The mechanism of cardiac protection of Hsp27 against cardiac dysfunction during endotoxema in mice

Objective To investigate the cardiac protection of Hsp27 against endotoxic cardiac depression mediated by activation of PI3K/Akt pathway and the suppression of NFκB-mediated inflammatory response in mice. Method (1) Transgenic mice with cardiac specific overexpression of Hsp27 (Hsp27 Tg) and wild littermate controls (WT) were given 10 mg/kg LPS injected intraperitoneally to induce endotoxemia, (2) The cardiac function measurement in mice was performed by using echocardiography 6 hours after LPS treatment (n = 6), (3) The activity of PBK/Akt pathway was evaluated by Western blot for [hosphor-Akt (p-Akt) and phosphor-Gsk-3β (p-Gsk-3β) one hour after LPS administration ( n = 4)], (4) Activity of inflammatory response was evaluated by protein degradation of IκBα (n = 4), (5) The apoptosis of myocardial cells was determined by TUNEL assay on the paraffin section of cardiac tissue 24 hours after LPS exposure (n = 4). Results (1) Hsp27 attenuated cardiac dysfunction significantly following LPS treatment. Compared with the primary value, LPS induced the depression of cardiac function both in WT rats and Hsp27Tg rats. However, the cardiac dysfunction was attenuated significantly in Hsp27Tg rats compared with that in WT rats ( P < 0.01 or 0.05) . (2) Hsp27 attenuated IκBα degradation after LPS administration. Compared with the primary value, LPS led to LκBα degradation by (72.92 + 9.20) % in WT rats and by (41.43 + 24.10) % in Hsp27Tg rats. The overexpression of Hsp27 lessened the IκBα degradation significantly (P < 0.05). The similar results were obtained in rat myocardial cell culture of experiments. (3) Hsp27 enhanced the activation of PI3K/Akt signaling following LPS exposure. One hour after LPS administration, the relative levels of p-Akt and p-GSK-30 were (3.11 + 0.83) and (3.19 + 1.04), respectively in WT rats, and (5.13 + 0.73) and (5.71 + 1.20) in Hsp27Tg rats, respectively. Compared with WT rats, the levels of p-Akt and p-GSK-3β were significantly higher in Hsp27Tg rats (P < 0.05). (4) The Hsp27 lessened LPS-induced the apopto-sis of myocardial cells. Twenty-four hours after LPS treatment, the percentages of myocardial cell apoptosis were (6.46+ 1.74)% in WT rats and (2.88 + 0.91)% in Hsp27Tg rats. Compared with WT rats, LPS-induced apoptosis in myocardial cells was significantly decreased in Hsp27Tg rats (P < 0.01). Conclusions The overexpression ofHsp27 attenuates cardiac dysfunction significantly during endotoxemia, and the mechanisms may be attributed to the activation of PDK/Akt signaling pathway. Key words: Endotoxemia; Cardiac dysfunction; Heat shock protein 27; PI3K/Akt signaling pathway; Inflammation ; Transgenic mice; Apoptosis; Histology