Blotted membranes were blocked for 1 hour at room temperature with 5% nonfat dried milk
For more comprehensive analysis, in vivo LV and RV function were assessed by pressure catheter. Mice were anesthetized with 0.5% inhaled isoflurane, 1000 mg/kg intraperitoneal urethane, and 10 mg/kg intraperitoneal etomidate, were subjected to tracheostomy, and were ventilated with 6–7 μl/g tidal volume and 120 breaths/min. Volume loading (10% bovine albumin, 100–150 μl over 3 minutes) was provided via a 30-gauge cannula in the left external jugular vein. The LV apex was exposed by incising diaphragm and left costal arch. A 1.4-Fr pressure catheter (SPR-839; Millar Instruments, Houston, TX) was inserted through the LV apex which was in advance pricked with a 26-gauge needle, and was positioned along the longitudinal axis.
And a 1-Fr pressure catheter (PVR-1035; Millar Instruments) was placed into the RV which was in advance pricked with a 27-gauge needle. All data were collected, saved to disk, and analyzed using MPVS Ultra Foundation System (ADInstruments, New South Wales, Australia) with LabChart 7 software (ADInstruments). All values were averaged over nine consecutive cardiac cycles while blood pressure was stable. After physiological studies, mice were euthanized by cervical dislocation, and the heart was resected and washed in phosphate buffered saline (PBS; 137.0mM NaCl, 2.68mM KCl, 8.1mM Na2HPO4, and 1.47mM KH2PO4, pH 7.4). Total heart tissues for immunohistochemistry were proceeded to fixation steps, and those for gene expression analysis and western blotting were dissected as below.
After total heart weight was measured, great vessels and atriums were removed, the RV free wall was separated from the LV wall and the intraventricular septum (IVS), and RV free wall was weighed. LV apex and IVS were removed from the LV. Remained LV free wall and the RV free wall were trimmed 0.5 mm from edges. Each part of a heart was rapidly frozen in liquid nitrogen, then stored at -80°C for subsequent procedures. The lung weight and tibial length was measured. in Tris-buffered saline solution (TBS; 20mM Tris, 500mM NaCl, pH 7.4) containing 0.1% Tween-20 (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO).
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Blocked membranes were incubated overnight at 4°C with following primary antibodies: 1:1,000 of
anti-Erk1/2 (#9102; Cell Signaling Technology), and 1:1,000 of anti-phospho-Erk1/2 (#9101; Cell Signaling Technology).
After the needle was withdrawn, the aorta was constricted to a diameter of 0.4 mm. Sham-operated animals were subjected to the same surgical procedures without aortic constriction. After the chest closure with 6–0 prolene, they were allowed to recover from anesthesia, and placed on a heating plate until full recovery of consciousness. For two days after surgery TAC-2d-Sil mice were treated with sildenafil citrate (Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Osaka, Japan; 200mg/kg/day) mixed in soft chow (Transgenic Dough Diet; Bio-Serv, Flemington, NJ; 100g/kg/day). Free plasma concentration of sildenafil with the dose in mice are comparable to those in humans using standard clinical dosing[7], because mice metabolize sildenafil at approximately 100 times higher rate than humans[13].
Sham, TAC-2d-Veh and TAC-2d-DXM animals received the soft diet without sildenafil. TAC-2d-DXM mice were injected intraperitoneally with dexamethasone sodium phosphate (Aspen Japan, Tokyo, Japan; 20mg/kg/day) on the day of the surgery and the following day. Total number of mice used in this study was 38. In each group (Sham, TAC 2d Veh, TAC 2d Sil), eleven mice were allocated. Out of 11, three mice for in vivo hemodynamics study, five for gene expression study, and three for western blot analysis.
Five mice were allocated to TAC-2d-DXM group for gene expression study. Before and two days after surgery cardiac function was assessed by transthoracic, two-dimensional guided M-mode echocardiography in conscious mice using Vevo2100 (FUJIFILM VisualSonics, Toronto, Ontario, Canada) with 30 MHz linear-array transducer. M-mode LV end-systolic sildenafil tablets 125 diameter (LVESD) and LV end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) were measured in the short-axis view. LV fractional shortening (LVFS) was calculated as follows: LVFS = (LVEDD-LVESD)/LVEDD. Studies and analysis were performed by the same investigator (TK). Next day, the membranes were incubated with horseradish peroxidase conjugated secondary antibody
Total ribonucleic acid (RNA) was extracted from frozen heart tissue using TRI Reagent (Molecular Research Center, Cincinnati, OH) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The yield of RNA was estimated spectrophotometrically using Nanodrop 2000 (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, MA). The same amount of RNA was reverse transcribed into complementary deoxyribonucleic acid (cDNA) using High Capacity RNA-to-cDNA kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). Quantitative real-time PCR was carried out using SYBR Green assay or Taqman probe assay. SYBR Green assay was conducted using THUNDERBIRD SYBR qPCR Mix (TOYOBO, Osaka, Japan) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
PCR conditions were 2 minutes at 50°C, 2 minutes at 95°C, and 40 cycles of 95°C for 15 seconds and 60°C for 1 minute. Taqman assay was performed using THUNDERBIRD Probe qPCR Mix (TOYOBO) with following TaqMan primers (Thermo Fisher Scientific): mouse Il1b (Assay ID: Mm00434228_m1), mouse Il6 (Assay ID: Mm00446190_m1), mouse Nox2 (Assay ID: Mm01287743_m1), mouse Nox4 (Assay ID: Mm00479246_m1), mouse Rcan1 (Assay ID: Mm01213407_m1), and mouse Gapdh (Assay chew sildenafil ID: Mm99999915_g1). Thermal cycling was 2 minutes at 50°C, 10 minutes at 95°C, and 40 cycles of 95°C for 15 seconds and 60°C for 1 minute. PCR reactions were performed, recorded, and analyzed by using LightCycler 480 (Roche Applied Science, Mannheim, Germany) or QuantStudio 5 (Thermo Fisher Scientific). PCR was performed in duplicate and gene expression level was normalized by Gapdh.
Briefly, frozen heart tissues were homogenized in Cell Lysis Buffer (Cell Signaling Technology, Danvers, MA) with 1 mM phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride, proteinase inhibitors cocktail (cOmplete Mini EDTA-free; Roche Applied Science), and phosphatase inhibitors cocktail (PhosSTOP; Roche Applied Science). The homogenate was centrifuged at 17,800 g for 10 minutes at 4°C, and the resulting supernatant was designated proteins fraction. Protein concentration of each fraction was measured using BCA Protein Assay Reagent (Thermo Fisher Scientific), and samples were diluted to the same concentration. Each protein solution was added with NuPage LDS Sample Buffer (Thermo Fisher Scientific) and 0.1M dithiothreitol, denatured at 95°C for 10 minutes, then sample solutions were obtained. Sample solutions were separated on 12.5% polyacrylamide gels (Wako Pure Chemicals Industries), and transferred onto the polyvinylidene difluoride membrane (Bio-Rad, Hercules, CA). (1:5,000) (sc-2357; Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Dallas, TX) for 1 hour at room temperature.
Immunoblot bands was quantified using ImageJ software (NIH Image, Bethesda, MD).
Total heart tissues were fixed in Tissue-Tek UFIX (Sakura Finetek Japan, Tokyo, Japan), embedded in paraffin, and cut cross-sectionally into 4–6 μm slices.
| Property | Description | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Molecular Formula | - | C22H30N6O4S |
| Molecular Weight | - | 474.58 g/mol |
| Melting Point | - | 187°C |
| Solubility | In water | Very low |
| pKa | - | 6.8 |
Tissue sections were deparaffinized with a series of xylene washes, and rehydrated
Phosphodiesterase 5 (PDE5) inhibitors block degradation of cGMP and thus activate cGMP signaling pathways. While PDE5 inhibitors are in wide clinical use for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension, benign prostate hyperplasia and erectile dysfunction [6] through their vasorelaxation action, growing evidence has suggested that PDE5 inhibition also provide beneficial cardiac effects. PDE5 inhibition with sildenafil or tadalafil ameliorated experimental models of heart diseases in rodents [7,8]. Chronic sildenafil treatment improved cardiac function and clinical status in patients with systolic heart failure and diabetic cardiomyopathy [9,10]. Prior studies revealed that multiple mechanisms might contribute to such cardiac benefits, including Gq signal deactivation [8], improvement of mitochondrial energy metabolism [11] and modulation of inflammation [12]; however, the molecular impact of PDE5 inhibition on RV has not been fully determined.
In the current study, employing a mouse model of LV pressure-overload, we investigated early molecular changes in the RV myocardium, and tested the impacts of concomitant sildenafil treatment. We found that pathologic molecular derangement in the RV myocardium occurred at very early stages before RV hemodynamic overload became evident, and that sildenafil ameliorated such molecular abnormalities though mechanisms involving its anti-inflammatory effects. All animal protocols were approved by the animal care and use committee of the University of Tokyo (approval number: H15-099). All experiments were performed on C57BL/6J male mice (7–10 weeks old; CLEA Japan, Tokyo, Japan). They were housed in controlled environment with a 12h light/ 12h dark cycle at a maintained temperature, and kept with free access to food and water throughout the whole experiment period.
Pressure overload was posed by transverse aortic constriction (TAC) [7]. We prepared four arms: (1) sham surgery (Sham), (2) TAC with normal soft chow (TAC 2d Veh), (3) TAC with sildenafil chow (TAC 2d Sil), and (4) TAC with dexamethasone treatment (TAC 2d DXM). Animals were anesthetized with 1% inhaled isoflurane and 10 mg/kg intraperitoneal etomidate, then intubated, and mechanically ventilated. The mediastinum was opened through dislocation of 2nd and 3rd left sternocostal joints, then transverse aorta was exposed at the back of thymus. Between the brachiocephalic trunk and the left common carotid artery a 27-gauge needle was placed alongside transverse aorta, and the aorta and the needle was tied around using 7–0 prolene suture. in ethanol solutions with decreasing concentrations from 100% to 90%, 80%, and 70%.
| Condition | Description | Recommended Dose |
|---|---|---|
| Erectile Dysfunction | Difficulty achieving/maintaining erection | 50-100 mg before activity |
| Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension | Improves blood flow in lungs | 20 mg three times daily |
| Off-label Uses | Other possible benefits | Under medical supervision |
Antigen retrieval was carried out by incubating the sections with 0.1% trypsin solution (Sigma-Aldrich) for 40 minutes at 37°C.