Hypoxia Induced Left Ventricular Injury in BMPR2 Mutant Rats
Objective To study the effect of the bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2(BMPR2)gene mutation on the structure and function of the left ventricle.Methods Used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to construct Bmpr2+/R491W mutant rats.Evaluated the phenotype of the left and right ventricles and pulmonary vessels at baseline and after 3 weeks of hypoxia(FiO2=10%)stimulation using echocardiography,cardiac catheterization,and pathological experiments.Heart failure molecular markers were assessed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction(QPCR),and BMPR2 pathway activity was measured by Western blot.Results At baseline,the Bmpr2+/R491W mutant rats exhibited no significant phenotypic abnormalities.After 3 weeks of hypoxic stimulation,both Bmpr2+/R491W mutant rats and wild-type rats developed pulmonary arterial hypertension,with similar levels of pulmonary artery pressure and right ventricular reconstruction,with no statistical difference.Hypoxic stimulation did not affect the left ventricular structure and function in wild-type rats but induced significant left ventricular remodeling in Bmpr2+/R491W mutant rats.The Bmpr2+/R491W mutant rats showed a significant decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction(78.7%±6.7%vs.66.4%±10.9%,P<0.05),left ventricular fractional shortening(50.0%±7.3%vs.38.5%±8.6%,P<0.05),,and diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness(3.3%±0.4%vs.2.4%±0.6%,P<0.01)post hypoxia.QPCR showed significant upregulation of heart failure molecular markers such as atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP),brain natriuretic peptide(BNP),etc.,and Western blot results indicated that left heart tissue BMPR2 expression was reduced to 50%of the control group,ID-1 was reduced to 60%of the control group,and the ratio of phosphorylated SMAD2/3 increased by 0.6 times.Conclusion Hypoxic stimulation induced a pulmonary arterial hypertension phenotype and left heart failure and dysfunction in Bmpr2+/R491W rats under hypoxic conditions.
Bone morphogenetic protein receptor type 2Pulmonary arterial hypertensionGene mutationLeft ventricular remodeling