Increased type I collagen content and DNA binding activity of a single-stranded, cytosine-rich sequence in the high-salt buffer protein extract of the copper-deficient rat heart

Abstract

Dietary copper (Cu) deficiency not only causes a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but also increases cancer risk in rodent models. However, a possible alteration in gene expression has not been fully examined. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of Cu deficiency on protein profiles in rat heart tissue. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets that were either a Cu-adequate diet (6.0 μg Cu/g diet, n = 6) or a Cu-deficient diet (0.3 μg Cu/g diet, n = 6) for 5 weeks. The high-salt buffer (HSB) protein extract from heart tissue of Cu-deficient, but not Cu-adequate rats showed a 132 kDa protein band by sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis. This protein band stained pink with Coomassie Blue, suggesting the presence of collagens or other proline-rich proteins. Dot immunoblotting demonstrated that total type I collagen was increased by 110% in HSB protein extract from Cu-deficient, relative to Cu-adequate, rats. Liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry analysis indicated that the 132 kDa protein band contained a collagen α (I) chain precursor as well as a leucine-rich protein 130 (LRP130) in HSB protein extract from Cu-deficient but not Cu-adequate rats. A gel shift assay showed that HSB protein extract from Cu-deficient rats bound to a single-stranded cytosine-rich DNA with higher affinity than the extract of Cu-adequate rats, similar to reports of an increase in LRP130 single-stranded DNA binding activity in several types of tumor cells. Collectively, these results not only suggest an additional feature of altered collagen metabolism with Cu deficiency but also demonstrate for the first time an increase in single-stranded cytosine-rich DNA binding in Cu-deficient rat heart.