Molecular evidence of stress-induced acute heart injury in a mouse model simulating posttraumatic stress disorder

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2014-02, Vol.111 (8), p.3188-3193
• Main Authors: Cho, Ji-Hoon, Lee, Inyoul, Hammamieh, Rasha, Wang, Kai, Baxter, David, Scherler, Kelsey, Etheridge, Alton, Kulchenko, Alena, Gautam, Aarti, Muhie, Seid, Chakraborty, Nabarun, Galas, David J., Jett, Marti, Hood, Leroy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Biological Sciences; cardiovascular diseases; Cell cycle; Cell growth; Cell Line; Cell Proliferation; epidemiological studies; Epidemiology; Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition - physiology; extracellular matrix; Extracellular Matrix - physiology; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation - physiology; Genes; Heart; Humans; immune response; long term effects; Longitudinal Studies; Medical genetics; Mice; Microarray Analysis; MicroRNA; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; Myocarditis - etiology; Myocarditis - metabolism; patients; Physical trauma; Post traumatic stress disorder; Renovations; risk; Rodents; Simulation; simulation models; Stress; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - physiopathology; stress response; Stress, Psychological - complications; Stress, Psychological - immunology; Systems Biology; Tissues; Transcriptome - physiology; transcriptomics
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1400113111

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common condition induced by life-threatening stress, such as that experienced by soldiers under battlefield conditions. Other than the commonly recognized behavioral and psychological dysfunction, epidemiological studies have also revealed that PTSD patients have a higher risk of other diseases, such as cardiovascular disorders. Using a PTSD mouse model, we investigated the longitudinal transcriptomic changes in heart tissues after the exposure to stress through intimidation. Our results revealed acute heart injury associated with the traumatic experience, reflecting the underlying biological injury processes of the immune response, extracellular matrix remodeling, epithelial-to-mesenchymal cell transitions, and cell proliferation. Whether this type of injury has any long-term effects on heart function is yet to be determined. The differing responses to stress leading to acute heart injury in different inbred strains of mice also suggest that this response has a genetic as well as an environmental component. Accordingly, the results from this study suggest a molecular basis for the observed higher risk of cardiovascular disorders in PTSD patients, which raises the likelihood of cardiac dysfunction induced by long-term stress exposures.