Faculty Collaboration Database

Cardiomyocyte GATA4 functions as a stress-responsive regulator of angiogenesis in the murine heart. J Clin Invest 2007 Nov;117(11):3198-210

Date

11/03/2007

Pubmed ID

17975667

Pubmed Central ID

PMC2045611

DOI

10.1172/JCI32573

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-36049037185 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   205 Citations

Abstract

The transcription factor GATA4 is a critical regulator of cardiac gene expression, modulating cardiomyocyte differentiation and adaptive responses of the adult heart. We report what we believe to be a novel function for GATA4 in murine cardiomyocytes as a nodal regulator of cardiac angiogenesis. Conditional overexpression of GATA4 within adult cardiomyocytes increased myocardial capillary and small conducting vessel densities and increased coronary flow reserve and perfusion-dependent cardiac contractility. Coculture of HUVECs with either GATA4-expressing cardiomyocytes or with myocytes expressing a dominant-negative form of GATA4 enhanced or reduced HUVEC tube formation, respectively. Expression of GATA4 in skeletal muscle by adenoviral gene transfer enhanced capillary densities and hindlimb perfusion following femoral artery ablation. Deletion of Gata4 specifically from cardiomyocytes reduced myocardial capillary density and prevented pressure overload-augmented angiogenesis in vivo. GATA4 induced the angiogenic factor VEGF-A, directly binding the Vegf-A promoter and enhancing transcription. GATA4-overexpressing mice showed increased levels of cardiac VEGF-A, while Gata4-deleted mice demonstrated decreased VEGF-A levels. The induction of HUVEC tube formation in GATA4-overexpressing cocultured myocytes was blocked with a VEGF receptor antagonist. Pressure overload-induced dysfunction in Gata4-deleted hearts was partially rescued by adenoviral gene delivery of VEGF and angiopoietin-1. To our knowledge, these results demonstrate [corrected] a previously unrecognized function for GATA4 as a regulator of cardiac angiogenesis through a nonhypoxic, load, and/or disease-responsive mechanism.

Author List

Heineke J, Auger-Messier M, Xu J, Oka T, Sargent MA, York A, Klevitsky R, Vaikunth S, Duncan SA, Aronow BJ, Robbins J, Crombleholme TM, Molkentin JD

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
GATA4 Transcription Factor
Gene Expression Regulation
Heart
Hindlimb
Mice
Mice, Transgenic
Molecular Sequence Data
Myocardium
Myocytes, Cardiac
Neovascularization, Physiologic
Stress, Physiological
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A