Regulation of atrial contraction by PKA and PKC during development and regression of eccentric cardiac hypertrophy

Department of Physiology and Biophysics, College of Medicine, Howard University, Washington, DC Submitted 3 August 2004 ; accepted in final form 8 October 2004 ANG II plays a major role in development of cardiac hypertrophy through its AT 1 receptor subtype, whereas angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors are effective in reversing effects of ANG II on the heart. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of PKA and PKC in the contractile response of atrial tissue during development and ACE inhibitor-induced regression of eccentric hypertrophy induced by aortocaval shunt. At 1 wk after surgery, sham and shunt rats were divided into captopril-treated and untreated groups for 2 wk. Then isometric contraction was assessed by electrical stimulation of isolated rat left atrial preparations superfused with Tyrode solution in the presence or absence of specific inhibitors KT-5720 (for PKA) and Ro-32-0432 (for PKC) and high Ca 2+ . Peak tension developed was greater in shunt than in sham hearts. However, when expressed relative to tissue mass, hypertrophied muscle showed weaker contraction than muscle from sham rats. In sham rats, peak tension developed was more affected by PKC than by PKA inhibition, whereas this differential effect was reduced in the hypertrophied heart. Treatment of shunt rats with captopril regressed left atrial hypertrophy by 67% and restored PKC-PKA differential responsiveness toward sham levels. In the hypertrophied left atria, there was an increase in the velocity of contraction and relaxation that was not evident when expressed in specific relative terms. Treatment with ACE inhibitor increased the specific velocity of contraction, as well as its PKC sensitivity, in shunt rats. We conclude that ACE inhibition during eccentric cardiac hypertrophy produces a negative trophic and a positive inotropic effect, mainly through a PKC-dependent mechanism. angiotensin-converting enzyme; atrium; muscle; contraction Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: G. E. Haddad, Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics, College of Medicine, Howard Univ., 520 W St. NW, Rm. 2418-B, Washington, DC 20059 (E-mail: ghaddad{at}howard.edu )