Background: Epigenetic regulatory mechanisms such as histone post-translational modifications are involved in the development of heart failure. Although the acetylation of tail domains, such as H3K9, has been extensively studied, that of H3K122, the globular domain, has received much less attention. Acetylation of the globular domain directly activates transcription by destabilizing histone-DNA binding. However, the acetylation of these domains during the transition from left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) to heart failure (HF) remains unknown. Methods and Results: Primary cultured cardiomyocytes prepared from neonatal rats were treated with phenylephrine (PE). PE increased the acetylation of H3K9 and H3K122. The acetylation of H3K9 and H3K122 on the promoters of ANF and BNP, which are hypertrophic reaction genes, was increased in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. To investigate whether the transcriptional coactivator p300 is involved in the acetylation of H3K9 and H3K122, p300 knockdown was used. p300 knockdown suppressed PE-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and the acetylation of H3K9 and H3K122. In Dahl-salt sensitive rats, in vivo chromatin-immunoprecipitation assays revealed that the acetylation of H3K9 on the promoter of the hypertrophic response genes was significantly increased in LVH, but the acetylation of H3K122 was not increased in LVH. However, H3K122 acetylation was significantly increased in HF. On the other hand, there was no difference in the amount of recruitment of p300 in LVH and HF. Interestingly, immunoprecipitation-WB showed that binding of p300 with BRG1, a key component of the SWI/SNF complex, was enhanced in HF. The recruitment of BRG1 increased significantly in HF compared to LVH. Moreover, PFI-3, a BRG1 inhibitor, significantly suppressed a PE-induced increase in cardiomyocyte surface area, the mRNA levels of ANF and BNP, and the acetylation of H3K9 and H3K122 in cultured cardiomyocytes. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the acetylation of H3K122 is enhanced via the interaction of p300 and BRG1 in heart failure, providing novel insights into the epigenetic regulatory mechanism governing transcriptional activity in these processes.
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