guanosine-monophosphate and Cardiomegaly

Zhenwu Decoction (ZWD) is a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula which has wide scope of indications related to Yang deficiency and dampness retention in TCM syndrome. Cardiac hypertrophy can induce similar symptoms and signs to the clinical features of Yang deficiency and dampness retention syndrome. ZWD can increase the left ventricular ejection fraction, reduce cardiac hypertrophy of patients with chronic heart failure. However, its underlying pharmacological mechanism remains unclear.. The study aimed to confirm the protective effects of ZWD on cardiac hypertrophy and explore the underlying mechanisms.. The potential targets and pathways of ZWD in cardiac hypertrophy were highlighted by network pharmacology and validated by mechanistic and functional studies.. Our network pharmacology analysis suggests that the protective effects of ZWD on cardiac hypertrophy are related to cyclic guanosine monophosphate (cGMP) - protein kinase G (PKG) pathway. Subsequent animal studies showed that ZWD significantly ameliorated cardiac function decline, cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis and cardiomyocyte apoptosis. To explore the underlying mechanisms of action, we performed Western blotting, immunohistochemical analysis, and detection of inflammatory response and oxidative stress. Our results showed that ZWD activated the soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC) - cGMP - PKG signaling pathway. The sGC inhibitor ODQ that blocks the sGC-cGMP-PKG signaling pathway in zebrafish abolished the protective effects of ZWD, suggesting sGC-cGMP-PKG is the main signaling pathway mediates the protective effect of ZWD in cardiac hypertrophy. In addition, three major ingredients from ZWD, poricoic acid C, hederagenin and dehydrotumulosic acid, showed a high binding energy with prototype sGC.. ZWD reduces oxidative stress and inflammation and exerts cardioprotective effects by activating the sGC-cGMP-PKG signaling pathway.

Topics: Animals; Cardiomegaly; Cyclic GMP; Cyclic GMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Guanosine Monophosphate; Guanylate Cyclase; Nitric Oxide; Soluble Guanylyl Cyclase; Stroke Volume; Ventricular Function, Left; Yang Deficiency; Zebrafish

Sodium ferulate (SF) is the sodium salt of ferulic acid, which is one of the effective components of Angelica sinensis and Lignsticum chuanxiong , and plays an important role in protecting the cardiovascular system. In this study, myocardial hypertrophy was induced by angiotensin II 0.1 μmol/L in neonatal Sprague-Dawley rat ventricular myocytes. Nine groups were designed, that is, normal, normal administration, model, L-arginine (L-arg 1000 μmol/L), SF (50, 100, 200 μmol/L) group, and N G -nitro-L-arg-methyl ester 1500 μmol/L combined with SF 200 μmol/L or L-arg 1000 μmol/L group, respectively. Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy was confirmed by observing histological changes and measurements of cell diameter, protein content and atrial natriuretic factor, and β-myosin heavy chain levels of the cells. Notably, SF could inhibit significantly myocardial hypertrophy of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in a concentration-dependent manner without producing cytotoxicity, and the levels of nitric oxide, NO synthase (NOS), endothelial NOS, and cyclic guanosine monophosphate were increased, but the level of cyclic adenosine monophosphate was decreased in cardiomyocytes. Simultaneously, levels of protein kinase C beta, Raf-1, and extracellular regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) were downregulated, whereas levels of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase-1 were significantly upregulated. All the beneficial effects of SF were blunted by N G -nitro-L-arg-methyl ester. Overall, these findings reveal that SF can inhibit angiotensin II-induced myocardial hypertrophy of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, which is closely related to activation of endothelial NOS/NO/cyclic guanosine monophosphate, and inhibition of protein kinase C and mitogen-activated protein kinase signaling pathways.

Topics: Angiotensin II; Animals; Cardiomegaly; Coumaric Acids; Cyclic GMP; Esters; Guanosine Monophosphate; Myocytes, Cardiac; Nitric Oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Signal Transduction

Cardiac hypertrophy develops to compensate for hemodynamic overload of the myocardium. However, cardiac hypertrophy itself poses a serious risk to patients with heart failure. Whether natriuretic peptides enhanced by ecadotril, a neutral endopeptidase inhibitor, suppress the increase of left ventricular mass in the rat aortic insufficiency model was investigated. Ecadotril suppressed the increase of the left ventricular mass without affecting blood pressure (710.9 +/- 15.6 mg in the group treated with ecadotril and 865.0 +/- 27.3 mg in the control group, P < 0.01). Although the increase of atrial natriuretic peptide in the left ventricle was trivial and did not reach statistical significance (406.5 +/- 62.2 pg/mg in the ecadotril-treated group versus 269.8 +/- 35.7 pg/mg in the control group), urinary cGMP excretion was greater in the group given ecadotril than in the control group (10.6 +/- 2.5 pmol/mL and 1.7 +/- 0.6 pmol/mL, respectively, P < 0.01). Plasma angiotensin II concentration also decreased in the group treated with ecadotril compared with the control group (116.6 +/- 25.4 pg/mL versus 358.7 +/- 98.7 pg/mL, P < 0.05). In conclusion, ecadotril suppressed the increase of left ventricular mass in the overloaded heart. In ecadotril-treated rats, cGMP synthesis was augmented and angiotensin II concentration was reduced.

Topics: Angiotensin II; Animals; Aortic Diseases; Blood Pressure; Cardiomegaly; Disease Models, Animal; Guanosine Monophosphate; Male; Protease Inhibitors; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Thiorphan

We examined the hypothesis that the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor ramipril at sub-antihypertensive concentrations could improve sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) CaATPase expression and function in compensated hypertrophied rat hearts. Five weeks after abdominal aortic constriction, rats received a daily dose (50 micrograms/kg/day) of ramipril or vehicle for 4 weeks. Cardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity increased with cardiac hypertrophy (CH) but returned to normal following ramipril treatment. SR CaATPase protein levels and activity decreased with CH (P < 0.05) and were normalized following ramipril treatment (P < 0.05 for protein and activity). No change in phospholamban (PLB) protein levels could be demonstrated between any of the groups. In contrast, ramipril treatment specifically increased control SR CaATPase and PLB mRNA levels by > 60% (P < 0.01) and > 30%, respectively. In the hypertrophied group, SR CaATPase increased by 35% (P < 0.05 n = 6) after ramipril treatment. Calsequestrin mRNA levels were unaffected by ramipril administration. In conclusion, ramipril normalizes SR CaATPase protein expression and function in pressure-overloaded and compensated CH. The effects of ramipril are however multifaceted, affecting RNA and protein expression differentially.

Topics: Animals; Blotting, Northern; Blotting, Western; Calcium; Calcium-Binding Proteins; Calcium-Transporting ATPases; Calsequestrin; Cardiomegaly; Carotid Arteries; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Guanosine Monophosphate; Immunoblotting; Male; Oxalates; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; Pressure; Ramipril; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Sarcoplasmic Reticulum