Hypoxic cardiac fibroblasts from failing human hearts decrease cardiomyocyte beating frequency in an ALOX15 dependent manner

PLoS One. 2018 Aug 23;13(8):e0202693. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202693. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

A common denominator for patients with heart failure is the correlation between elevated serum levels of proinflammatory cytokines and adverse clinical outcomes. Furthermore, lipoxygenase-induced inflammation is reportedly involved in the pathology of heart failure. Cardiac fibroblasts, which are abundant in cardiac tissue, are known to be activated by inflammation. We previously showed high expression of the lipoxygenase arachidonate 15 lipoxygenase (ALOX15), which catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid to 15-hydroxy eicosatetraenoic acid (15-HETE), in ischemic cardiac tissue. The exact roles of ALOX15 and 15-HETE in the pathogenesis of heart failure are however unknown. Biopsies were collected from all chambers of explanted failing human hearts from heart transplantation patients, as well as from the left ventricles from organ donors not suffering from chronic heart failure. Biopsies from the left ventricles underwent quantitative immunohistochemical analysis for ALOX15/B. Gene expression of ALOX enzymes, as well as 15-HETE levels, were examined in cardiac fibroblasts which had been cultured in either hypoxic or normoxic conditions after isolation from failing hearts. After the addition of fibroblast supernatants to human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, intracellular calcium concentrations were measured to examine the effect of paracrine signaling on cardiomyocyte beating frequency. While ALOX15 and ALOX15B were expressed throughout failing hearts as well as in hearts from organ donors, ALOX15 was expressed at significantly higher levels in donor hearts. Hypoxia resulted in a significant increase in gene and protein expression of ALOX15 and ALOX15B in fibroblasts isolated from the different chambers of failing hearts. Finally, preconditioned medium from hypoxic fibroblasts decreased the beating frequency of human cardiomyocytes derived from induced pluripotent stem cells in an ALOX15-dependent manner. In summary, our results demonstrate that ALOX15/B signaling by hypoxic cardiac fibroblasts may play an important role in ischemic cardiomyopathy, by decreasing cardiomyocyte beating frequency.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Arachidonate 15-Lipoxygenase / genetics*
  • Arachidonate 15-Lipoxygenase / metabolism*
  • Arachidonic Acid / metabolism
  • Biopsy
  • Calcium / metabolism
  • Cell Hypoxia
  • Cells, Cultured
  • Female
  • Fibroblasts
  • Heart Failure / genetics
  • Heart Failure / metabolism
  • Heart Failure / pathology*
  • Heart Failure / therapy
  • Heart Rate
  • Heart Transplantation
  • Humans
  • Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids / metabolism
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / cytology*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / metabolism
  • Paracrine Communication
  • Signal Transduction
  • Tissue Donors
  • Up-Regulation

Substances

  • Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic Acids
  • Arachidonic Acid
  • 15-hydroxy-5,8,11,13-eicosatetraenoic acid
  • ALOX15 protein, human
  • ALOX15B protein, human
  • Arachidonate 15-Lipoxygenase
  • Calcium

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council 2013-03558, the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation 20150355, the Swedish Federal Government under the LUA/ALF agreement ALFGBG-426991, the Emelle Foundation, Laboratory Medicine at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, the Swedish Society of Medicine, the Medical Society of Gothenburg and grants from the foundations of Sahlgrenska University Hospital.