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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 287/5/H2216    most recent 00137.2004v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (4) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Kirchhefer, U. Articles by Neumann, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Kirchhefer, U. Articles by Neumann, J.

Age-dependent biochemical and contractile properties in atrium of transgenic mice overexpressing junctin

¹Institut für Pharmakologie und Toxikologie and ²Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik C, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, 48149 Münster; ³Institut für Pathologie, Universität Essen, 45147 Essen, Germany; and ⁴Krannert Institute of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202

Submitted 13 February 2004 ; accepted in final form 13 June 2004

Junctin is a transmembrane protein of the cardiac junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) that binds to the ryanodine receptor, calsequestrin, and triadin 1. This quaternary protein complex is thought to facilitate SR Ca²⁺ release. To improve our understanding of the contribution of junctin to the regulation of SR function, we examined the age-dependent effects of junctin overexpression in the atrium of 3-, 6-, and 18-wk-old transgenic mice. The ratio of atrial weight and body weight was unchanged between junctin-overexpressing (JCN) and wild-type (WT) mice at all ages investigated (n = 6–8). The protein expression of triadin 1 was decreased starting in 3-wk-old JCN atria (by 69%), whereas the expression of the ryanodine receptor was diminished in 6- (by 48%) and 18-wk-old (by 57%) JCN atria compared with age-matched WT atria. Force of contraction was decreased by 35% in 18-wk-old JCN compared with age-matched WT left atrial muscle strips, which was accompanied by a prolonged time of relaxation (48.1 ± 0.9 vs. 44.2 ± 0.8 ms, respectively, n = 6–8, P < 0.05). The spontaneous beating rate of isolated right atria was higher in 18-wk-old JCN mice compared with age-matched WT mice (389 ± 10 vs. 357 ± 6 beats/min, respectively, n = 6–8, P < 0.05). Heart rate was lower by 9% in telemetric ECG recordings in 18-wk-old JCN mice during stress tests. Three-week-old JCN atria exhibited a higher potentiation of force of contraction at rest pauses of 30 s (by 13%) and of 300 s (by 35%), suggesting increased SR Ca²⁺ content. This was consistent with the higher force of contraction in 3-wk-old JCN atria (by 29%) compared with age-matched WT atria (by 10%) under the administration of caffeine. We conclude that in 3-wk-old atria, junctin overexpression was associated with a reduced expression of triadin 1 resulting in a higher SR Ca²⁺ load without changes in contractility or heart rate. In 6-wk-old JCN atria, the compensatory downregulation of the ryanodine receptor may offset the effects of junctin overexpression. Finally, the progressive decrease in ryanodine receptor density may contribute to the decreased atrial contractility and lower heart rate during stress in 18-wk-old JCN mice.

sarcoplasmic reticulum; calcium handling; force of contraction; protein expression; heart rate

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