September 15, 1995
View Full PaperExpression and Functional Significance of Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptors in Human Myocardium
Key Result
The negative inotropic effects of TNF-alpha in adult cardiac myocytes appear to be initiated by activation of TNFR1, as demonstrated by a TNF mutant selectively binding to TNFR1.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Adult human heart tissue and isolated feline cardiac myocytes
I
Intervention
TNF-alpha mutants selectively binding to human TNFR1 and TNFR2
C
Comparator
Wild-type TNF-alpha
O
Outcome
Expression of TNFR1 and TNFR2 mRNA and proteins, and effect on cell motion (negative inotropic effect)surrogate
The negative inotropic effects of TNF-alpha in adult cardiac myocytes appear to be mediated specifically by the activation of TNFR1, which is expressed in the human myocardium.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), a proinflammatory cytokine with potent negative inotropic properties, is elaborated in septic shock, acute myocarditis, reperfusion injury, and congestive heart failure. TNF-alpha acts by binding to two specific receptors: TNFR1 and TNFR2. However, neither the presence nor the significance of TNF receptors has been studied in the adult mammalian heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present study, we showed that the adult heart expresses mRNA and receptor proteins for TNFR1 and TNFR2. Moreover, immunohistochemical staining studies localized TNFR1 and TNFR2 to the cardiac myocyte, providing a potential signaling pathway for the deleterious effects of TNF-alpha. The functional significance of the expression of TNFR1 and TNFR2 was explored with the use of a simple cell motion assay in which we assessed the effect(s) of TNF-alpha mutants known to bind selectively to human TNFR1 and TNFR2. We showed that the negative inotropic effect of wild-type TNF-alpha in isolated feline cardiac myocytes was mimicked by the TNF mutant that binds to TNFR1, whereas the TNF mutant that binds to TNFR2 had no significant effect on cell motion. CONCLUSIONS: Results of the present study show that the adult human heart expresses both mRNA and receptor proteins for TNFR1 and TNFR2; moreover, the negative inotropic effects of TNF-alpha in adult cardiac myocytes appear to be initiated by activation of TNFR1.