Resumo (PT):
Increasing evidence suggests occurrence of LV contractile dysfunction in pulmonary
hypertension (PH) in the absence of LV overload. The role of autocrine/paracrine mechanisms
on the development of such dysfunction remains largely unknown.
RV and LV hemodynamic and morphometric measurements along with evaluation of
mRNA expression (RT real time PCR, normalized for GAPDH) of angiotensinogen
(Agtg), ACE, aldosterone synthase (A-synt), chymase, ET-1, IGF-1 and BNP were carried
in Wistar rats 4 (M4, n=7) and 6 (M6, n=7) weeks after monocrotaline injection (MCT,
60mg/Kg, sc) and compared with sham (S, n=7), Results presented as mean±SEM;
p<0.05: * vs S, † vs M4, with mRNA data reported in Arbitrary Units of ratios.
MCT increased systolic RV pressure (S=21±1; M4=39±2*; M6=51±4*† mmHg) and RV/
LV weight ratio (S=0.23±0.02; M4=0.37±0.03*; M6=0.58±0.03*†), whilst end-diastolic LV
dimensions decreased (S=8.2±0.6; M4=6.9±0.7; M6=5.4±0.9* mm). LV function was
impaired only in the M6 group: dP/dtmax (S=4953±550; M4=5263±393; M6=2205±272*†
mmHg/s), time constant τ (S=22±2; M4=19±2; M6=27±2*† ms). MCT significantly
changed gene expression of RV-ACE (S=1.0±0.1; M4=1.7±0.3; M6=9.8±1.4*†), LV-ACE
(S=1.0±0.1; M4=1.9±0.1; M6=4.5±1.1*), RV-ET-1 (S=1.0±0.1; M4=0.7±0.1*;
M6=3.2±0.8*†), LV-ET-1 (S=1.0±0.2; M4=0.9±0.1; M6=6.8±2.0*†), RV-BNP (S=1.0±0.3;
M4=8.2±2.3*; M6=11.6±1.9*†), but not of LV-BNP or RV and LV Agtg, A-synt, chymase and IGF-1. RV mRNA levels were linearly related (p<0.01) with those of the LV, both for
ACE (r=+0.88) and ET-1 (r=+0.71).
The present study showed that LV dysfunction in a model of selective RV overload is
accompanied by biventricular activation of regulatory (ACE and ET-1) systems, while
counter-regulatory BNP is selectively activated in the RV. These findings might add to the
understanding of the relative importance of load and autocrine/paracrine activation in the
progression to heart failure.
Language:
English
Type (Professor's evaluation):
Scientific
Notes:
54th Annual Scientific Session of the American-College-of-Cardiology, published in Journal, American College of Cardiology. 2004; Vol.43(Suppl.A):456A-457A.