Evaluating the effects of cardiac telomerase re-activation after myocardial infarction in adult mice
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ABSTRACT: Coronary heart disease is a main cause of death in the developed world and treatment success remains modest with high mortality rates within one year after myocardial infarction (MI). Thus, new therapeutic targets and effective treatments are necessary. Short telomeres are risk factors for age-associated diseases including heart disease. Here, we address the potential of telomerase (Tert) activation in prevention of heart failure after MI in adult mice. We use adeno-associated viruses for cardiac-specific Tert expression in a mouse model of MI. We find that upon MI, hearts expressing Tert show attenuated cardiac dilation, improved ventricular function and smaller infarct scars concomitant with increased mouse survival by 17% compared to controls. Furthermore, Tert treatment results in elongated telomeres, increased numbers of Ki67 and pH3-positive cardiomyocytes and a gene expression switch towards a regeneration signature of neonatal mice. Our work highlights telomerase activation as a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent heart failure after MI. Mice of one year of age were left untreated (control) or injected with 5*10^11 adeno associated viruses particles of serotype 9 (AAV9) that carry either en empty expression cassette or express telomerase under control of the CMV promoter. Virus injected mice then underwent myocardial infarction induced through permenant left anterior descending artery (LAD) ligation. Mice that survived for six weeks after LAD ligation were sacrificed and 4 hearts per group (AAV9-empty or AAV9-Tert) and 3 control hearts (no virus treatment, no ligation) were subjected to total RNA isolation for micro array analysis.
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
SUBMITTER: Christian Baer
PROVIDER: E-GEOD-62973 | biostudies-arrayexpress |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress
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