Prevention of adverse cardiac remodeling after
myocardial infarction (MI) remains a therapeutic challenge.
Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I) are a well-established first-line treatment. ACE-I delay
fibrosis, but little is known about their molecular effects on cardiomyocytes. We investigated the effects of the ACE-I
delapril on cardiomyocytes in a mouse model of
heart failure (HF) after MI. Mice were randomly assigned to three groups:
Sham, MI, and MI-D (6 weeks of treatment with a non-hypotensive dose of
delapril started 24h after MI). Echocardiography and pressure-volume loops revealed that MI induced
hypertrophy and dilation, and altered both contraction and relaxation of the left ventricle. At the cellular level, MI cardiomyocytes exhibited reduced contraction, slowed relaxation, increased diastolic Ca2+ levels, decreased Ca2+-transient amplitude, and diminished Ca2+ sensitivity of myofilaments. In MI-D mice, however, both mortality and cardiac remodeling were decreased when compared to non-treated MI mice.
Delapril maintained cardiomyocyte contraction and relaxation, prevented diastolic Ca2+ overload and retained the normal Ca2+ sensitivity of
contractile proteins.
Delapril maintained SERCA2a activity through normalization of P-PLB/PLB (for both Ser16- PLB and Thr17-PLB) and PLB/SERCA2a ratios in cardiomyocytes, favoring normal reuptake of Ca2+ in the sarcoplasmic reticulum. In addition,
delapril prevented defective cTnI function by normalizing the expression of PKC, enhanced in MI mice. In conclusion,
early therapy with
delapril after MI preserved the normal contraction/relaxation cycle of surviving cardiomyocytes with multiple direct effects on key intracellular mechanisms contributing to preserve cardiac function.