Ventricular T-box 5 in the adult heart ensures normal cardiac conduction and protects from pathologic cardiac remodeling [ChIP-seq]
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Sudden cardiac death is the number one cause of death worldwide. Major causes of sudden cardiac death include myocardial infarction and cardiomyopathies. To develop novel therapeutic strategies, we need to identify key factors that are required for proper cardiac function and are dysregulated in the diseased heart. Under this notion, we found T-box 5 (TBX5), a transcription factor regarded solely in the context of congenital heart disease, to be downregulated in human diseased left ventricles. To investigate the effects of TBX5 loss in the adult heart, we generated an inducible ventricular cardiomyocyte specific knock-out mouse model (vTbx5KO). We performed integrative genome-wide chromatin occupancy and transcriptomic analysis and identified 47 downregulated transcripts in vTbx5KO that contain TBX5 active enhancers. The TBX5 targets in the ventricle included genes implicated in cardiac conduction and contraction (Gja1, Kcnj5, Kcng2, Cacna1g, Chrm2), cytoskeleton organization (Fstl4, Pdlim4, Emilin2, Cmya5) as well as cardiac protection upon stress (Fhl2, Gpr22, Fgf16). In line with this analysis, vTbx5KO mice presented cardiac conduction defects and arrhythmias at baseline as well as exacerbated cardiac remodeling upon Angiotensin II-induced hypertrophy. In conclusion, this study uncovers a novel protective role of TBX5 upon cardiac remodeling and renders TBX5 as an interesting therapeutic target.
Project description:Sudden cardiac death is the number one cause of death worldwide. Major causes of sudden cardiac death include myocardial infarction and cardiomyopathies. To develop novel therapeutic strategies, we need to identify key factors that are required for proper cardiac function and are dysregulated in the diseased heart. Under this notion, we found T-box 5 (TBX5), a transcription factor regarded solely in the context of congenital heart disease, to be downregulated in human diseased left ventricles. To investigate the effects of TBX5 loss in the adult heart, we generated an inducible ventricular cardiomyocyte specific knock-out mouse model (vTbx5KO). We performed integrative genome-wide chromatin occupancy and transcriptomic analysis and identified 47 downregulated transcripts in vTbx5KO that contain TBX5 active enhancers. The TBX5 targets in the ventricle included genes implicated in cardiac conduction and contraction (Gja1, Kcnj5, Kcng2, Cacna1g, Chrm2), cytoskeleton organization (Fstl4, Pdlim4, Emilin2, Cmya5) as well as cardiac protection upon stress (Fhl2, Gpr22, Fgf16). In line with this analysis, vTbx5KO mice presented cardiac conduction defects and arrhythmias at baseline as well as exacerbated cardiac remodeling upon Angiotensin II-induced hypertrophy. In conclusion, this study uncovers a novel protective role of TBX5 upon cardiac remodeling and renders TBX5 as an interesting therapeutic target.
Project description:Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is unequivocally identified as an ominous escalation of hemodynamically stressful overload, ultimately heighten risk of sudden death as heart failure (HF) ensues. Here, we explored how dysregulated mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) metabolism remodels mitochondrial bioenergetics and controls hypertrophic-phenotype cardiopathy in mice and humans. Utilizing targeted genetic approaches and in vivo functional imaging, we describe a potent cardiac pro-hypertrophic role for serine arginine protein kinase 3 (SRPK3), which is highly induced in myocardium upon hypertrophic stimuli. Adult extended expression of SRPK3 in cardiomyocytes (CMs) leads to spontaneously concentric hypertrophy and eventuates sudden cardiac death in mice.
Project description:Prolonged electrocardiographic indices reflecting myocardial impulse conduction and repolarization are risk factors for sudden cardiac death and drug-induced arrhythmia. The PR-interval, QRS-duration and QT-interval are heritable traits influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors. The genetic underpinnings of these traits are still largely unknown. In this study, we leveraged the variability in cardiac gene expression and the variation in PR-, QRS- and QT-intervals among F2 mice harboring the cardiac sodium ion-channel mutation Scn5a-1798insD/+ derived from the 129P2-Scn5a1798insD/+ and FVB/NJ-Scn5a1798insD/+ cross, to isolate novel genes and biological pathways impacting on cardiac conduction and repolarization. Cardiac left-ventricle total RNA from 120 F2-(129P2xFVBN/J)-Scn5a-1798insD/+ mice at 12 to 14 weeks old.
Project description:Prolonged electrocardiographic indices reflecting myocardial impulse conduction and repolarization are risk factors for sudden cardiac death and drug-induced arrhythmia. The PR-interval, QRS-duration and QT-interval are heritable traits influenced by multiple genetic and environmental factors. The genetic underpinnings of these traits are still largely unknown. In this study, we leveraged the variability in cardiac gene expression and the variation in PR-, QRS- and QT-intervals among F2 mice harboring the cardiac sodium ion-channel mutation Scn5a-1798insD/+ derived from the 129P2-Scn5a1798insD/+ and FVB/NJ-Scn5a1798insD/+ cross, to isolate novel genes and biological pathways impacting on cardiac conduction and repolarization.
Project description:Viral cardiac infection represents a significant clinical challenge encompassing several etiological agents, disease stages, complex presentation, and a resulting lack of mechanistic understanding. Myocarditis is a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young adults, where current knowledge in the field is dominated by later disease phases, and pathological host immune responses. However, little is known regarding how viral infection can acutely induce an arrhythmogenic substrate prior to significant immune responses. Adenovirus is a leading cause of myocarditis, but due to species-specificity, models of infection are lacking and it is not understood how adenoviral infection may underlie sudden cardiac arrest. Mouse Adenovirus Type-3 (MAdV-3) was previously reported as cardiotropic, yet has not been utilized to understand mechanisms of cardiac infection and pathology. We have developed MAdV-3 infection as a model to investigate acute cardiac infection and molecular alterations to the infected heart prior to an appreciable immune response or gross cardiomyopathy. By optical mapping of infected hearts we find decreases in conduction velocity concomitant with increased Cx43Ser368 phosphorylation, a residue known to regulate gap junction function. Hearts from animals harboring a phospho-null mutation at Cx43Ser368 are protected against MAdV-3 induced conduction velocity slowing. Additional to gap junction alterations, patch clamping of MAdV-3-infected adult mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes reveals prolonged action potential duration as a result of decreased IK1 and IKs current density. Turning to human systems, we find human adenovirus type-5 (HAdV-5) increases phosphorylation of Cx43Ser368 and disrupts synchrony in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs), indicating common mechanisms with our mouse whole heart and adult cardiomyocyte data. Together, these findings demonstrate that adenoviral infection creates an arrhythmogenic substrate through direct targeting of gap junction and ion channel function in the heart. Such alterations are known to precipitate arrhythmias and likely contribute to sudden cardiac death in acutely infected patients.
Project description:T-box transcription factors play critical roles in the development and identity of the heart. Tbx5 has been implicated as a regulator of the fast-conducting, ventricular conduction system, while Tbx3 has been implicated as a regulator of the slow-conducting node. We hypothesize TBX5 and TBX3 share common binding sites in cardiomyocytes to positively or negatively regulate transcription, respectively, for cardiac cell identity and conduction. To this end, we performed ChIP-sequencing to identify localization of TBX5 during fetal heart development and have compared it with previously published histone (GEO Series: GSE31039; ENCODE Accessions: ENCSR080GQM, ENCSR000CDL, ENCSR000CDM, ENCSR052CDF, ENCSR345RKE, ENCSR007XTC, ENCSR360ANE, ENCSR000CDK, and ENCSR357OED) and TBX3 ChIP-seq (GSM862695).
Project description:The institut du thorax in Nantes (FR), the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam (NL) and the University Hospital of Muenster (DE) have recruited 20 large families comprising at least 3 patients with cardiac arrhythmias and showing history of sudden cardiac death. For each family, the exome of one affected individual has been sequenced at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (UK), in order to identify new genes associated with high risk of sudden cardiac death.
Project description:Heart failure (HF) and cardiac arrhythmias share overlapping pathological mechanisms that act cooperatively to accelerate disease pathogenesis. Cardiac fibrosis is associated with both pathological conditions. Our previous work identified a link between phytosterol accumulation, cardiac fibrosis and death in a mouse model of phytosterolemia, a rare disorder characterized by elevated circulating phytosterols and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Here, we uncover a previously unknown pathological link between phytosterols and cardiac arrhythmias in the same animal model. Phytosterolemia resulted in inflammatory pathway induction, premature ventricular contractions (PVC) and ventricular tachycardia (VT). Both pharmacological and genetic inhibition of phytosterol absorption prevented the induction of both pathways. Inhibition of phytosterol absorption reduced inflammation and cardiac fibrosis, improved cardiac function, reduced the incidence of arrhythmias and increased survival in a mouse model of phytosterolemia. Collectively, this work identified a pathological mechanism whereby elevated phytosterols result in inflammation and cardiac fibrosis leading to impaired cardiac function, arrhythmias and sudden death. These phytosterolemia-associated comorbidities provide novel insight into the underlying pathophysiological mechanism that predispose these patients to increased risk of sudden cardiac death.
Project description:Direct cardiac reprogramming to induce cardiomyocyte-like cells, e.g. by GMT (Gata4, Mef2c and Tbx5), is a promising route for regenerating damaged heart in vivo and disease modeling in vitro. Supplementation with additional factors and chemical agents can enhance efficiency but raises concerns regarding selectivity to cardiac fibroblasts and complicates delivery for in situ cardiac reprogramming. Here, we screened 2000 chemicals with known biological activities and found that a combination of 2C (SB431542 and Baricitinib) significantly enhances cardiac reprogramming by GMT. Without Gata4, MT (Mef2c and Tbx5) plus 2C could selectively reprogram cardiac fibroblasts with enhanced efficiency, kinetics and cardiomyocyte function. More importantly, 2C+MYOCD selectively reprograms human cardiac fibroblasts into cardiomyocyte-like cells. 2C enhances cardiac reprogramming by inhibiting Alk5, Tyk2 and downregulating Oas2, Oas3, Serpina3n and Tgfbi. 2C thus enables selective and robust cardiac reprogramming that can greatly facilitate disease modeling in vitro and advance clinical therapeutic heart regeneration in vivo.