First Author | Zohar R | Year | 2004 |
Journal | Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol | Volume | 287 |
Issue | 4 | Pages | H1730-9 |
PubMed ID | 15165989 | Mgi Jnum | J:95591 |
Mgi Id | MGI:3526606 | Doi | 10.1152/ajpheart.00098.2004 |
Citation | Zohar R, et al. (2004) Increased cell death in osteopontin-deficient cardiac fibroblasts occurs by a caspase-3-independent pathway. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 287(4):H1730-9 |
abstractText | Reperfusion-induced oxidative injury to the myocardium promotes activation and proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts and repair by scar formation. Osteopontin (OPN) is a proinflammatory cytokine that is upregulated after reperfusion. To determine whether OPN enhances fibroblast survival after exposure to oxidants, cardiac fibroblasts from wild-type (WT) or OPN-null (OPN(-/-)) mice were treated in vitro with H(2)O(2) to model reperfusion injury. Within 1 h, membrane permeability to propidium iodide (PI) was increased from 5 to 60% in OPN(-/-) cells but was increased to only 20% in WT cells. In contrast, after 1-8 h of treatment with H(2)O(2), the percent of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL)-stained cells was more than twofold higher in WT than OPN(-/-) cells. Electron microscopy of WT cells treated with H(2)O(2) showed chromatin condensation, nuclear fragmentation, and cytoplasmic and nuclear shrinkage, which are consistent with apoptosis. In contrast, H(2)O(2)-treated OPN(-/-) cardiac fibroblasts exhibited cell and nuclear swelling and membrane disruption that are indicative of cell necrosis. Treatment of OPN(-/-) and WT cells with a cell-permeable caspase-3 inhibitor reduced the percentage of TUNEL staining by more than fourfold in WT cells but decreased staining in OPN(-/-) cells by approximately 30%. Although the percentage of PI-permeable WT cells was reduced threefold, the percent of PI-permeable OPN(-/-) cells was not altered. Restoration of OPN expression in OPN(-/-) fibroblasts reduced the percentage of PI-permeable cells but not TUNEL staining after H(2)O(2) treatment. Thus H(2)O(2)-induced cell death in OPN-deficient cardiac fibroblasts is mediated by a caspase-3-independent, necrotic pathway. We suggest that the increased expression of OPN in the myocardium after reperfusion may promote fibrosis by protecting cardiac fibroblasts from cell death. |