There is considerable evidence to support a role for lipotoxicity in the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, although the molecular links between enhanced saturated fatty acid uptake/metabolism and impaired cardiac function are poorly understood. In the present study, the effects of acute exposure to the saturated fatty acid, palmitate, on myocardial contractility and excitability were examined directly. Exposure of isolated (adult mouse) ventricular myocytes to palmitate, complexed to bovine serum albumin (palmitate:BSA) as in blood, rapidly reduced (by 54+/-4%) mean (+/-SEM) unloaded fractional cell shortening. The amplitudes of intracellular Ca(2+) transients decreased in parallel. Current-clamp recordings revealed that exposure to palmitate:BSA markedly shortened action potential durations at 20%, 50%, and 90% repolarization. These effects were reversible and were occluded when the K(+) in the recording pipettes was replaced with Cs(+), suggesting a direct effect on repolarizing K(+) currents. Indeed, voltage-clamp recordings revealed that palmitate:BSA reversibly and selectively increased peak outward voltage-gated K(+) (Kv) current amplitudes by 20+/-2%, whereas inwardly rectifying K(+) (Kir) currents and voltage-gated Ca(2+) currents were unaffected. Further analyses revealed that the individual Kv current components I(to,f), I(K,slow) and I(ss), were all increased (by 12+/-2%, 37+/-4%, and 34+/-4%, respectively) in cells exposed to palmitate:BSA. Consistent with effects on both components of I(K,slow) (I(K,slow1) and I(K,slow)(2)) the magnitude of the palmitate-induced increase was attenuated in ventricular myocytes isolated from animals in which the Kv1.5 (I(K,slow)(1)) or the Kv2.1 (I(K,slow)(2)) locus was disrupted and I(K,slow)(1) or I(K,slow2) is eliminated. Both the enhancement of I(K,slow) and the negative inotropic effect of palmitate:BSA were reduced in the presence of the Kv1.5 selective channel blocker, diphenyl phosphine oxide-1 (DPO-1).Taken together, these results suggest that elevations in circulating saturated free fatty acids, as occurs in diabetes, can directly augment repolarizing myocardial Kv currents and impair excitation-contraction coupling.

Naturally occurring mutations in cardiac troponin T (cTnT) result in a clinical subset of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. To determine the mechanistic links between thin-filament mutations and cardiovascular phenotypes, we have generated and characterized several transgenic mouse models carrying cTnT mutations. We address two central questions regarding the previously observed changes in myocellular mechanics and Ca(2+) homeostasis: 1) are they characteristic of all severe cTnT mutations, and 2) are they primary (early) or secondary (late) components of the myocellular response? Adult left ventricular myocytes were isolated from 2- and 6-mo-old transgenic mice carrying missense mutations at residue 92, flanking the TNT1 NH(2)-terminal tail domain. Results from R92L and R92W myocytes showed mutation-specific alterations in contraction and relaxation indexes at 2 mo with improvements by 6 mo. Alterations in Ca(2+) kinetics remained consistent with mechanical data in which R92L and R92W exhibited severe diastolic impairments at the early time point that improved with increasing age. A normal regulation of Ca(2+) kinetics in the context of an altered baseline cTnI phosphorylation suggested a pathogenic mechanism at the myofilament level taking precedence for R92L. The quantitation of Ca(2+)-handling proteins in R92W mice revealed a synergistic compensatory mechanism involving an increased Ser16 and Thr17 phosphorylation of phospholamban, contributing to the temporal onset of improved cellular mechanics and Ca(2+) homeostasis. Therefore, independent cTnT mutations in the TNT1 domain result in primary mutation-specific effects and a differential temporal onset of altered myocellular mechanics, Ca(2+) kinetics, and Ca(2+) homeostasis, complex mechanisms which may contribute to the clinical variability in cTnT-related familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations.

Previous studies demonstrated increased fatty acid uptake and metabolism in MHC-FATP transgenic mice that overexpress fatty acid transport protein (FATP)1 in the heart under the control of the α-myosin heavy chain (α-MHC) promoter. Doppler tissue imaging and hemodynamic measurements revealed diastolic dysfunction, in the absence of changes in systolic function. The experiments here directly test the hypothesis that the diastolic dysfunction in MHC-FATP mice reflects impaired ventricular myocyte contractile function. In vitro imaging of isolated adult MHC-FATP ventricular myocytes revealed that mean diastolic sarcomere length is significantly ( P <0.01) shorter than in wild-type (WT) cells (1.79±0.01 versus 1.84±0.01 μm). In addition, the relaxation rate (dL/dt) is significantly ( P <0.05) slower in MHC-FATP than WT myocytes (1.58±0.09 versus 1.92±0.13 μm/s), whereas both fractional shortening and contraction rates are not different. Application of 40 mmol/L 2,3-butadionemonoxime (a nonspecific ATPase inhibitor that relaxes actin–myosin interactions) increased diastolic sarcomere length in both WT and MHC-FATP myocytes to the same length, suggesting that MHC-FATP myocytes are partially activated at rest. Direct measurements of intracellular Ca 2+ revealed that diastolic [Ca 2+ ] i is unchanged in MHC-FATP myocytes and the rate of calcium removal is unexpectedly faster in MHC-FATP than WT myocytes. Moreover, diastolic sarcomere length in MHC-FATP and WT myocytes was unaffected by removal of extracellular Ca 2+ or by buffering of intracellular Ca 2+ with the Ca 2+ chelator BAPTA (100 μmol/L), indicating that elevated intracellular Ca 2+ does not underlie impaired diastolic function in MHC-FATP ventricular myocytes. Functional assessment of skinned myocytes, however, revealed that myofilament Ca 2+ sensitivity is markedly increased in MHC-FATP, compared with WT, ventricular cells. In addition, biochemical experiments demonstrated increased expression of the β-MHC isoform in MHC-FATP, compared with WT ventricles, which likely contributes to the slower relaxation rate observed in MHC-FATP myocytes. Collectively, these data demonstrate that derangements in lipid metabolism in MHC-FATP ventricles, which are similar to those observed in the diabetic heart, result in impaired diastolic function that primarily reflects changes in myofilament function, rather than altered Ca 2+ cycling.

Mutations in cardiac troponin T (cTnT) are linked to a severe form of Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Patients carrying mutations flanking the tropomyosin-binding domain of cTnT (R92L and Δ160E) develop distinct clinical syndromes. In order to better understand the cellular pathophysiology underlying these clinically relevant differences, we studied isolated adult left ventricular myocytes from independent transgenic cTnT mouse lines carrying either a 35% (Δ160E) or 50% (R92L) replacement of the endogenous cTnT with the mutant forms. Measurement of baseline myocellular contraction revealed that the Δ160E cells had significant decreases in the peak rate of contraction and percent shortening as compared to either R92L or Non-TG myocytes. In addition, while both Δ160E and R92L myocytes demonstrated a decrease in the peak rate of relaxation as compared to Non-TG, the magnitude of the difference was significantly greater in Δ160E cells. Concurrent myocyte [Ca2+]i transient measurements revealed that while the alterations in the peak rates and times of the rise and decline of the [Ca2+]i transient were similar to the changes in the respective measures of sarcomeric mechanics, R92L cells also exhibited reduced rates of the rise and decline of the [Ca2+]i transient but did not exhibit these reductions in terms of sarcomeric mechanics. Of note, only Δ160E, and not R92L myocytes, demonstrated significant reductions in SR Ca2+ load and uptake, corresponding to the impairments seen in the [Ca2+]i and mechanical transients. Finally, Western analysis revealed a significant Δ160E-specific reduction in the SERCA2a/PLB ratio, which may well underlie the observed alterations in Ca2+ homeostasis. Therefore, independent cTnT mutations result in significant mutation-specific effects in Ca2+ handling that may, in part, contribute to the observed clinical variability in cTnT-related FHC.