Atg7 Induces Basal Autophagy and Rescues Autophagic Deficiency in CryABR120G Cardiomyocytes

JS Pattison, H Osinska, J Robbins - Circulation research, 2011 - Am Heart Assoc
JS Pattison, H Osinska, J Robbins
Circulation research, 2011Am Heart Assoc
Rationale: Increasing evidence suggests that misfolded proteins and intracellular
aggregates contribute to cardiac disease and heart failure. Several cardiomyopathies,
including the αB-crystallin R120G mutation (CryABR120G) model of desmin-related
cardiomyopathy, accumulate cytotoxic misfolded proteins in the form of preamyloid
oligomers and aggresomes. Impaired autophagic function is a potential cause of misfolded
protein accumulations, cytoplasmic aggregate loads, and cardiac disease. Atg7, a mediator …
Rationale:
Increasing evidence suggests that misfolded proteins and intracellular aggregates contribute to cardiac disease and heart failure. Several cardiomyopathies, including the αB-crystallin R120G mutation (CryABR120G) model of desmin-related cardiomyopathy, accumulate cytotoxic misfolded proteins in the form of preamyloid oligomers and aggresomes. Impaired autophagic function is a potential cause of misfolded protein accumulations, cytoplasmic aggregate loads, and cardiac disease. Atg7, a mediator of autophagosomal biogenesis, is a putative regulator of autophagic function.
Objective:
To determine whether autophagic induction by Atg7 is sufficient to reduce misfolded protein and aggregate content in protein misfolding-stressed cardiomyocytes.
Methods and Results:
To define the gain and loss of function effects of Atg7 expression on CryABR120G protein misfolding and aggregates, neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were infected with adenoviruses expressing either wild-type CryAB or CryABR120G and coinfected with Atg7 adenovirus or with Atg7 silencing siRNAs to produce gain-of or loss-of Atg7 function. Atg7 overexpression effectively induced basal autophagy with no detrimental effects on cell survival, suggesting that Atg7 can activate autophagy with no apparent cytotoxic effects. Autophagic flux assays on CryABR120G-expressing cardiomyocytes revealed reduced autophagic function, which probably contributed to the failure of misfolded proteins and aggregates to be cleared. Coexpression of Atg7 and CryABR120G significantly reduced preamyloid oligomer staining, aggregate content, and cardiomyocyte cytotoxicity. Conversely, Atg7 silencing in the CryABR120G background significantly inhibited the already reduced rate of autophagy and increased CryABR120G aggregate content and cytotoxicity.
Conclusions:
Atg7 induces basal autophagy, rescues the CryABR120G autophagic deficiency, and attenuates the accumulation of misfolded proteins and aggregates in cardiomyocytes.
Am Heart Assoc