Role of adenosine signaling in coordinating cardiomyocyte function and coronary vascular growth in chronic fetal anemia
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSIOLOGY-REGULATORY INTEGRATIVE AND COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY
Authors: Davis, Lowell; Musso, James; Soman, Divya; Louey, Samantha; Nelson, Jonathan W.; Jonker, Sonnet S.
Abstract
Fetal anemia causes rapid and profound changes in cardiac structure and function, stimulating proliferation of the cardiac myocytes, expansion of the coronary vascular tree, and impairing early contraction and relaxation. Although hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha is sure to play a role, adenosine, a metabolicbyproduct that increases coronary flow and growth, is implicated as a major stimulus for these adaptations. We hypothesized that genes involved in myocardial adenosine signaling would be upregulated in chronically anemic fetuses and that calcium-handling genes would be downregulated. After sterile surgical instrumentation under anesthesia, gestationally timed fetal sheep were made anemic by isovolumetric hemorrhage for 1 wk (16% vs. 35% hematocrit). At 87% of gestation, necropsy was performed to collect heart tissue for PCR and immunohistochemical analysis. Anemia increased mRNA expression levels of adenosine receptors ADORA1, ADORA2A, and ADORA2B in the left and right ventricles (adenosine receptor ADORA3 was unchanged). In both ventricles, anemia also increased expression of ectonucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase 1 and ecto-5'-nucleotidase. The genes for both equilibrative nucleoside transporters 1 and 2 were expressed more abundantly in the anemic right ventricle but were not different in the left ventricle. Neither adenosine deaminase nor adenosine kinase cardiac levels were significantly changed by chronic fetal anemia. Chronic fetal anemia did not significantly change cardiac mRNA expression levels of the voltage-dependent L-type calcium channel, ryanodine receptor 1, sodium-calcium exchanger, sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum calcium transporting ATPase 2, phospholamban, or cardiac calsequestrin. These data support local metabolic integration of vascular and myocyte function through adenosine signaling in the anemic fetal heart.
The Association of ADORA2A and ADORA2B Polymorphisms with the Risk and Severity of Chronic Heart Failure: A Case-Control Study of a Northern Chinese Population
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
Authors: Zhai, Ya-Jing; Liu, Ping; He, Hai-Rong; Zheng, Xiao-Wei; Wang, Yan; Yang, Qian-Ting; Dong, Ya-Lin; Lu, Jun
Abstract
The causes of chronic heart failure (CHF) and its progression are likely to be due to complex genetic factors. Adenosine receptors A2A and A2B (ADORA2A and ADORA2B, respectively) play an important role in cardio-protection. Therefore, polymorphisms in the genes encoding those receptors may affect the risk and severity of CHF. This study was a case-control comparative investigation of 300 northern Chinese Han CHF patients and 400 ethnicity-matched healthy controls. Four common single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of ADORA2A (rs2236625, rs2236624, rs4822489, and rs5751876) and one SNP of ADORA2B (rs7208480) were genotyped and an association between SNPs and clinical outcomes was evaluated. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to assess the association. The rs4822489 was significantly associated with the severity of CHF after adjustment for traditional cardiovascular risk factors (p = 0.040, OR = 1.912, 95% CI = 1.029-3.550). However, the five SNPs as well as the haplotypes were not found to be associated with CHF susceptibility. The findings of this study suggest that rs4822489 may contribute to the severity of CHF in the northern Chinese. However, further studies performed in larger populations and aimed at better defining the role of this gene are required.