1. Various G(q)-
protein-coupled receptors, such as alpha(1)-adrenoceptors, angiotension AT(1)
receptors, endothelin ET(A)
receptors, neuropeptide Y(1) receptors etc., contribute to
cardiac hypertrophy. In
G-protein signalling pathways, the carboxyl terminus of the G(alpha) subunit plays a vital role within
G-protein-receptor interaction. The present study was designed to explore the effects of the synthetic G(alphaq) carboxyl terminal imitation
peptide GCIP-27 on
cardiac hypertrophy. 2.
Hypertrophy of rat cultured cardiomyocytes was induced by
noradrenaline (NA) or
angiotensin (Ang) II in vitro.
Protein content, [(3)H] incorporation and [Ca(2+)](i) were determined in cardiomyocytes cultured with GCIP-27. Three in vivo animal models of
cardiac hypertrophy were prepared using
intraperitoneal injections of NA in mice and rats and suprarenal abdominal
aortic stenosis in rats.
After treatment with GCIP-27 (10-100 microg/L) for 15 or 20 days, indices of
cardiac hypertrophy were measured. The effect of GCIP-27 on the
mRNA expression of c-fos and c-jun was detected using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. 3.
At 10-100 microg/L, GCIP-27 significantly decreased
protein content and [(3)H]-
leucine incorporation in cultured cardiomyocytes compared with 1 micromol/L NA- and 1 micromol/L AngII-treated groups.
After treatment with GCIP-27 (10, 30 or 100 microg/kg) for 15 days, the heart index (HI) and left ventricular index (LVI) in mice decreased significantly compared with the NA control group. In rats, GCIP-27 significantly reduced HI and LVI compared with the NA and
aortic stenosis groups. Moreover, [Ca(2+)](i) in cardiomyocytes in the GCIP-27 (3, 10, 30 microg/L)-treated groups was lower than that in the control groups. Expression of c-fos and c-jun
mRNA decreased significantly in the myocardium from 5-45 microg/L GCIP-27-treated rats compared with NA controls. 4. The results indicate that GCIP-27 can attenuate
cardiac hypertrophy effectively in various models in vitro and in vivo.