Effects of aging on the cardiac remodeling induced by chronic high-altitude hypoxia in rat

Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 Sep;287(3):H1246-53. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00199.2004. Epub 2004 May 13.

Abstract

Effects of chronic high-altitude hypoxia on the remodeling of right ventricle were examined in three age groups of rats: 2, 6, and 18 mo. The extent of right ventricular (RV) hypertrophy (RVH) showed an age-associated diminution. RV cell size and pericellular fibrosis showed a significant increase in the 2- and 6-mo-old exposed rats but not in the 18-mo-old exposed rats compared with control. A hyperplasic response was underscored in the three exposed age groups but appeared less pronounced in the 18-mo-old rats. A significant decrease in the transient outward potassium current (Ito) density was observed in RV cell only in the 2-mo-old exposed group compared with the control group. In the control group, there was a clear tendency for Ito density to decrease as a function of age. The sustained outward current density was modified neither by the hypoxia condition nor by the age. Neither the cytochrome c oxidase activity nor the heat shock protein 72 content in the RV was altered after hypoxic exposure regardless of age. The norepinephrine content in the RV was significantly decreased in each age group exposed to hypoxia when compared with their age-matched control group. Our findings indicate that the remodeling (at morphological and electrophysiological levels) induced by chronic hypoxia in the RV can be decreased by the natural aging process.

MeSH terms

  • Aging*
  • Altitude*
  • Animals
  • Chronic Disease
  • Electric Conductivity
  • Fibrosis
  • HSP72 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Heat-Shock Proteins / metabolism
  • Hypoxia / complications
  • Hypoxia / pathology
  • Hypoxia / physiopathology*
  • Male
  • Myocardium / pathology
  • Norepinephrine / metabolism
  • Potassium Channels / metabolism
  • Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases / metabolism
  • Rats
  • Rats, Sprague-Dawley
  • Ventricular Function, Right
  • Ventricular Remodeling*

Substances

  • HSP72 Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Heat-Shock Proteins
  • Potassium Channels
  • Prostaglandin-Endoperoxide Synthases
  • Norepinephrine