Increased free Zn2+ correlates induction of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum stress via altered expression levels of Zn2+ ‐transporters in heart failure

Abstract Zn2+‐homoeostasis including free Zn2+ ([Zn2+]i) is regulated through Zn2+‐transporters and their comprehensive understanding may be important due to their contributions to cardiac dysfunction. Herein, we aimed to examine a possible role of Zn2+‐transporters in the development of heart failure (HF) via induction of ER stress. We first showed localizations of ZIP8, ZIP14 and ZnT8 to both sarcolemma and S(E)R in ventricular cardiomyocytes (H9c2 cells) using confocal together with calculated Pearson's coefficients. The expressions of ZIP14 and ZnT8 were significantly increased with decreased ZIP8 level in HF. Moreover, [Zn2+]i was significantly high in doxorubicin‐treated H9c2 cells compared to their controls. We found elevated levels of ER stress markers, GRP78 and CHOP/Gadd153, confirming the existence of ER stress. Furthermore, we measured markedly increased total PKC and PKCα expression and PKCα‐phosphorylation in HF. A PKC inhibition induced significant decrease in expressions of these ER stress markers compared to controls. Interestingly, direct increase in [Zn2+]i using zinc‐ionophore induced significant increase in these markers. On the other hand, when we induced ER stress directly with tunicamycin, we could not observe any effect on expression levels of these Zn2+ transporters. Additionally, increased [Zn2+]i could induce marked activation of PKCα. Moreover, we observed marked decrease in [Zn2+]i under PKC inhibition in H9c2 cells. Overall, our p...
Source: Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine - Category: Molecular Biology Authors: Tags: Original Article Source Type: research