| First Author | Patel NJ | Year | 2019 |
| Journal | JCI Insight | Volume | 4 |
| Issue | 20 | PubMed ID | 31550236 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:298912 | Mgi Id | MGI:6472529 |
| Doi | 10.1172/jci.insight.131046 | Citation | Patel NJ, et al. (2019) betaIV-Spectrin/STAT3 complex regulates fibroblast phenotype, fibrosis, and cardiac function. JCI Insight 4(20) |
| abstractText | Increased fibrosis is a characteristic remodeling response to biomechanical and neurohumoral stress and a determinant of cardiac mechanical and electrical dysfunction in disease. Stress-induced activation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) is a critical step in the fibrotic response, although the precise sequence of events underlying activation of these critical cells in vivo remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that a betaIV-spectrin/STAT3 complex is essential for maintenance of a quiescent phenotype (basal nonactivated state) in CFs. We reported increased fibrosis, decreased cardiac function, and electrical impulse conduction defects in genetic and acquired mouse models of betaIV-spectrin deficiency. Loss of betaIV-spectrin function promoted STAT3 nuclear accumulation and transcriptional activity, and it altered gene expression and CF activation. Furthermore, we demonstrate that a quiescent phenotype may be restored in betaIV-spectrin-deficient fibroblasts by expressing a betaIV-spectrin fragment including the STAT3-binding domain or through pharmacological STAT3 inhibition. We found that in vivo STAT3 inhibition abrogates fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction in the setting of global betaIV-spectrin deficiency. Finally, we demonstrate that fibroblast-specific deletion of betaIV-spectrin is sufficient to induce fibrosis and decreased cardiac function. We propose that the betaIV-spectrin/STAT3 complex is a determinant of fibroblast phenotype and fibrosis, with implications for remodeling response in cardiovascular disease (CVD). |
