Effects of aging on sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-cycling proteins and their phosphorylation in rat myocardium

Sex- and age-dependent susceptibility to ventricular arrhythmias in the rat heart ex vivo

The incidence of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, the most common cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD), depends largely on the arrhythmic substrate that develops in the myocardium during the aging process. There is a large deficit of comparative studies on the development of this substrate in both sexes, with a particular paucity of studies in females. To identify the substrates of arrhythmia, fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, mitochondrial density, oxidative stress, antioxidant defense and intracellular Ca2+ signaling in isolated cardiomyocytes were measured in the hearts of 3- and 24-month-old female and male rats. Arrhythmia susceptibility was assessed in ex vivo perfused hearts after exposure to isoproterenol (ISO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The number of ventricular premature beats (PVBs), ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) episodes, as well as intrinsic heart rate, QRS and QT duration, were measured in ECG signals recorded from the surfaces of the beating hearts. After ISO administration, VT/VFs were formed only in the hearts of males, mainly older ones. In contrast, H2O2 led to VT/VF formation in the hearts of rats of both sexes but much more frequently in older males. We identified several components of the arrhythmia substrate that develop in the myocardium during the aging process, including high spontaneous ryanodine receptor activity in cardiomyocytes, fibrosis of varying severity in different layers of the myocardium (nonheterogenic fibrosis), and high levels of oxidative stress as measured by nitrated tyrosine levels. All of these elements appeared at a much greater intensity in male individuals during the aging process. On the other hand, in aging females, antioxidant defense at the level of H2O2 detoxification, measured as glutathione peroxidase expression, was weaker than that in males of the same age. We showed that sex has a significant effect on the development of an arrhythmic substrate during aging. This substrate determines the incidence of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias in the presence of additional stimuli with proarrhythmic potential, such as catecholamine stimulation or oxidative stress, which are constant elements in the pathomechanism of most cardiovascular diseases.

Cardiac System during the Aging Process

The aging process is accompanied by a continuous decline of the cardiac system, disrupting the homeostatic regulation of cells, organs, and systems. Aging increases the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, thus heart failure and mortality. Understanding the cardiac aging process is of pivotal importance once it allows us to design strategies to prevent age-related cardiac events and increasing the quality of live in the elderly. In this review we provide an overview of the cardiac aging process focus on the following topics: cardiac structural and functional modifications; cellular mechanisms of cardiac dysfunction in the aging; genetics and epigenetics in the development of cardiac diseases; and aging heart and response to the exercise.

The Aging Heart: A Molecular and Clinical Challenge

Aging is associated with an increasing burden of morbidity, especially for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). General cardiovascular risk factors, ischemic heart diseases, heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiomyopathies present a significant prevalence in older people, and are characterized by peculiar clinical manifestations that have distinct features compared with the same conditions in a younger population. Remarkably, the aging heart phenotype in both healthy individuals and patients with CVD reflects modifications at the cellular level. An improvement in the knowledge of the physiological and pathological molecular mechanisms underlying cardiac aging could improve clinical management of older patients and offer new therapeutic targets.

Ventricular arrhythmias in acute myocardial ischaemia-Focus on the ageing and sex

Annually, approximately 17 million people die from cardiovascular diseases worldwide, half of them suddenly. The most common direct cause of sudden cardiac death is ventricular arrhythmia triggered by an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). The study summarizes the knowledge of the mechanisms of arrhythmia onset during ACS in humans and in animal models and factors that may influence the susceptibility to life-threatening arrhythmias during ACS with particular focus on the age and sex. The real impact of age and sex on the arrhythmic susceptibility within the setting of acute ischaemia is masked by the fact that ACSs result from coronary artery disease appearing with age much earlier among men than among women. However, results of researches show that in ageing process changes with potential pro-arrhythmic significance, such as increased fibrosis, cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, decrease number of gap junction channels, disturbances of the intracellular Ca²⁺ signalling or changes in electrophysiological parameters, occur independently of the development of cardiovascular diseases and are more severe in male individuals. A review of the literature also indicates a marked paucity of research in this area in female and elderly individuals. Greater awareness of sex differences in the aging process could help in the development of personalized prevention methods targeting potential pro-arrhythmic factors in patients of both sexes to reduce mortality during the acute phase of myocardial infarction. This is especially important in an era of aging populations in which women will predominate due to their longer lifespan.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid-4 contributes to stretch-induced hypercontractility and time-dependent dysfunction in the aged heart

AIMS

Cardiovascular disease remains the greatest cause of mortality in Americans over 65. The stretch-activated transient receptor potential vanilloid-4 (TRPV4) ion channel is expressed in cardiomyocytes of the aged heart. This investigation tests the hypothesis that TRPV4 alters Ca2+ handling and cardiac function in response to increased ventricular preload and cardiomyocyte stretch.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Left ventricular maximal pressure (PMax) was monitored in isolated working hearts of Aged (24-27 months) mice following preload elevation from 5 to 20mmHg, with and without TRPV4 antagonist HC067047 (HC, 1 µmol/L). In preload responsive hearts, PMax prior to and immediately following preload elevation (i.e. Frank-Starling response) was similar between Aged and Aged+HC. Within 1 min following preload elevation, Aged hearts demonstrated secondary PMax augmentation (Aged>Aged+HC) suggesting a role for stretch-activated TRPV4 in cardiac hypercontractility. However, after 20 min at 20 mmHg Aged exhibited depressed PMax (Aged<Aged+HC) suggestive of TRPV4-dependent contractile dysfunction with sustained stretch. To examine stretch-induced Ca2+ homeostasis at the single-cell level, isolated cardiomyocytes were stretched 10-15% of slack length while measuring intracellular Ca2+ with fura-2. Uniaxial longitudinal stretch increased intracellular Ca2+ levels and triggered Ca2+ overload and terminal cellular contracture in Aged, but not Aged+HC. Preload elevation in hearts of young/middle-age (3-12 months) mice produced an initial PMax increase (Frank-Starling response) without secondary PMax augmentation, and cardiomyocyte stretch did not affect intracellular Ca2+ levels. Hearts of transgenic mice with cardiac-specific TRPV4 expression exhibited PMax similar to 3- to 12-month control mice prior to and immediately following preload elevation but displayed secondary PMax augmentation. Cardiomyocytes of mice with transgenic TRPV4 expression were highly sensitive to mechanical stimulation and exhibited elevated Ca2+ levels, Ca2+ overload, and terminal contracture upon cellular attachment and stretch.

CONCLUSION

TRPV4 contributes to a stretch-induced increase in cardiomyocyte Ca2+ and cardiac hypercontractility, yet sustained stretch leads to cardiomyocyte Ca2+ overload and contractile dysfunction in the aged heart.

Effect of age and sex on the incidence of ventricular arrhythmia in a rat model of acute ischemia

BACKGROUND

The impact of sex and age on the arrhythmic susceptibility within the setting of acute ischemia is masked by the fact that acute coronary events result from coronary artery disease appearing with age much earlier among men than among women.

METHODS AND RESULTS

LAD ligation or sham operations were performed in rats of both sexes at the age 3 and 24 months. An ECG was recorded continuously for 6 h after the operation. The number of early and late premature ventricular beats (PVBs), episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and fibrillation (VF), heart rate, QRS, QT and Tpeak-Tend duration were analysed. Epicardial action potentials were recorded in vivo, Ca²⁺ signaling was evaluated in isolated cardiomyocytes, fibrosis and connexin-43 expression and localization were measured in the septum. PVBs, VT and VF episodes are much more common in older males than in young males and females independently from their age. Fibrosis with varying intensity in different muscle layers, hypertrophy of cardiomyocytes, reduced number of gap junctions and their appearance on the lateral myocyte membrane, QT prolongation, increase transmural dispersion of repolarisation and a decreased function of SERCA2a may increase the propensity to arrhythmia within the setting of acute ischemia.

CONCLUSION

We show that the male sex, especially in case of older individuals is a strong predictor of increased arrhythmic susceptibility within the acute ischemia setting regardless of its impact on the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. A personalized sex-dependent prevention treatment is needed to reduce the mortality in acute phases of myocardial infarction.

Melatonin to Rescue the Aged Heart: Antiarrhythmic and Antioxidant Benefits

Aging comes with gradual loss of functions that increase the vulnerability to disease, senescence, and death. The mechanisms underlying these processes are linked to a prolonged imbalance between damage and repair. Damaging mechanisms include oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, chronodisruption, inflammation, and telomere attrition, as well as genetic and epigenetic alterations. Several endogenous tissue repairing mechanisms also decrease. These alterations associated with aging affect the entire organism. The most devastating manifestations involve the cardiovascular system and may lead to lethal cardiac arrhythmias. Together with structural remodeling, electrophysiological and intercellular communication alterations during aging predispose to arrhythmic events. Despite the knowledge on repairing mechanisms in the cardiovascular system, effective antiaging strategies able to reduce the risk of arrhythmias are still missing. Melatonin is a promising therapeutic candidate due to its pleiotropic actions. This indoleamine regulates chronobiology and endocrine physiology. Of relevance, melatonin is an antiaging, antioxidant, antiapoptotic, antiarrhythmic, immunomodulatory, and antiproliferative molecule. This review focuses on the protective effects of melatonin on age-induced cardiac functional and structural alterations, potentially becoming a new fountain of youth for the heart.

Intracellular calcium leak in heart failure and atrial fibrillation: a unifying mechanism and therapeutic target

Ca2+ is a fundamental second messenger in all cell types and is required for numerous essential cellular functions, including cardiac and skeletal muscle contraction. The intracellular concentration of free Ca2+ ([Ca2+]) is regulated primarily by ion channels, pumps (ATPases), exchangers and Ca2+-binding proteins. Defective regulation of [Ca2+] is found in a diverse spectrum of pathological states that affect all the major organs. In the heart, abnormalities in the regulation of cytosolic and mitochondrial [Ca2+] occur in heart failure (HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), two common forms of heart disease and leading contributors to morbidity and mortality. In this Review, we focus on the mechanisms that regulate ryanodine receptor 2 (RYR2), the major sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-release channel in the heart, how RYR2 becomes dysfunctional in HF and AF, and its potential as a therapeutic target. Inherited RYR2 mutations and/or stress-induced phosphorylation and oxidation of the protein destabilize the closed state of the channel, resulting in a pathological diastolic Ca2+ leak from the SR that both triggers arrhythmias and impairs contractility. On the basis of our increased understanding of SR Ca2+ leak as a shared Ca2+-dependent pathological mechanism in HF and AF, a new class of drugs developed in our laboratory, known as rycals, which stabilize RYR2 channels and prevent Ca2+ leak from the SR, are undergoing investigation in clinical trials.

Cardiac transmembrane ion channels and action potentials: cellular physiology and arrhythmogenic behavior

Cardiac arrhythmias are among the leading causes of mortality. They often arise from alterations in the electrophysiological properties of cardiac cells and their underlying ionic mechanisms. It is therefore critical to further unravel the pathophysiology of the ionic basis of human cardiac electrophysiology in health and disease. In the first part of this review, current knowledge on the differences in ion channel expression and properties of the ionic processes that determine the morphology and properties of cardiac action potentials and calcium dynamics from cardiomyocytes in different regions of the heart are described. Then the cellular mechanisms promoting arrhythmias in congenital or acquired conditions of ion channel function (electrical remodeling) are discussed. The focus is on human-relevant findings obtained with clinical, experimental, and computational studies, given that interspecies differences make the extrapolation from animal experiments to human clinical settings difficult. Deepening the understanding of the diverse pathophysiology of human cellular electrophysiology will help in developing novel and effective antiarrhythmic strategies for specific subpopulations and disease conditions.

Altered Intracellular Calcium Homeostasis and Arrhythmogenesis in the Aged Heart

Aging of the heart is associated with a blunted response to sympathetic stimulation, reduced contractility, and increased propensity for arrhythmias, with the risk of sudden cardiac death significantly increased in the elderly population. The altered cardiac structural and functional phenotype, as well as age-associated prevalent comorbidities including hypertension and atherosclerosis, predispose the heart to atrial fibrillation, heart failure, and ventricular tachyarrhythmias. At the cellular level, perturbations in mitochondrial function, excitation-contraction coupling, and calcium homeostasis contribute to this electrical and contractile dysfunction. Major determinants of cardiac contractility are the intracellular release of Ca²⁺ from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by the ryanodine receptors (RyR2), and the following sequestration of Ca²⁺ by the sarco/endoplasmic Ca²⁺-ATPase (SERCa2a). Activity of RyR2 and SERCa2a in myocytes is not only dependent on expression levels and interacting accessory proteins, but on fine-tuned regulation via post-translational modifications. In this paper, we review how aberrant changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ cycling via these proteins contributes to arrhythmogenesis in the aged heart.

Cardiac aging and heart disease in humans

The world population continues to grow older rapidly, mostly because of declining fertility and increasing longevity. Since age represents the largest risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the prevalence of these pathologies increases dramatically with increasing age. In order to improve patient care and prevention for age-related cardiac diseases, insight should be gained from the analysis of processes involved in and leading to cardiac aging. It is from this perspective that we provide here an overview of changes associated with age in the heart on four levels: functional, structural, cellular and molecular. We highlight those changes that are in common with the development of the two major age-associated cardiac pathologies: heart failure and atrial fibrillation. These commonly affected processes in aging and cardiac pathophysiology may provide an explanation for the age risk factor in cardiac disease.

The Role of Exercise in Cardiac Aging: From Physiology to Molecular Mechanisms

Aging induces structural and functional changes in the heart that are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and impaired functional capacity in the elderly. Exercise is a diagnostic and therapeutic tool, with the potential to provide insights into clinical diagnosis and prognosis, as well as the molecular mechanisms by which aging influences cardiac physiology and function. In this review, we first provide an overview of how aging impacts the cardiac response to exercise, and the implications this has for functional capacity in older adults. We then review the underlying molecular mechanisms by which cardiac aging contributes to exercise intolerance, and conversely how exercise training can potentially modulate aging phenotypes in the heart. Finally, we highlight the potential use of these exercise models to complement models of disease in efforts to uncover new therapeutic targets to prevent or treat heart disease in the aging population.

Effect of Age, Estrogen Status, and Late-Life GPER Activation on Cardiac Structure and Function in the Fischer344×Brown Norway Female Rat

Age-associated changes in cardiac structure and function, together with estrogen loss, contribute to the progression of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in older women. To investigate the effects of aging and estrogen loss on the development of its precursor, asymptomatic left ventricular diastolic dysfunction, echocardiograms were performed in 10 middle-aged (20 months) and 30 old-aged (30 months) female Fischer344×Brown-Norway rats, 4 and 8 weeks after ovariectomy (OVX) and sham procedures (gonads left intact). The cardioprotective potential of administering chronic G1, the selective agonist to the new G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor (GPER), was further evaluated in old rats (Old-OVX+G1) versus age-matched, vehicle-treated OVX and gonadal intact rats. Advanced age and estrogen loss led to decreases in myocardial relaxation and elevations in filling pressure, in part, due to reductions in phosphorylated phospholamban and increases in cardiac collagen deposition. Eight weeks of G-protein-coupled estrogen receptor activation in Old-OVX+G1 rats reversed the adverse effects of age and estrogen loss on myocardial relaxation through increases in sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca²⁺ ATPase expression and reductions in interstitial fibrosis. These findings may explain the preponderance of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in older postmenopausal women and provide a promising, late-life therapeutic target to reverse or halt the progression of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.

Ageing is associated with deterioration of calcium homeostasis in isolated human right atrial myocytes

Aims

Ageing-related cardiac disorders such as heart failure and atrial fibrillation often present with intracellular calcium homeostasis dysfunction. However, knowledge of the intrinsic effects of ageing on cellular calcium handling in the human heart is sparse. Therefore, this study aimed to analyse how ageing affects key mechanisms that regulate intracellular calcium in human atrial myocytes.

Methods and results

Whole membrane currents and intracellular calcium transients were measured in isolated human right atrial myocytes from 80 patients with normal left atrial dimensions and no history of atrial fibrillation. Patients were categorized as young (<55 years, n = 21), middle aged (55–74 years, n = 42), and old (≥75 years, n = 17). Protein levels were determined by western blot. Ageing was associated with the following electrophysiological changes: (i) a 3.2-fold decrease in the calcium transient (P < 0.01); (ii) reduction of the L-type calcium current (I_Ca) amplitude (2.4 ± 0.3 pA/pF vs. 1.4 ± 0.2 pA/pF, P < 0.01); (iii) lower levels of L-type calcium channel alpha-subunit (P < 0.05); (iv) lower rates of both fast (14.5 ± 0.9 ms vs. 20.9 ± 1.9, P < 0.01) and slow (73 ± 3 vs. 120 ± 12 ms, P < 0.001) I_Ca inactivation; and (v) a decrease in the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium content (10.1 ± 0.8 vs. 6.4 ± 0.6 amol/pF, P < 0.005) associated with a significant decrease in both SERCA2 (P < 0.05) and calsequestrin-2 (P < 0.05) protein levels. In contrast, ageing did not affect spontaneous sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release.

Conclusion

Ageing is associated with depression of SR calcium content, L-type calcium current, and calcium transient amplitude that may favour a progressive decline in right atrial contractile function with age.

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction: molecular pathways of the aging myocardium

Age-related diastolic dysfunction is a major factor in the epidemic of heart failure. In patients hospitalized with heart failure, HFpEF is now as common as heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. We now have many successful treatments for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, while specific treatment options for HFpEF patients remain elusive. The lack of treatments for HFpEF reflects our very incomplete understanding of this constellation of diseases. There are many pathophysiological factors in HFpEF, but aging appears to play an important role. Here, we propose that aging of the myocardium is itself a specific pathophysiological process. New insights into the aging heart, including hormonal controls and specific molecular pathways, such as microRNAs, are pointing to myocardial aging as a potentially reversible process. While the overall process of aging remains mysterious, understanding the molecular pathways of myocardial aging has never been more important. Unraveling these pathways could lead to new therapies for the enormous and growing problem of HFpEF.

Hydrogen peroxide-mediated SERCA cysteine 674 oxidation contributes to impaired cardiac myocyte relaxation in senescent mouse heart

Background

A hallmark of aging of the cardiac myocyte is impaired sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) calcium uptake and relaxation due to decreased SR calcium ATPase (SERCA) activity. We tested the hypothesis that H₂O₂‐mediated oxidation of SERCA contributes to impaired myocyte relaxation in aging.

Methods and Results

Young (5‐month‐old) and senescent (21‐month‐old) FVB wild‐type (WT) or transgenic mice with myocyte‐specific overexpression of catalase were studied. In senescent mice, myocyte‐specific overexpression of catalase (1) prevented oxidative modification of SERCA as evidenced by sulfonation at Cys674, (2) preserved SERCA activity, (3) corrected impaired calcium handling and relaxation in isolated cardiac myocytes, and (4) prevented impaired left ventricular relaxation and diastolic dysfunction. Nitroxyl, which activates SERCA via S‐glutathiolation at Cys674, failed to activate SERCA in freshly isolated ventricular myocytes from senescent mice. Finally, in adult rat ventricular myocytes in primary culture, adenoviral overexpression of SERCA in which Cys674 is mutated to serine partially preserved SERCA activity during exposure to H₂O₂.

Conclusion

Oxidative modification of SERCA at Cys674 contributes to decreased SERCA activity and impaired myocyte relaxation in the senescent heart. Strategies to decrease oxidant levels and/or protect target proteins such as SERCA may be of value to preserve diastolic function in the aging heart.

Altered ventricular torsion and transmural patterns of myocyte relaxation precede heart failure in aging F344 rats

The purpose of this study was to identify and explain changes in ventricular and cellular function that contribute to aging-associated cardiovascular disease in aging F344 rats. Three groups of female F344 rats, aged 6, 18, and 22 mo, were studied. Echocardiographic measurements in isoflurane-anesthetized animals showed an increase in peak left ventricular torsion between the 6- and the 18-mo-old groups that was partially reversed in the 22-mo-old animals (P < 0.05). Epicardial, midmyocardial, and endocardial myocytes were subsequently isolated from the left ventricles of each group of rats. Unloaded sarcomere shortening and Ca(2+) transients were then measured in these cells (n = >75 cells for each of the nine age-region groups). The decay time of the Ca(2+) transient and the time required for 50% length relaxation both increased with age but not uniformly across the three regions (P < 0.02). Further analysis revealed a significant shift in the transmural distribution of these properties between 18 and 22 mo of age, with the largest changes occurring in epicardial myocytes. Computational modeling suggested that these changes were due in part to slower Ca(2+) dissociation from troponin in aging epicardial myocytes. Subsequent biochemical assays revealed a >50% reduction in troponin I phosphoprotein content in 22-mo-old epicardium relative to the other regions. These data suggest that between 18 and 22 mo of age (before the onset of heart failure), F344 rats display epicardial-specific myofilament-level modifications that 1) break from the progression observed between 6 and 18 mo and 2) coincide with aberrant patterns of cardiac torsion.

Cardiac remodeling and subcellular defects in heart failure due to myocardial infarction and aging

Although several risk factors including hypertension, cardiac hypertrophy, coronary artery disease, and diabetes are known to result in heart failure, elderly subjects are more susceptible to myocardial infarction and more likely to develop heart failure. This article is intended to discuss that cardiac dysfunction in hearts failing due to myocardial infarction and aging is associated with cardiac remodeling and defects in the subcellular organelles such as sarcolemma (SL), sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), and myofibrils. Despite some differences in the pattern of heart failure due to myocardial infarction and aging with respect to their etiology and sequence of events, evidence has been presented to show that subcellular remodeling plays a critical role in the occurrence of intracellular Ca(2+)-overload and development of cardiac dysfunction in both types of failing heart. In particular, alterations in gene expression for SL and SR proteins induce Ca(2+)-handling abnormalities in cardiomyocytes, whereas those for myofibrillar proteins impair the interaction of Ca(2+) with myofibrils in hearts failing due to myocardial infarction and aging. In addition, different phosphorylation mechanisms, which regulate the activities of Ca(2+)-cycling proteins in SL and SR membranes as well as Ca(2+)-binding proteins in myofibrils, become defective in the failing heart. Accordingly, it is suggested that subcellular remodeling involving defects in Ca(2+)-handling and Ca(2+)-binding proteins as well as their regulatory mechanisms is intimately associated with cardiac remodeling and heart failure due to myocardial infarction and aging.

Mechanisms of arrhythmias and conduction disorders in older adults

Aging is associated with an increased prevalence of cardiac arrhythmias, which contribute to higher morbidity and mortality in the elderly. The frequency of cardiac arrhythmias, particularly atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachyarrhythmia, is projected to increase as the population ages, greatly impacting health care resource utilization. Several clinical factors associated with the risk of arrhythmias have been identified in the population, yet the molecular bases for the increased predisposition to arrhythmogenesis in the elderly are not fully understood. This review highlights the epidemiology of cardiac dysrhythmias, changes in cardiac structure and function associated with aging, and the basis for arrhythmogenesis in the elderly.

Age-associated changes in Ca(2+)-ATPase and oxidative damage in sarcoplasmic reticulum of rat heart

Altered Ca(2+) handling may be responsible for the development of cardiac contractile dysfunctions with advanced age. In the present study, we investigated the roles of oxidative damage to sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) and expression of Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA 2a) and phospholamban in age-associated dysfunction of cardiac SR. SR vesicles were prepared from hearts of 2-, 6-, 15-, and 26-month-old Wistar rats. Although activity of Ca(2+)-ATPase decreased with advancing age, no differences in relative amounts of SERCA 2a and phospholamban protein were observed. On the other hand, significant accumulation of protein oxidative damage occurred with aging. The results of this study suggest that age-related alteration in Ca(2+)-ATPase activity in the rat heart is not a consequence of decreased protein levels of SERCA 2a and phospholamban, but could arise from oxidative modifications of SR proteins. Cellular oxidative damage caused by reactive oxygen species could contribute to age-related alternations in myocardial relaxation.

Electromechanical and structural alterations in the aging rabbit heart and aorta

Aging increases the risk for arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death (SCD). We aimed at elucidating aging-related electrical, functional, and structural changes in the heart and vasculature that account for this heightened arrhythmogenic risk. Young (5-9 mo) and old (3.5-6 yr) female New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits were subjected to in vivo hemodynamic, electrophysiological, and echocardiographic studies as well as ex vivo optical mapping, high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and histochemical experiments. Aging increased aortic stiffness (baseline pulse wave velocity: young, 3.54 ± 0.36 vs. old, 4.35 ± 0.28 m/s, P < 0.002) and diastolic (end diastolic pressure-volume relations: 3.28 ± 0.5 vs. 4.95 ± 1.5 mmHg/ml, P < 0.05) and systolic (end systolic pressure-volume relations: 20.56 ± 4.2 vs. 33.14 ± 8.4 mmHg/ml, P < 0.01) myocardial elastances in old rabbits. Electrophysiological and optical mapping studies revealed age-related slowing of ventricular and His-Purkinje conduction (His-to-ventricle interval: 23 ± 2.5 vs. 31.9 ± 2.9 ms, P < 0.0001), altered conduction anisotropy, and a greater inducibility of ventricular fibrillation (VF, 3/12 vs. 7/9, P < 0.05) in old rabbits. Histochemical studies confirmed an aging-related increased fibrosis in the ventricles. MRI showed a deterioration of the free-running Purkinje fiber network in ventricular and septal walls in old hearts as well as aging-related alterations of the myofibrillar orientation and myocardial sheet structure that may account for this slowed conduction velocity. Aging leads to parallel stiffening of the aorta and the heart, including an increase in systolic stiffness and contractility and diastolic stiffness. Increasingly, anisotropic conduction velocity due to fibrosis and altered myofibrillar orientation and myocardial sheet structure may contribute to the pathogenesis of VF in old hearts. The aging rabbit model represents a useful tool for elucidating age-related changes that predispose the aging heart to arrhythmias and SCD.

Adenylyl cyclase 6 improves calcium uptake and left ventricular function in aged hearts

OBJECTIVES

This study tested the hypothesis that activation of adenylyl cyclase 6 (AC6) expression in cardiac myocytes improves calcium uptake and left ventricular (LV) function in aging mice.

BACKGROUND

Aging hearts exhibit impaired β-adrenergic receptor signaling and LV dysfunction.

METHODS

Twenty-month-old mice with cardiac-directed and regulated AC6 expression were randomized into 2 groups, and AC6 expression was activated in 1 group (AC6-On) but not the other (AC6-Off). One month later, LV function and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake were assessed.

RESULTS

AC6 expression was associated with increased LV contractility, as reflected by ejection fraction (p = 0.02), rate of pressure development (p = 0.002), and slope of the LV end-systolic pressure-volume relationship (p = 0.04). No changes in LV weight to tibial length ratio, LV fibrosis, and expression of fetal genes (atrial natriuretic factor, α-skeletal muscle actin, and β-myosin heavy chain) and collagens were observed between AC6-On and AC6-Off groups. However, LV samples from AC6-On mice showed increases in: isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP production (p = 0.04), cAMP-dependent protein kinase activity (p < 0.0004), phosphorylation of phospholamban (at Ser16 site; p = 0.04) and cardiac troponin I (at Ser23/24 sites; p = 0.01), velocity of sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium uptake (p < 0.0001), and sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium-ATPase2a (SERCA2a) affinity for calcium (p < 0.0001). Finally, we found that AC6 expression increased sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium storage in cardiac myocytes isolated from 23-month-old rats. In contrast, AC6 expression in 7-month-old mice did not change LV function and calcium uptake.

CONCLUSIONS

These results indicate that activation of cardiac AC6 expression improves impaired function of aged hearts through improved calcium uptake.

Modulation of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) cycling in systolic and diastolic heart failure associated with aging

Hypertension, atherosclerosis, and resultant chronic heart failure (HF) reach epidemic proportions among older persons, and the clinical manifestations and the prognoses of these worsen with increasing age. Thus, age per se is the major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Changes in cardiac cell phenotype that occur with normal aging, as well as in HF associated with aging, include deficits in ss-adrenergic receptor (ss-AR) signaling, increased generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and altered excitation-contraction (EC) coupling that involves prolongation of the action potential (AP), intracellular Ca(2+) (Ca(i)(2+)) transient and contraction, and blunted force- and relaxation-frequency responses. Evidence suggests that altered sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) uptake, storage, and release play central role in these changes, which also involve sarcolemmal L-type Ca(2+) channel (LCC), Na(+)-Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX), and K(+) channels. We review the age-associated changes in the expression and function of Ca(2+) transporting proteins, and functional consequences of these changes at the cardiac myocyte and organ levels. We also review sexual dimorphism and self-renewal of the heart in the context of cardiac aging and HF.

Effect of aging on cellular mechanotransduction

Aging is becoming a critical heath care issue and a burgeoning economic burden on society. Mechanotransduction is the ability of the cell to sense, process, and respond to mechanical stimuli and is an important regulator of physiologic function that has been found to play a role in regulating gene expression, protein synthesis, cell differentiation, tissue growth, and most recently, the pathophysiology of disease. Here we will review some of the recent findings of this field and attempt, where possible, to present changes in mechanotransduction that are associated with the aging process in several selected physiological systems, including musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neuronal, respiratory systems and skin.

Early development of intracellular calcium cycling defects in intact hearts of spontaneously hypertensive rats

Defects in excitation-contraction coupling have been reported in failing hearts, but little is known about the relationship between these defects and the development of heart failure (HF). We compared the early changes in intracellular Ca(2+) cycling to those that underlie overt pump dysfunction and arrhythmogenesis found later in HF. Laser-scanning confocal microscopy was used to measure Ca(2+) transients in myocytes of intact hearts in Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) at different ages. Early compensatory mechanisms include a positive inotropic effect in SHRs at 7.5-9 mo compared with 6 mo. Ca(2+) transient duration increased at 9 mo in SHRs, indicating changes in Ca(2+) reuptake during decompensation. Cell-to-cell variability in Ca(2+) transient duration increased at 7.5 mo, decreased at 9 mo, and increased again at 22 mo (overt HF), indicating extensive intercellular variability in Ca(2+) transient kinetics during disease progression. Vulnerability to intercellular concordant Ca(2+) alternans increased at 9-22 mo in SHRs and was mirrored by a slowing in Ca(2+) transient restitution, suggesting that repolarization alternans and the resulting repolarization gradients might promote reentrant arrhythmias early in disease development. Intercellular discordant and subcellular Ca(2+) alternans increased as early as 7.5 mo in SHRs and may also promote arrhythmias during the compensated phase. The incidence of spontaneous and triggered Ca(2+) waves was increased in SHRs at all ages, suggesting a higher likelihood of triggered arrhythmias in SHRs compared with WKY rats well before HF develops. Thus serious and progressive defects in Ca(2+) cycling develop in SHRs long before symptoms of HF occur. Defective Ca(2+) cycling develops early and affects a small number of myocytes, and this number grows with age and causes the transition from asymptomatic to overt HF. These defects may also underlie the progressive susceptibility to Ca(2+) alternans and Ca(2+) wave activity, thus increasing the propensity for arrhythmogenesis in HF.

Cardiac aging in mice and humans: the role of mitochondrial oxidative stress

Age is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, not only because it prolongs exposure to several other cardiovascular risks, but also owing to intrinsic cardiac aging, which reduces cardiac functional reserve, predisposes the heart to stress, and contributes to increased cardiovascular mortality in the elderly. Intrinsic cardiac aging in the murine model closely recapitulates age-related cardiac changes in humans, including left ventricular hypertrophy, fibrosis, and diastolic dysfunction. Cardiac aging in mice is accompanied by accumulation of mitochondrial protein oxidation, increased mitochondrial DNA mutations, increased mitochondrial biogenesis, as well as decreased cardiac SERCA2 protein. All of these age-related changes are significantly attenuated in mice overexpressing catalase targeted to mitochondria. These findings demonstrate the critical role of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species in cardiac aging and support the potential application of mitochondrial antioxidants to cardiac aging and age-related cardiovascular diseases.

Effects of ischemia and reperfusion on isolated ventricular myocytes from young adult and aged Fischer 344 rat hearts

This study examined the impact of age on contractile function, Ca2+homeostasis, and cell viability in isolated myocytes exposed to simulated ischemia and reperfusion. Ventricular myocytes were isolated from anesthetized young adult (3 mo) and aged (24 mo) male Fischer 344 rats. Cells were field-stimulated at 4 Hz (37°C), exposed to simulated ischemia, and reperfused with Tyrode solution. Cell shortening and intracellular Ca2+were measured simultaneously with an edge detector and fura-2. Cell viability was assessed by Trypan blue exclusion. Ischemia (20–45 min) depressed amplitudes of contraction equally in isolated myocytes from young adult and aged animals. The degree of postischemic contractile depression (stunning) was comparable in both groups. Ca2+transient amplitudes were depressed in early reperfusion in young adult and aged cells and then recovered to preischemic levels in both groups. Cell viability also declined equally in reperfusion in both groups. In short, some cellular responses to simulated ischemia and reperfusion were similar in both groups. Even so, aged myocytes exhibited a much greater and more prolonged accumulation of diastolic Ca2+in ischemia and in early reperfusion compared with myocytes from younger animals. In addition, the degree of mechanical alternans in ischemia increased significantly with age. The observation that there is an age-related increase in accumulation of diastolic Ca2+in ischemia and early reperfusion may account for the increased sensitivity to ischemia and reperfusion injury in the aging heart. The occurrence of mechanical alternans in ischemia may contribute to contractile dysfunction in ischemia in the aging heart.

Maladaptation of calcium homoeostasis in aging cardiac myocytes

With aging, the heart develops myocyte hypertrophy associated with impaired relaxation indices. To define the cellular basis of this adaptation, we examined the physiological changes that arise in calcium handling in the aging heart and contrasted the adaptations that occur following the imposition of a stimulus that alters calcium homeostasis in a young and an old heart. We utilized a cardiac-specific conditional transgenic approach to "switch on" protein kinase (PKC)-beta II expression in mice at different stages of adult life (3 and 12 months) and characterized alterations in ICa and calcium release in wild-type (WT) and PKC-beta II-expressing cells. Amplitude or voltage dependence of ICa were not significantly altered by expression of PKC-beta II at any age. No significant differences in calcium-release properties were seen with age. Upon activation of PKC-beta II, the amplitude of the calcium transient was larger, and the calcium spark frequency was greater in PKC-beta II mice compared to WT at both 3 and 12 months. Spark amplitude increased only in the 12-month PKC-beta II mice. These changes occurred in parallel with an increase in cell size (as determined by capacitance measurements) in the 12-month PKC-beta II mice but not the 3-month PKC-beta II mice. These data suggest that alterations in the calcium-handling machinery of the cardiocyte differ in the context of age and as such may predispose the older heart to the development of a hypertrophic phenotype.

Age-dependent changes in Ca2+ homeostasis in peripheral neurones: implications for changes in function

Calcium ions represent universal second messengers within neuronal cells integrating multiple cellular functions, such as release of neurotransmitters, gene expression, proliferation, excitability, and regulation of cell death or apoptotic pathways. The magnitude, duration and shape of stimulation-evoked intracellular calcium ([Ca2+]i) transients are determined by a complex interplay of mechanisms that modulate stimulation-evoked rises in [Ca2+]i that occur with normal neuronal function. Disruption of any of these mechanisms may have implications for the function and health of peripheral neurones during the aging process. This review focuses on the impact of advancing age on the overall function of peripheral adrenergic neurones and how these changes in function may be linked to age-related changes in modulation of [Ca2+]i regulation. The data in this review suggest that normal aging in peripheral autonomic neurones is a subtle process and does not always result in dramatic deterioration in their function. We present studies that support the idea that in order to maintain cell viability peripheral neurones are able to compensate for an age-related decline in the function of at least one of the neuronal calcium-buffering systems, smooth endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases, by increased function of other calcium-buffering systems, namely, the mitochondria and plasmalemma calcium extrusion. Increased mitochondrial calcium uptake may represent a 'weak point' in cellular compensation as this over time may contribute to cell death. In addition, we present more recent studies on [Ca2+]i regulation in the form of the modulation of release of calcium from smooth endoplasmic reticulum calcium stores. These studies suggest that the contribution of the release of calcium from smooth endoplasmic reticulum calcium stores is altered with age through a combination of altered ryanodine receptor levels and modulation of these receptors by neuronal nitric oxide containing neurones.

Aging is associated with elevated intracellular calcium levels and altered calcium homeostatic mechanisms in hippocampal neurons

Aging is associated with increased vulnerability to neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease and greater neuronal deficits after stroke and epilepsy. Emerging studies have implicated increased levels of intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) for the neuronal loss associated with aging related disorders. Recent evidence demonstrates increased expression of voltage gated Ca(2+) channel proteins and associated Ca(2+) currents with aging. However, a direct comparison of [Ca(2+)](i) levels and Ca(2+) homeostatic mechanisms in hippocampal neurons acutely isolated from young and mid-age adult animals has not been performed. In this study, Fura-2 was used to determine [Ca(2+)](i) levels in CA1 hippocampal neurons acutely isolated from young (4-5 months) and mid-age (12-16 months) Sprague-Dawley rats. Our data provide the first direct demonstration that mid-age neurons in comparison to young neurons manifest significant elevations in basal [Ca(2+)](i) levels. Upon glutamate stimulation and a subsequent [Ca(2+)](i) load, mid-age neurons took longer to remove the excess [Ca(2+)](i) in comparison to young neurons, providing direct evidence that altered Ca(2+) homeostasis may be present in animals at significantly younger ages than those that are commonly considered aged (> or =24 months). These alterations in Ca(2+) dynamics may render aging neurons more vulnerable to neuronal death following stroke, seizures or head trauma. Elucidating the functionality of Ca(2+) homeostatic mechanisms may offer an understanding of the increased neuronal loss that occurs with aging, and allow for the development of novel therapeutic agents targeted towards decreasing [Ca(2+)](i) levels thereby restoring the systems that maintain normal Ca(2+) homeostasis in aged neurons.

Effect of aging on the expression of intracellular Ca(2+) transport proteins in a rat heart

Aging process is accompanied by various biological dysfunctions including altered calcium homeostasis. Modified calcium handling might be responsible for changed cardiac function and potential development of the pathological state. In the present study we compared the mRNA and protein levels of the intracellular Ca(2+)-handling proteins--inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP(3)R), ryanodine receptor (RyR), sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) pump (SERCA2), and also transient receptor potential C (TRPC) channels in cardiac tissues of 5-, 15-, and 26-month-old rats. Aging was accompanied by significant increase in the mRNA levels of IP(3)R and TRPC channels in both ventricles and atria, but mRNA level of the type 2 RyR was unchanged. Protein content of the IP(3)R1 correlated with mRNA levels, in the left ventricle of 15- and 26-month-old rats the value was approximately 1.8 and 2.8-times higher compared to 5-month-old rats. No significant differences were observed in mRNA and protein levels of the SERCA2 among 5-month-old and aged rats. However, Ca(2+)-ATPase activity significantly decreased with age, activities in 5-, 15-, and 26-month-old rats were 421.2 +/- 13.7, 335.5 +/- 18.1 and 304.6 +/- 14.8 nmol P(i) min(-1) mg(-1). These results suggest that altered transporting activity and/or gene expression of Ca(2+)-handling proteins of intracellular Ca(2+) stores might affect cardiac function during aging.

Cardiac overexpression of antioxidant catalase attenuates aging-induced cardiomyocyte relaxation dysfunction

Catalase, an enzyme which detoxifies H2O2, may interfere with cardiac aging. To test this hypothesis, contractile and intracellular Ca2+ properties were evaluated in cardiomyocytes from young (3-4 months) and old (26-28 months) FVB and transgenic mice with cardiac overexpression of catalase. Contractile indices analyzed included peak shortening (PS), time-to-90% PS (TPS90), time-to-90% relengthening (TR90), half-width duration (HWD), maximal velocity of shortening/relengthening (+/-dL/dt) and intracellular Ca2+ levels or decay rate. Levels of advanced glycation endproduct (AGE), Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX), sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA2a), phospholamban (PLB), myosin heavy chain (MHC), membrane Ca2+ and K+ channels were measured by western blot. Catalase transgene prolonged survival while did not alter myocyte function by itself. Aging depressed+/-dL/dt, prolonged HWD, TR90 and intracellular Ca2+ decay without affecting other indices in FVB myocytes. Aged FVB myocytes exhibited a stepper decline in PS in response to elevated stimulus or a dampened rise in PS in response to elevated extracellular Ca2+ levels. Interestingly, aging-induced defects were nullified or significantly attenuated by catalase. AGE level was elevated by 5-fold in aged FVB compared with young FVB mice, which was reduced by catalase. Expression of SERCA2a, NCX and Kv1.2 K+ channel was significantly reduced although levels of PLB, L-type Ca2+ channel dihydropyridine receptor and beta-MHC isozyme remained unchanged in aged FVB hearts. Catalase restored NCX and Kv1.2 K+ channel but not SERCA2a level in aged mice. In summary, our data suggested that catalase protects cardiomyocytes from aging-induced contractile defect possibly via improved intracellular Ca2+ handling.

Thyroid hormone downregulates the expression and function of sarcoplasmic reticulum-associated CaM kinase II in the rabbit heart

Phosphorylation of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-cycling proteins by a membrane-associated Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaM kinase II) is a well-documented physiological mechanism for regulation of transmembrane Ca2+fluxes and the cardiomyocyte contraction-relaxation cycle. The present study investigated the effects of l-thyroxine-induced hyperthyroidism on protein expression of SR CaM kinase II and its substrates, endogenous CaM kinase II-mediated SR protein phosphorylation, and SR Ca2+pump function in the rabbit heart. Membrane vesicles enriched in junctional SR (JSR) or longitudinal SR (LSR) isolated from euthyroid and hyperthyroid rabbit hearts were utilized. Endogenous CaM kinase II-mediated phosphorylation of ryanodine receptor-Ca2+release channel (RyR-CRC), Ca2+-ATPase, and phospholamban (PLN) was significantly lower (30–70%) in JSR and LSR vesicles from hyperthyroid than from euthyroid rabbit heart. Western immunoblotting analysis revealed significantly higher (∼40%) levels of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase isoform 2 (SERCA2) in JSR, but not in LSR, from hyperthyroid than from euthyroid rabbit heart. Maximal velocity of Ca2+uptake was significantly increased in JSR (130%) and LSR (50%) from hyperthyroid compared with euthyroid rabbit hearts. Apparent affinity of the Ca2+-ATPase for Ca2+did not differ between the two groups. Protein levels of PLN and CaM kinase II were significantly lower (30–40%) in JSR, LSR, and ventricular tissue homogenates from hyperthyroid rabbit heart. These findings demonstrate selective downregulation of expression and function of CaM kinase II in hyperthyroid rabbit heart in the face of upregulated expression and function of SERCA2 predominantly in the JSR compartment.

Calcium spark properties in ventricular myocytes are altered in aged mice

This study determined whether whole cell Ca2+ transients and unitary sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+ release events are constant throughout adult life or whether Ca2+ release is altered in aging ventricular myocytes. Myocytes were isolated from young adult (∼5 mo old) and aged (∼24 mo old) mice. Spontaneous Ca2+ sparks and Ca2+ transients initiated by field stimulation were detected with fluo-4. All experiments were conducted at 37°C. Ca2+ transient amplitudes were reduced, and Ca2+ transient rise times were abbreviated in aged cells stimulated at 8 Hz compared with young adult myocytes. Furthermore, the incidence and frequency of spontaneous Ca2+ sparks were markedly higher in aged myocytes compared with young adult cells. Spark amplitudes and spatial widths were similar in young adult and aged myocytes. However, spark half-rise times and half-decay times were abbreviated in aged cells compared with younger cells. Resting cytosolic Ca2+ levels and SR Ca2+ stores were assessed by rapid application of caffeine in fura-2-loaded cells. Neither resting Ca2+ levels nor SR Ca2+ content differed between young adult and aged cells. Thus increased spark frequency in aging cells was not attributable to increased SR Ca2+ stores. Furthermore, the decrease in Ca2+ transient amplitude was not due to a decrease in SR Ca2+ load. These results demonstrate that alterations in fundamental SR Ca2+ release units occur in aging ventricular myocytes and raise the possibility that alterations in Ca2+ release may reflect age-related changes in fundamental release events rather than changes in SR Ca2+ stores and diastolic Ca2+ levels.

Mechanistic basis of differences in Ca2+ -handling properties of sarcoplasmic reticulum in right and left ventricles of normal rat myocardium

This study investigated Ca2+ -cycling properties of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in right ventricle (RV) and left ventricle (LV) of normal rat myocardium. Intracellular Ca2+ transients and contractile function were monitored in freshly isolated myocytes from RV and LV. SR in RV displayed nearly fourfold lower rates of ATP-energized Ca2+ uptake in vitro than SR of LV. The Ca2+ concentration required for half-maximal activation of Ca2+ transport was nearly twofold higher in SR of RV. The lower Ca2+ -sequestering activity of SR in RV was accompanied by a matching decrement in Ca2+ -induced phosphoenzyme formation during the catalytic cycle of the Ca2+ -pumping ATPase (SERCA2). Western immunoblot analysis showed that protein levels of Ca2+ -ATPase and its inhibitor phospholamban (PLN) were only approximately 15% lower in SR of RV than in SR of LV. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments revealed that PLN-bound, functionally inert Ca2+ -ATPase molecules in SR of RV greatly exceed (> 50%) that in SR of LV. Endogenous Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase-mediated phosphorylation of SR substrates did not abolish the huge disparity in SR Ca2+ pump function between RV and LV. Intracellular Ca2+ transients, evoked by electrical field stimulation, were significantly prolonged in RV myocytes compared with LV myocytes, mainly because of slow decay of intracellular Ca2+ concentration. The slow decay of intracellular Ca2+ concentration in RV and consequent decrease in the speed of RV relaxation may promote temporal synchrony of the end of diastole in RV and LV. The preponderance of functionally silent SR Ca2+ pumps in RV reflects a higher diastolic reserve required to protect and maintain RV function in the face of a sudden rise in afterload or resistance in the pulmonary circulation.

Advancing age alters rapid and spontaneous refilling of caffeine-sensitive calcium stores in sympathetic superior cervical ganglion cells

Intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) release from smooth endoplasmic reticulum (SER) stores plays an important role in cell signaling. These stores are rapidly refilled via influx through voltage-gated calcium channels or spontaneously via store-operated calcium channels and subsequent pumping by SER Ca2+-ATPases. We measured [Ca2+]i transients in isolated fura 2-loaded superior cervical ganglion cells from 6-, 12-, 20-, and 24-mo-old Fischer 344 rats. For rapid refilling, [Ca2+]i transients were elicited by a 1) 5-s exposure to K+, 2) caffeine to release Ca2+ from SER stores, 3) K+ to refill SER Ca2+ stores, and 4) caffeine. The percent difference between the peak and rate of rise of the first and second caffeine-evoked [Ca2+]i transient significantly declined over the age range of 12-24 mo. To estimate spontaneous refilling, cells were depolarized for 5 s with 68 mM K+ (control), followed by a 10-s exposure to 10 mM caffeine "conditioning stimulus" to deplete [Ca2+]i stores. Caffeine was then rapidly applied for 5 s at defined intervals from 60 to 300 s. Integrated caffeine-evoked [Ca2+]i transients were measured and plotted as a percentage of the K+ response vs. time. The derivative of the refilling time curves significantly declined over the age range from 12-24 mo. Overall, these data suggest that the ability of superior cervical ganglion cells to sustain release of [Ca2+]i following rapid or spontaneous refilling declines with advancing age. Compromised ability to sustain calcium signaling may possibly alter the overall function of adrenergic neurons innervating the cerebrovasculature.

Coordinate downregulation of CaM kinase II and phospholamban accompanies contractile phenotype transition in the hyperthyroid rabbit soleus

This study investigated the effects of l-thyroxine-induced hyperthyroidism on Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-dependent protein kinase (CaM kinase II)-mediated sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) protein phosphorylation, SR Ca2+pump (Ca2+-ATPase) activity, and contraction duration in slow-twitch soleus muscle of the rabbit. Phosphorylation of Ca2+-ATPase and phospholamban (PLN) by endogenous CaM kinase II was found to be significantly lower (30–50%) in soleus of the hyperthyroid compared with euthyroid rabbit. Western blotting analysis revealed higher levels of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase (SERCA) 1 (∼150%) Ca2+pump isoform, unaltered levels of SERCA2 Ca2+pump isoform, and lower levels of PLN (∼50%) and δ-, β-, and γ-CaM kinase II (40 ∼ 70%) in soleus of the hyperthyroid rabbit. SR vesicles from hyperthyroid rabbit soleus displayed approximately twofold higher ATP-energized Ca2+uptake and Ca2+-stimulated ATPase activities compared with that from euthyroid control. The Vmaxof Ca2+uptake (in nmol Ca2+·mg SR protein−1·min−1: euthyroid, 818 ± 73; hyperthyroid, 1,649 ± 90) but not the apparent affinity of the Ca2+-ATPase for Ca2+(euthyroid, 0.97 ± 0.02 μM, hyperthyroid, 1.09 ± 0.04 μM) differed significantly between the two groups. CaM kinase II-mediated stimulation of Ca2+uptake by soleus muscle SR was ∼60% lower in the hyperthyroid compared with euthyroid. Isometric twitch force of soleus measured in situ was significantly greater (∼36%), and the time to peak force and relaxation time were significantly lower (∼30–40%), in the hyperthyroid. These results demonstrate that thyroid hormone-induced transition in contractile properties of the rabbit soleus is associated with coordinate downregulation of the expression and function of PLN and CaM kinase II and selective upregulation of the expression and function of SERCA1, but not SERCA2, isoform of the SR Ca2+pump.

Influence of age and run training on cardiac Na+/Ca2+ exchange

Effects of age and training on myocardial Na+/Ca2+ exchange were examined in young sedentary (YS; 14-15 mo), aged sedentary (AS; 27-31 mo), and aged trained (AT; 8- to 11-wk treadmill run training) male Fischer Brown Norway rats. Whole heart performance and isolated cardiocyte Na+/Ca2+ exchange characteristics were measured. At the whole heart level, a small but significant slowing of late isovolumic left ventricular (LV) relaxation, which may be indicative of altered Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity, was seen in hearts from AS rats. This subtle impairment in relaxation was not observed in hearts from AT rats. At the single-cardiocyte level, late action potential duration was prolonged, resting membrane potential was more positive, and overshoot potential was greater in cardiocytes from AS rats than from YS rats (P < 0.05). Training did not influence any of these age-related action potential characteristics. In electrically paced cardiocytes, neither shortening nor intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) dynamics was influenced by age or training. Similarly, neither age nor training influenced the rate of [Ca2+]i clearance via forward (Nain+ /Caout2+) Na+/Ca2+ exchange after caffeine-induced Ca2+ release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum or cardiac Na+/Ca2+ exchanger protein (NCX1) expression. However, when whole cell patch-clamp techniques combined with fluorescence microscopy were used to evaluate the ability of Na+/Ca2+ exchange to alter cytosolic [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]c) under conditions where membrane potential (Vm) and internal and external [Na+] and [Ca2+] could be controlled, we observed age-associated increases in forward Na+/Ca2+ exchange-mediated [Ca2+]c clearance (P < 0.05) that were not influenced by training. The age-related increase in forward Na+/Ca2+ exchange activity provides a hypothetical explanation for the late action potential prolongation observed in this study.

Ca2+ transients of cardiomyocytes from senescent mice peak late and decay slowly

Ventricular myocytes were isolated from either young (2 months, "young myocytes") or senescent (20-26 months, "senescent myocytes") mice. Ca2+ transients were evoked by 40ms voltage-clamp pulses depolarising at 0.4, 1, 2, 4 or 8Hz. At 8Hz, Ca2+ transients from senescent cells peaked later (39ms versus 23ms) to smaller systolic [Ca2+](c) (667nM versus 1110nM) and decayed at slower rate (16s(-1) versus 33s(-1)) to higher end-diastolic [Ca2+](c) (411nM versus 220nM) than those from young myocytes. These differences were less pronounced at lower frequencies of pulsing and could not be explained by differences of the time integral of Ca2+ inward current. Since concentrations of SERCA2a and SERCA2b proteins were similar in young and senescent cells, slow rate of Ca2+ decay and high diastolic [Ca2+]c are explained on the assumption that the usual Ca2+ stimulation of SERCA2 activity is attenuated in senescent cells. The prolonged time-to-peak [Ca2+]c is discussed to result from insufficient SR Ca2+ filling by SERCA2 and, in context with confocal images, from a shift of the SERCA2b distribution to the subsarcolemmal space. The age-related changes of the Ca2+ transients are discussed to cause systolic and diastolic failure if senescent mouse hearts beat at high frequencies.

Cerebral artery sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) stores and contractility: changes with development

To test the hypothesis that sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) stores play a key role in norepinephrine (NE)-induced contraction of fetal and adult cerebral arteries and that Ca(2+) stores change with development, we performed the following study. In main branch middle cerebral arteries (MCA) from near-term fetal ( approximately 140 days) and nonpregnant adult sheep, we measured NE-induced contraction and intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) in the absence and presence of different blockers. In adult MCA, after thapsigargin (10(-6) M), the NE-induced responses of tension and [Ca(2+)](i) were 37 +/- 5 and 47 +/- 7%, respectively, of control values (P < 0.01 for each). In the fetal artery, in contrast, this treatment resulted in no significant changes from control. When this was repeated in the absence of extracellular Ca(2+), adult MCA increases in tension and [Ca(2+)](i) were 32 +/- 5 and 13 +/- 3%, respectively, of control. Fetal cerebral arteries, however, showed essentially no response. Ryanodine (RYN, 3 x 10(-6) to 10(-5) M) resulted in increases in tension and [Ca(2+)](i) in both fetal and adult MCA similar to that seen with NE. For both adult and fetal MCA, the increased tension and [Ca(2+)](i) responses to RYN were essentially eliminated in the presence of zero extracellular Ca(2+). These findings provide evidence that in fetal MCA, in contrast to those in the adult, SR Ca(2+) stores are of less importance in NE-induced contraction, with such contraction being almost wholly dependent on Ca(2+) flux via plasma membrane L-type Ca(2+) channels. In addition, they suggest that in both adult and fetal MCA, the RYN receptor is coupled to the plasma membrane Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel and/or L-type Ca(2+) channel.

Effects of aging on single cardiac myocyte function in Fischer 344 x Brown Norway rats

The Fischer 344 x Brown Norway (F344xBN) rat has been demonstrated to have a lower incidence of age-related pathology than other rat strains. Therefore, to elucidate the effects of aging on cardiac function, uncomplicated by compensatory effects caused by age-related pathology, cardiac myocytes were isolated from female F344xBN rats at 6 (young) and 32-33 (old) mo of age. Myocytes showed an increase in the relative amount of beta-myosin heavy chain with advanced age and a significant rightward shift in the tension-pCa curve from 5.78 +/- 0.02 pCa units in young adult myocytes to 5.66 +/- 0.03 pCa units. Consistent with a shift to a slower myosin isoform, the time from stimulation to peak sarcomere shortening increased with age from 50.5 +/- 1.3 to 58.9 +/- 1.0 ms. In contrast, no age-related difference was found in either the relengthening parameters or the Ca(2+) transient, indicating that relaxation is not directly altered by aging. This latter finding is at variance with previous studies in rat strains with higher rates of pathology. We conclude, therefore, that the primary effect of aging in isolated cardiac myocytes from the F344xBN rat model is a shift in the myosin heavy chain isoform. Changes in relaxation seen in other rat strains may result from compensatory mechanisms induced by pathological conditions.