Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2007

Document Type

Master's Thesis

Degree Name

M.S.

Department

Pharmacology and Toxicology

Committee Chair

Epstein, Paul N.

Author's Keywords

Molecular biology; Pharmacology; Anatomy and physiology

Subject

Heart--Hypertrophy; Heart--Physiology; Sugar in the body; Metabolism; Diabetes--Research

Abstract

Heart failure is recognized as a major cause of death among diabetics. In type I and II diabetes, glucose uptake, glycolysis and pyruvate oxidation are impaired, and fatty acid utilization increases. These alterations in metabolism contribute toward cardiac contractile function. There is a gap in our understanding on how alterations in glycolytic metabolite fructose-2,6-bisphosphate (F-2,6-P 2 ) affects cardiac dysfunction. Two cardiac-specific overexpression of PFK-2 (phosphofructose kinase-2) transgenic models were used to investigate the role of altered metabolism by F-2,6-P 2 in provoking cardiomyopathy. One model is with the PFK-2 kinase active and phosphatase inactive enzyme called MK and another model is the PFK-2 kinase inactive and phosphatase active enzyme called Mb. The effect of PFK2 transgenes was evaluated by Langendorff-perfused heart in vitro. Cardiomyopathy was assessed by measurement of heart to body weight ratio and cardiac histology. The study shows that changes in F-2,6-P 2 level could induce cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and cause cardiac dysfunction, and may be important to development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.

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