Rosiglitazone-induced heart remodelling is associated with enhanced turnover of myofibrillar protein and mTOR activation

We investigated cardiac hypertrophy elicited by rosiglitazone treatment at the level of protein synthesis/degradation, mTOR, MAN and AMPK signalling pathways, cardiac function and aspects of carbohydrate/lipid metabolism. Hearts of rats treated or not with rosiglitazone (15 mg/kgday) for 21 days were evaluated for gene expression, protein synthesis, proteasome and calpain activities, signalling pathways, and function by echocardiography. Rosiglitazone induced eccentric heart hypertrophy associated with increased expression of ANP, BNP, collagen I and III and fibronectin, reduced heart rate and increased stroke volume. Rosiglitazone robustly increased heart glycogen content (similar to 400%), an effect associated with increases in glycogenin and UDPG-PPL mRNA levels and glucose uptake, and a reduction in glycogen phosphorylase expression and activity. Cardiac triglyceride content, lipoprotein lipase activity and mRNA levels of enzymes involved in fatty acid oxidation were also reduced by the agonist. Rosiglitazone-induced cardiac hypertrophy was associated with an increase in myofibrillar protein content and turnover (increased synthesis and an enhancement of calpain-mediated myofibrillar degradation). In contrast, 265 beta 5 chymotryptic proteasome activity and mRNA levels of 205 beta 2 and beta 5 and 195 RPN 2 proteasome subunits along with the ubiquitin ligases atrogin and CHIP were all reduced by rosiglitazone. These morphological and biochemical changes were associated with marked activation of the key growth-promoting mTOR signalling pathway, whose pharmacological inhibition with rapamycin completely blocked cardiac hypertrophy induced by rosiglitazone. The study demonstrates that both arms of protein balance are involved in rosiglitazone-induced cardiac hypertrophy, and establishes the mTOR pathway as a novel important mediator therein. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.