Gata4 is required for maintenance of postnatal cardiac function and protection from pressure overload-induced heart failure.

ABSTRACT: An important event in the pathogenesis of heart failure is the development of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. In cultured cardiomyocytes, the transcription factor Gata4 is required for agonist-induced hypertrophy. We hypothesized that, in the intact organism, Gata4 is an important regulator of postnatal heart function and of the hypertrophic response of the heart to pathological stress. To test this hypothesis, we studied mice heterozygous for deletion of the second exon of Gata4 (G4D). At baseline, G4D mice had mild systolic and diastolic dysfunction associated with reduced heart weight and decreased cardiomyocyte number. After transverse aortic constriction (TAC), G4D mice developed overt heart failure and eccentric cardiac hypertrophy, associated with significantly increased fibrosis

SUBMITTER: Bisping E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1636702 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature