Nicotinamide riboside kinase-2 alleviates ischemia-induced heart failure through P38 signaling

Publication date: Available online 16 November 2019Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Molecular Basis of DiseaseAuthor(s): Firdos Ahmad, Dhanendra Tomar, Smriti Aryal A C, Adel B. Elmoselhi, Manfred Thomas, John W. Elrod, Douglas G. Tilley, Thomas ForceAbstractNicotinamide riboside kinase-2 (NRK-2), a muscle-specific β1 integrin binding protein, predominantly expresses in skeletal muscle with a trace amount expressed in healthy cardiac tissue. NRK-2 expression dramatically increases in mouse and human ischemic heart however, the specific role of NRK-2 in the pathophysiology of ischemic cardiac diseases is unknown.We employed NRK2 knockout (KO) mice to identify the role of NRK-2 in ischemia-induced cardiac remodeling and dysfunction. Following myocardial infarction (MI), or sham surgeries, serial echocardiography was performed in the KO and littermate control mice. Cardiac contractile function rapidly declined and left ventricular interior dimension (LVID) was significantly increased in the ischemic KO vs. control mice at 2 weeks post-MI. An increase in mortality was observed in the KO vs. control group. The KO hearts displayed increased cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure reflected by morphometric analysis. Consistently, histological assessment revealed an extensive and thin scar and dilated LV chamber accompanied with elevated fibrosis in the KOs post-MI. Mechanistically, we observed that loss of NRK-2 enhanced p38α activation following ischemic injury. Cons...
Source: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) Molecular Basis of Disease - Category: Molecular Biology Source Type: research