / metabolism
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases / metabolism
  • Heart Ventricles / metabolism*
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / metabolism
  • Male
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction*

Substances

  • Receptors, Adrenergic, beta
  • Insulin-Like Growth Factor I
  • Cyclic AMP
  • Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases