Endothelin-1 and isoprenaline co-stimulation causes contractile failure which is partially reversed by MEK inhibition

Objective: The mitogen-activated kinase kinases (MEK)-extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK) signaling pathway is activated by agonists like catecholamines or endothelin-1 (ET-1) and has been implicated in cardiac pathology, such as the progression from cardiac hypertrophy to failure. The purpose of the present study, performed in an in vitro model of contractile failure, was to evaluate whether MEK inhibition prevents functional deterioration.

Methods and results: Contractile dysfunction was induced in reconstituted rat heart tissue by concomitant treatment with ET-1 (10 nmol/l) and isoprenaline (ISO, 10 nmol/l) for 5 days. While basal force of contraction was unchanged, contractile responsiveness to β-adrenoceptor agonists was markedly impaired (active force declined to 51% of controls) and was associated with decreased lusitropy. Moreover, in ET-1+ISO-treated heart tissues, reprogramming of gene expression was observed with an increased ratio of β-myosin heavy chain (MHC) to α-MHC mRNA and increased transcript levels of ANF and skeletal/smooth muscle α-actin isoforms. The MEK inhibitor U0126 (10 μmol/l) almost completely prevented the reduction in β-adrenergic responsiveness and the negative lusitropic effect of ET-1+ISO co-stimulation. In addition, U0126 completely normalized ANF gene expression, but did not affect or only marginally affected expression of MHC and α-actin isoforms.

Conclusions: These results suggest that interruption of the MEK-ERK signaling pathway with a specific MEK inhibitor prevents, in part, the occurrence of a pathologic phenotype secondary to excessive stimulation with neurohumoral factors. The MEK-ERK pathway seems to be an important but not exclusive regulatory pathway responsible for the development of contractile dysfunction.