A recombinant antibody increases cardiac contractility by mimicking phospholamban phosphorylation

FASEB J. 2004 Aug;18(11):1312-4. doi: 10.1096/fj.03-1231fje. Epub 2004 Jun 4.

Abstract

Many cardiovascular disease states end in progressive heart failure. Changes in intracellular calcium handling, including a reduced activity of the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium pump (SERCA), contribute to this contractile dysfunction. As the regulatory protein phospholamban can inhibit the calcium pump, we evaluated it as a potential target to improve cardiac function. In this study, we describe a recombinant antibody-based protein (PLN-Ab) that binds to the cytoplasmic domain of phospholamban. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) studies suggest that PLN-Ab mimics the effects of phospholamban phosphorylation. PLN-Ab accelerated the decay of the calcium transient when expressed in neonatal rat and adult mouse ventricular cardiac myocytes. In addition, direct injection of adenovirus encoding PLN-Ab into the diabetic mouse heart enhanced contractility when measured in vivo by echocardiography and in ex vivo Langendorff perfused hearts. The PLN-Ab provides a novel therapeutic approach to improving contractility through in vivo expression of an antibody inside cardiac myocytes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Antibody Specificity
  • Base Sequence
  • Calcium Signaling / drug effects*
  • Calcium-Binding Proteins / chemistry*
  • Calcium-Transporting ATPases / metabolism
  • Cardiotonic Agents / chemistry
  • Cardiotonic Agents / pharmacology*
  • Cell Line / drug effects
  • Chickens
  • Diabetes Mellitus, Experimental / metabolism
  • Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer
  • Genetic Therapy*
  • Heart Failure / diagnostic imaging
  • Heart Failure / therapy*
  • Heart Ventricles / cytology
  • Humans
  • Immunoglobulins / genetics
  • Immunoglobulins / immunology
  • Immunoglobulins / pharmacology*
  • Kidney
  • Mice
  • Molecular Mimicry
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Myocardial Contraction / drug effects*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / drug effects*
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / physiology
  • Peptide Fragments / chemistry
  • Peptide Fragments / immunology
  • Phosphorylation
  • Protein Binding
  • Protein Structure, Tertiary
  • Rats
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / pharmacology
  • Ultrasonography

Substances

  • Calcium-Binding Proteins
  • Cardiotonic Agents
  • IgY
  • Immunoglobulins
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • phospholamban
  • Calcium-Transporting ATPases