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From the Centro de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Facultad de Ciencias
Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina.
Correspondence to Dr Horacio E. Cingolani, Centro de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Calle 60 y 120, 1900 La Plata, Argentina. E-mail cicme{at}isis.unlp.edu.ar
The enhancement of NHE activity has been described in various other
cell types obtained both from hypertensive individuals and genetic
animal models (for detailed review, see Reference 44 ), and it might
result from an increased expression of exchanger protein units and/or
an increased turnover rate of each unit. The question as to whether
increased activity of NHE relates to increased turnover rate or
increased mRNA and protein expression of the exchanger has been
explored in different cell types, and it is still
controversial.5 6 7 8 9 However, experiments in
membranes from SHR cardiac tissue suggested a posttranslational
processing mechanism involving phosphorylation as
responsible for NHE hyperactivity.10 Activation
of NHE by growth-promoting factors apparently involves an alkaline
shift in the pHi dependency of NHE due to
phosphorylation of the exchanger protein itself and/or
of a putative regulatory protein.11 12 13
An increased activity of the AE in SHR myocardium has been
reported by us.1 The parallel increase of AE
activity induces net bicarbonate efflux and blunts the increase in
myocardial pHi that would be induced by the NHE.
It was therefore tempting to investigate whether enalapril-induced
regression of cardiac hypertrophy had an influence on NHE
and AE activities in SHR myocardium. In an attempt to
further examine possible underlying mechanism(s), the effect of PKC
inhibition was also studied.
Measurements of pHi
Assessment of NHE Activity
Assessment of AE Activity
Statistics
Steady Myocardial pHi
With HEPES used as extracellular buffer, NHE is the only mechanism
regulating pHi therefore, the steady
pHi values can be directly correlated to NHE
activity. However, antihypertensive treatment could have changed the
ability of cells to buffer protons. No significant difference between
groups was detected when ßi values were
determined (Table 2
When hypertrophic myocardium of SHR-C was exposed to a
specific inhibitor of PKC activity, chelerythrine,
pHi value in HEPES buffer gradually decreased
(Fig 2
Fig 3
Imposed Intracellular Acidification
Acid-extruding mechanisms are modulated by pHi;
therefore, values of JH+ during the recovery from
CO2-induced intracellular acid load were
estimated as a function of pHi in each
experimental group. Fig 6
Imposed Intracellular Alkalinization
The rate of pHi recovery from TMACl-induced
intracellular alkalinization was also measured after the inhibition of
PKC activity in hypertrophic myocardium. Two structurally
different PKC inhibitors, chelerythrine and calphostin C,
were used. Exposure to TMACl increased pHi to a
similar value in both the absence and presence of PKC
inhibitors. However, the rate of pHi
recovery was significantly reduced by both PKC inhibitors
(Fig 8
The question of whether antihypertensive therapy could affect the
enhanced NHE activity was investigated before by Rosskopf et
al31 in experiments conducted on platelets of
hypertensive patients. These authors were unable to detect any
normalization of NHE activity after 6 weeks of antihypertensive
treatment with enalapril. They claimed that NHE hyperactivity was
refractory to antihypertensive treatment and therefore appeared to be a
relatively fixed parameter. Whether these contradictory
results are a matter of difference in tissues, species, or the relative
duration of treatments is not apparent at this time and requires
further study. While this manuscript was in preparation, Sánchez
et al32 reported that
Na+/Li+ countertransport (a
mode of operation of NHE) in erythrocytes from hypertensive individuals
was normalized after 6 months of enalapril treatment.
The major finding of this study was that the enhancement of NHE and AE
activities in hypertrophic myocardium of SHR normalized
after PKC inhibition. The C terminal of the rat NHE-1 possesses a
putative PKC phosphorylation
site,33 and many agonists promote
phosphoinositide hydrolysis generating inositol
triphosphate and diacylglycerol, the latter then stimulating PKC
activity. In connection with this, it was demonstrated that
inhibitors of PKC were able to relax aortic tone in vitro
and lower blood pressure of SHR in vivo.34 Recent
experiments from our laboratory showed that PKC inhibition decreased
NHE activity in platelets from SHR but not in
WKY.35 These present and previous data are
consistent with a "PKC syndrome" that was suggested to play
a central pathogenic role in hypertension.36
Kimura et al37 and Aviv et
al38 39 have also presented several lines
of evidence supporting a connection between
[Ca2+]i, PKC, and NHE in
the increased peripheral vascular resistance,
cardiovascular hypertrophy, salt
sensitivity, and insulin resistance of established hypertension.
Moreover, stimulation of cell hypertrophy and activation of
PKC by stretching isolated cardiomyocytes have been
described40 and seem to be linked to
autocrine-paracrine secretion of angiotensin II and/or
endothelin-1.41 42 Significantly, both of these
agonists are well known to stimulate PKC activity in the
myocardium.
The regulation of the AE has been less investigated than that of NHE,
but evidence for PKC involvement in its regulation in Vero cells was
presented by Ludt et al.43 The amino acid
sequences of the cardiac-specific AE3 isoform has been recently
examined in rats and compared with that of mice and
humans.44 45 In all three species, potential
consensus phosphorylation sites for protein kinases A
and C were identified.
An increase in PKC activity would therefore explain the increased
activity of both exchangers in hypertrophic myocardium. The
normalization of their activities by enalapril treatment, as well as by
PKC inhibition with chelerythrine and calphostin C, would suggest that
the pharmacological intervention is mediated through a decrease in PKC
activation. No measurements of PKC activity were performed in our
study, but increases in PKC-ß1,2 and PKC-
We would like to emphasize that in the presence of the
physiological bicarbonate buffer, the steady-state
pHi value of the hypertrophic
myocardium results from the interplay between the increased
alkalinizing NHE activity and the enhanced acidifying activity of AE.
Parallel hyperactivity of both exchangers will normalize
pHi, but it will not prevent the increase in
[Na+]i caused by NHE
activity. Under these circumstances, an increase in
[Ca2+]i would take place
through the Na+/Ca2+
exchange. Increased
[Ca2+]i is known to be an
important signal for cellular growth47 and to
activate conventional
Another possibility to be considered is a "primary" increase in
[Ca2+]i, which could
activate NHE through different mechanisms either
directly37 52 or via PKC activation and/or a
Ca2+-calmodulin
complex.53 The increase in
[Ca2+]i in hypertension
as the result of different mechanisms has been reported by several
authors.54 55 56
In summary, our data show that chronic treatment with enalapril induced
normalization of enhanced NHE and AE activities while regressing
cardiac hypertrophy in SHR and that its pharmacological
effect was linked to a common PKC-related pathway. Whereas the link
between PKC and NHE activity in hypertension is not
new,5 34 35 36 37 38 39 the participation of the AE and its
link with PKC in hypertension is novel and significant. Many questions
related to the data presented herein need to be addressed. For
example, which does enalapril treatment change first:
hypertrophy, NHE activity, or AE activity? What is the
temporal relationship between structural changes and exchanger
activities? Is the increase in intracellular Ca2+
level found in hypertension the result or the cause of the
hyperactivity of the exchangers? And finally, which PKC isoform is
involved in determining the hyperactivity of the exchangers? All these
questions should be addressed in future investigations.
Received October 15, 1997;
first decision November 10, 1997;
accepted December 4, 1997.
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© 1998 American Heart Association, Inc.
Scientific Contributions
Enalapril Induces Regression of Cardiac Hypertrophy and Normalization of pHi Regulatory Mechanisms
![]()
Abstract
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
AbstractIntracellular pH is under
strict control in myocardium; H+ are extruded
from the cells by sodium-dependent mechanisms, mainly
Na+/H+ exchanger and
Na+/HCO3- symport, whereas
Na+-independent
Cl-/HCO3- exchanger extrudes
bases on intracellular alkalinization. Hypertrophic
myocardium from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)
exhibits increased Na+/H+ exchange activity
that is accompanied by enhanced extrusion of bases through
Na+-independent
Cl-/HCO3- exchange. The
present experiments were designed to investigate the effect of
enalapril-induced regression of cardiac hypertrophy on the
activity of these exchangers. Male SHR and normotensive Wistar-Kyoto
rats (WKY) received enalapril maleate (20 mg/kg per day) in the
drinking water for 5 weeks. Gender- and age-matched SHR and WKY were
used as untreated controls. Enalapril treatment significantly reduced
systolic blood pressure in SHR and completely regressed cardiac
hypertrophy. Na+/H+ activity was
estimated in terms of both steady pHi value in HEPES buffer
and the rate of pHi recovery from CO2-induced
acid load. Na+-independent
Cl-/HCO3- activity was assessed
by measuring the rate of pHi recovery from intracellular
alkalinization produced by trimethylamine exposure. Regression of
cardiac hypertrophy was accompanied by normalization of
Na+/H+ and Na+-independent
Cl-/HCO3- exchange activities.
Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC) activity with chelerythrine
(10 mmol/L) or calphostin C (50 nmol/L) returned both exchange
activities to normal values. These results show that
angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition normalizes the
enhanced activity of both exchangers while regressing cardiac
hypertrophy. Because normalization of exchange activities
could be also achieved by PKC inhibition, the data would suggest that
PKC-dependent mechanisms play a significant role in the increased ion
exchange activities of hypertrophic myocardium and in their
normalization by angiotensin-converting enzyme
inhibition.
Key Words: ion transport hypertrophy, cardiac angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors protein kinase C intracellular pH
![]()
Introduction
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
We have recently
reported that NHE activity is increased in the hypertrophic
myocardium of SHR.1 The blockade of
angiotensin II production by ACE
inhibitors is proven to be potent and effective for blood
pressure reduction and cardiac hypertrophy
regression.2 3
![]()
Methods
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Experiments were conducted in age-matched SHR and WKY male rats,
which were originally derived from Charles River Breeding Farms,
Wilmington, Mass. All animals were identically housed under controlled
lighting and temperature conditions with free access to standard rat
chow and tap water. All the experiments were conducted in accordance
with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals
(US Department of Health and Human Services). Beginning at 12 weeks
of age, SBP was measured weekly in all animals by the standard
tail-cuff method.14 By 16 weeks of age, SBP was
significantly elevated in SHR (overall mean, 175±3 mm Hg;
n=42) compared with WKY (118±2 mm Hg; n=27). By this time, rats
from each breed were respectively divided at random into two groups.
One group of each rat strain was treated with enalapril maleate (SHR-E
and WKY-E) by inclusion of the drug in the drinking water.
Concentration was adjusted every 2 days to match the BW/consumption
ratio to ensure a dosage of 20 mg/kg per day. The second group of each
strain served as untreated controls. Treatment lasted 5 weeks, and at
the end of this period animals were deeply anesthetized with
ether and their hearts were removed. From each heart, a papillary
muscle was dissected free and mounted, as previously
described,1 in an organ bath on the stage of an
Olympus CK2 inverted microscope (Olympus Optical Co). Muscles were
superfused with one of the following solutions: (1) HEPES- buffered
solution containing (in mmol/L) 133.8 NaCl, 4.5 KCl, 1.35
CaCl2, 1.05 MgSO4, 11
glucose, and 25 HEPES (pH of the buffer solution was adjusted to
7.38±0.03 at 30°C with 3 N NaOH [total Na+
amounted to 148.8], and the solution was gassed with 100%
O2) or (2)
HCO3-/CO2-buffered
solution containing (in mmol/L): 128.3 NaCl, 4.5 KCl, 1.35
CaCl2, 20.23 NaHCO3, 0.35
NaH2PO4, 1.05 MgSO4, and 11
glucose. The solution was equilibrated with
CO2/O2 gas mixture to
ensure a PCO2 value of 35 mm Hg
at the chamber level, with the pH of
CO2/HCO3--buffered
solutions being 7.37±0.01 at 30°C. Chelerythrine chloride (Research
Biochemicals) was used at 10 mmol/L as specific
inhibitor of PKC activity15 and
calphostin C (Research Biochemicals) at 50
nmol/L.16 Atria and all adjacent connective
tissue were removed, and the remaining tissue was blotted and weighed
to determine HW. The free wall of the right ventricle was excised to
determine LVW separately. HW and LVW were expressed as ratios to BW to
determine the degree of hypertrophy.
Measurements of pHi were made by
epifluorescence as previously described.1
Briefly, muscles were loaded with BCECF-AM (Molecular Probes). BCECF
fluorescence was excited at 450 and 495 nm, and the
fluorescence emission was monitored after passage through a
535±5-nm filter every 20 seconds. To limit photobleaching, a
neutral-density filter (1% transmittance) was placed in the excitation
light path. At the end of each experiment, fluorescence
emission was calibrated by the high K+-nigericin
method.17 The calibration solution contained
(in mmol/L) KCl 150.0, MgCl2 1.0,
CaCl2 1.0, HEPES 5.0, nigericin 0.01, sodium
cyanide 4.0, and 2,3-butanedione monoxime 20.0. Buffer pH was adjusted
to four different values ranging from 7.5 to 6.5. Such a calibration
gave a linear relation between buffer pH values and the
fluorescence ratio
(F495/F450) as previously
reported.1 Values of autofluorescence at
each wavelength were subtracted before the calculation of any
F495/F450.
The activity of the antiporter was estimated in terms of both
steady pHi values in the absence of external
bicarbonate (HEPES buffer) and JH+ during the
recovery from intracellular acidification. Acid loads were induced by
switching from HEPES-buffered superfusate to
CO2/HCO3-
buffer. Recoveries of pHi after acid loads were
analyzed by fitting the pHi versus time
records to an exponential curve of the form
pHit=
pHi
(1-e-k
t), where
pHit and
pHi
are
the changes in pHi from the initial value at time
t and after steady state has been reached, respectively, and
k is the rate coefficient. The rate of change of
pHi at any selected pHi
value was obtained by calculating the derivative of the exponential fit
at that selected pHi, and thus, intracellular
buffer capacityxdpHi/dt represents
JH+ (in mmol/L per minute) at that
pHi. Intracellular buffer capacity was calculated
as the sum of ßi plus the buffering power due
to intracellular
CO2/HCO3-.
The latter was considered to be
2.3x[HCO3-]i,
assuming an open system for CO2 and that its
solubility and pK value are the same at either side of the
cell membrane.
[HCO3-]i
at any given pHi was calculated from the
Henderson-Hasselbach equation to be
[HCO3-]i=[HCO3-]ox10(pHi-pHo).
ßi was calculated as the ratio between
[HCO3-]i/
pHi
observed when the superfusing solution was switched from HEPES to
CO2/HCO3-
buffer.18
[HCO3-]i
was considered to equal the value of
[HCO3-]i
immediately after
CO2/HCO3-
buffer introduction because in the absence of external
CO2 the value of
[HCO3-]i
is very low,
50 µmol/L.19 The main
problem for estimating ßi is that acid
extrusion during the loading period may blunt the acidosis, thus
leading to overestimation of ßi value (see
Reference 1818 for details). Back-extrapolation of
pHi recovery to a point where it intersected the
line defining the maximum initial rate of acid loading was used to
reduce errors in ßi calculation, as previously
shown.1 20 21
The velocity of pHi recovery from imposed
intracellular alkalinization was used to estimate AE activity. Exposure
to TMACl (Sigma Chemical Co) has been previously demonstrated as a
valid technique for investigating the activity of the AE based on the
fact that no recovery from TMACl-induced intracellular alkalosis is
detected in HCO3--free
solutions.22 23 Ten-minute pulses of different
TMACl concentrations (10, 20, or 30 mmol/L) were applied without
osmotic compensation and pHi values recorded
during the first minute after peak alkalosis were fitted to a straight
line to estimate the initial velocity of pHi
recovery
(dpHi/dti).23
Data are expressed as mean±SEM. Statistical analysis of
results was performed using either Student's t test or
ANOVA followed by Bonferroni's test, as appropriate. Values of
P
.05 were considered significant.
![]()
Results
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
General characteristics for the various rat groups at the time of
death are shown in Table 1
. SBP remained
elevated at hypertensive levels in untreated SHR throughout the 5-week
experimental period but significantly decreased in the SHR-E group.
Enalapril treatment completely regressed cardiac
hypertrophy as shown by HW/BW and LVW/BW ratios.
View this table:
[in a new window]
Table 1. General Characteristics of Rat Groups
Fig 1
shows steady
pHi values determined in papillary muscles
superfused with HEPES-buffered medium. In the absence of bicarbonate,
steady pHi is solely controlled by NHE activity.
As a reflection of increased NHE activity in hypertrophic
myocardium, steady pHi value was more
alkaline in SHR-C than in WKY-C. These data confirm previous results
from our laboratory1 and are probably the result
of an alkaline shift of the antiporter "set point." In the same
study, we also showed that the inhibition of NHE activity with the
amiloride derivative EIPA normalized myocardial
pHi value in SHR.1
Enalapril treatment returned myocardial pHi of
SHR to values not different from those found in myocardium
of normotensive rats (Fig 1
). No significant changes in
pHi values were detected after the treatment of
normotensive rats with enalapril.

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Figure 1. Myocardial steady pHi values in HEPES
buffer. Note that after enalapril treatment, myocardial pHi
in SHR was decreased to values similar to those observed in
myocardium from normotensive rats. Enalapril did not change
pHi significantly in WKY. Values in parentheses indicate
the number of determinations. *P<.05 compared with
every other group (ANOVA).
). Consequently, the
reduction in steady myocardial pHi value in the
SHR-E group can be interpreted as the result of normalization of NHE
activity.
View this table:
[in a new window]
Table 2. Cellular Buffer Capacity
). By contrast, no significant
effect of PKC inhibition on myocardial pHi was
observed in WKY-C. The different effect of PKC inhibition on SHR-C and
WKY-C resulted in cancellation, after 25 minutes of drug
administration, of the difference between pHi
values in hypertrophic and control myocardium. The best fit
of chelerythrine-induced decrease in pHi followed
an exponential function that asymptotically approached a
pHi value of 7.07±0.04 (n=6). Interestingly,
this value was close to the steady pHi determined
in WKY control-matched experiments (7.03±0.03, n=5) and not different
from the overall mean value of steady pHi in WKY
rats (7.12±0.03, n=20). The time constant of chelerythrine-induced
pHi decay was found to be 12.5±2.01 minutes.
Essentially the same results were obtained when a structurally and
mechanistically different PKC inhibitor, calphostin C, was
used. In these experiments, pHi in hypertrophic
myocardium reached values not different from WKY-C
(7.10±0.02, n=4) with a time constant of 16.1±4.1 minute after
exposure to calphostin C. Therefore, the results suggest that the
hyperactivity of NHE in hypertrophic myocardium is mediated
by a PKC-dependent mechanism.

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[in a new window]
Figure 2. Effect of PKC activity inhibition on steady
pHi of papillary muscles superfused with HEPES buffer.
Specific inhibition of PKC by chelerythrine produced a significant
decrease of pHi in SHR (n=6) without appreciable effect in
WKY (n=5). *P<.05 (Student's t
test).
shows steady
pHi values in myocardium from control
and enalapril-treated rats in
CO2/HCO3-
buffer. In the presence of the physiological
buffer, no significant differences in pHi values
were found between SHR-C and WKY-C or between enalapril-treated rats
compared with their respective strain-matched untreated controls
(ANOVA). We have previously reported the lack of
pHi difference between normal and hypertrophic
myocardium under bicarbonate.1 In the
same article we also demonstrated that if anion exchangers were blocked
by SITS, pHi value increased in hypertrophic
myocardium bathed with bicarbonate buffer but not in
WKY.1 The present results confirm therefore
that NHE hyperactivity in hypertrophic myocardium is masked
by a parallel enhancement of AE activity in the presence of
bicarbonate.

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[in a new window]
Figure 3. Myocardial steady pHi values in
CO2/HCO3- buffer. In the presence
of the physiological buffer, no difference between
resting pHi value in SHR compared with WKY was detected.
Values in parentheses indicate the number of determinations.
When tissues are suddenly exposed to
CO2/HCO3--buffered
media, CO2 easily permeates the cell membrane,
causing rapid and transitory intracellular acidification. During the
pHi recovery from
CO2-induced acid load, at least 50% of proton
extrusion is carried by NHE in cardiac
muscle.24 25 The changes in
pHi brought about on switching from HEPES to
CO2/HCO3--buffered
superfusate were analyzed to appreciate the effect of
enalapril treatment (Fig 4
). The initial
fall in pHi was similar in all groups (Table 2
),
a fact consistent with the lack of difference in
ßi values. However (and due to more alkaline
steady pHi values in SHR superfused with HEPES
buffer), pHi values of peak acidosis were higher
in this group than in the remaining ones. For this reason, the rates of
pHi recoveries (dpHi/dt) at
a common pHi value of 6.98 were compared. Fig 5
shows that in SHR the rate of
myocardial pHi recovery was about three times
faster than in any other group and that chronic treatment with
enalapril decreased its value to normal.

View larger version (25K):
[in a new window]
Figure 4. Transient intracellular acidification induced on
switching from HEPES- to
CO2/HCO3--buffered
superfusate. Top, Data from untreated control SHR (n=6) and WKY
(n=6); bottom, data from enalapril-treated SHR (n=10) and WKY (n=8).
*P<.05 (ANOVA).

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[in a new window]
Figure 5. Rate of pHi recovery from
CO2-induced intracellular acidification. Mean±SEM values
of dpHi/dt calculated at a common pHi value of
6.98 are shown. Values in parentheses indicate the number of
determinations. *Significant difference from any other group
(ANOVA).
shows that a
rather linear relationship between JH+ and
pHi was obtained in every case. However, for any
given pHi value, JH+ values
were larger in SHR compared with any other group, with the difference
being larger for more acidic pHi values. The
enhanced acid extrusion in SHR was reduced to values close to those
seen in normotensive rats after enalapril-induced regression of cardiac
hypertrophy. No significant difference was detected between
WKY-C and SHR-E groups or between WKY-C and WKY-E. Thus, the
enhancement of NHE activity detected after acid load in SHR was blunted
by chronic treatment with enalapril. No significant difference was
detected between the intercepts with the x axes among
groups. Values of intercepts were 7.17±0.02, 7.14±0.02, 7.10±0.01,
and 7.13±0.03 in SHR-C, SHR-E, WKY-C, and WKY-E, respectively (NS,
ANOVA). The intercepts usually reflect the value of the "set point"
for the NHE when the experiments are performed in the absence of
bicarbonate. However, we should keep in mind that in our experiments
the acid load was induced by introducing
CO2/HCO3-
buffer. The contribution of bicarbonate-dependent mechanisms to
pHi regulation takes place along with the
recovery in pHi.

View larger version (21K):
[in a new window]
Figure 6. JH+ as a function of pHi.
JH+ was estimated to be equal to intracellular buffer
capacityxdpHi/dt. Note that the enhanced acid extrusion in
SHR was reduced close to values seen in normotensive rats after
enalapril-induced regression of cardiac hypertrophy.
*Significant difference from any other group (ANOVA).
To explore AE activity, and due to the anion exchanger's
sensitivity to increases in pHi, papillary
muscles isolated from enalapril-treated and from untreated rat hearts
were exposed to TMACl. TMACl-induced intracellular alkalinization has
been previously demonstrated to be a valid technique for investigating
the activity of the AE based on the fact that no
pHi recovery is detected in
HCO3--free
solutions.22 23 Fig 7
(top) shows the results of
representative experiments in which similar peak
pHi values were attained during TMACl pulses
carried out on papillary muscles obtained from SHR-C and SHR-E
superfused with
CO2/HCO3-
buffer. The initial velocity of pHi recovery was
used as indicative of AE activity, and it was estimated from the linear
fits of pHi records during the first minute
after peak TMACl-induced alkalinization.23 Using
the same experimental approach, we have previously shown that recovery
from alkaline loads was faster in SHR than in WKY and that lower
pHi values were necessary to drive AE activity in
hypertrophic myocardium.1 It can be
appreciated now that enalapril treatment reduced the velocity of
pHi recovery as well as it regressed cardiac
hypertrophy (Fig 7
, top). Bars in Fig 7
(bottom) depict the
mean initial rate of pHi recovery in the overall
experiments of both groups. A significant decrease in the rate of
pHi recovery was observed after chronic treatment
with enalapril. The initial rate of pHi recovery
in SHR-E (0.019±.005 pH unit/min, n=10) was not different from the
values measured in WKY-E and WKY-C (0.024±.01, n=8, and 0.021±.009,
n=10, respectively).

View larger version (19K):
[in a new window]
Figure 7. Effect of enalapril treatment on pHi
recovery from TMACl-induced intracellular alkalinization in SHR.
Papillary muscles were superfused with
CO2/HCO3--buffered media. Top,
Data from representative experiments carried out on
myocardium from untreated control SHR (
) and
enalapril-treated SHR (
) exposed to 30 mmol/L TMACl. In both
experiments, a similar peak pHi value was attained, but the
rate of pHi recovery was reduced in SHR-E. Initial velocity
of pHi recovery (dpHi/dti) was
estimated by fitting the pHi values recorded during the
first minute after peak alkalosis to a straight line. Bottom, Bars show
mean±SEM values of dpHi/dti in the overall
experiments (SHR-C, n=16; SHR-E, n=10). *P<.05
(Student's t test).
). After PKC inhibition with either
chelerythrine or calphostin C, the rate of pHi
recovery in hypertrophic myocardium was not different from
the value measured in myocardium from normotensive rats at
a comparable pHi value. The results therefore
suggest that enhanced AE activity in hypertrophic
myocardium from SHR is mediated by a PKC-dependent
mechanism(s).

View larger version (15K):
[in a new window]
Figure 8. Effect of PKC inhibition on AE activity in SHR
myocardium. Data are mean±SEM of the initial rate of
pHi recovery after TMACl-imposed alkali load on papillary
muscles from hypertrophic hearts (n=5) under control conditions (SHR-C)
and after inhibition of PKC activity with either chelerythrine
(SHR+Che, 10 mmol/L chelerythrine, n=5) or calphostin C (SHR+Cal,
50 nmol/L, n=4). For comparison, data from untreated normotensive rats
(WKY-C, n=3) are shown. Similar values of peak intracellular alkalosis
during TMACl pulses were attained in each group (7.45±.03 in SHR-C,
7.45±.03 in SHR+Che, 7.42±.07 in SHR+Cal, and 7.47±.01 in WKY-C).
Notice that PKC inhibition significantly decreased the rate of
pHi recovery of hypertrophic myocardium.
*P<.05 compared with the other groups (ANOVA).
![]()
Discussion
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
Increased NHE activity is one of the most common phenotypic
differences found in hypertension. NHE is a member of a multigene
family, and four NHE isoforms (NHE-1 through NHE-4) have recently been
cloned.11 The NHE-1 isoform is expressed in
virtually all tissues and species; it controls cytosolic pH and may
also participate in cell growth.26 Evidence of
enhanced NHE activity in hypertension is provided by observations in
skeletal muscle of SHR27 and of hypertensive
patients28 ; in circulating blood cells such as
platelets, leukocytes, erythrocytes5 ; and in
immortalized lymphoblasts29 derived from
individuals with essential hypertension. The vascular smooth muscle
from SHR also seems to exhibit enhanced antiport
activity.30 In addition, we have reported an
increased NHE activity in hypertrophic myocardium of
SHR.1 However, the data presented here
and our previous results show that no difference in myocardial
pHi between hypertrophic and normal
myocardium can be detected in the presence of bicarbonate,
despite enhanced NHE activity. This is due to the
simultaneous hyperactivity of an acidifying (AE) and an
alkalinizing (NHE) mechanism.
isozymes were detected in left ventricular
hypertrophy induced by aortic banding in the
rat.46
, ß, and
PKC
isoforms.48 49 However, novel PKC-
has been
also reported to be activated after Ca2+
infusion, and its activation was attributed to a
Ca2+-dependent production of
diacylglycerol through phospholipase C.50
In addition, by stimulating both acid loading and extrusion
systems in parallel, the cell's ability to recover from acid and
alkaline loads is improved despite no significant change in
pHi.51
![]()
Selected Abbreviations and Acronyms
ßi
=
intrinsic buffer capacity
ACE
=
angiotensin-converting enzyme
AE
=
Na+-independent
Cl-/HCO3- exchanger
BW
=
body weight
-C
=
control
-E
=
enalapril treated
HW
=
heart weight
JH+
=
net apparent acid equivalent efflux
LVW
=
left ventricular weight
NHE
=
Na+/H+ exchanger
PKC
=
protein kinase C
SBP
=
systolic blood pressure
SHR
=
spontaneously hypertensive rat(s)
TMACl
=
trimethylamine hydrochloride
WKY
=
Wistar-Kyoto rat(s)
![]()
Acknowledgments
Dr Ennis was the recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from La
Plata University, and Dr Alvarez was the recipient of a predoctoral
fellowship from Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas
y Técnicas (Argentina). Drs Camilión de Hurtado and
Cingolani are established investigators of Consejo Nacional de
Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas,
Argentina.
![]()
References
Top
Abstract
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion
References
1.
Pérez NG, Alvarez BV, Camilión de
Hurtado MC, Cingolani HE. Intracellular pH regulation in
myocardium of the spontaneously hypertensive rat:
compensated enhanced activity of the
Na+/H+ exchanger.
Circ Res. 1995;77:11921200.
-Thrombin, epidermal growth factor, and okadaic acid
activate the Na+/H+
exchanger, NHE-1, by phosphorylating a set of common sites.
J Biol Chem. 1991;266:1916619171.
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