FAK interacts with MEF2 and drives the stretch-induced activation of an intronic enhancer of phospholamban gene in cardiomyocytes

Author(s)

Alisson Campos Cardoso

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Faculdade de Ciências Médicas
• Defense date: 2008-04-08

Examining board members

Kleber Gomes Franchini; Marcos Antonio de Oliveira; Ljubica Tasic

• Advisor: Kleber Gomes Franchini

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that mechanical stress induces phosphorylation and activation of FAK in cardiac myocytes. Recent studies carried out in rat overloaded hearts indicated that FAK re-locates in the nucleus of the cardiac myocytes. By assays in the nuclei of overloaded cardiac myocytes with chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) approach with anti-FAK antibody, we identified an intronic sequence of phospholamban gene (plnil), containing a MEF2 consensus site. In the present study, we investigated whether Plnil has any regulatory function in the pln. To accomplish this, we combinated techniques such as EMSA (Electrophoreses Mobility Shift Assay), reporter gene and pulldown assays. FAK was shown to be rapidly activated and to accumulate in the nuclei of cardiac myocytes taken from overloaded left ventricle. Using EMSA assays, we demonstrated that nuclear extracts of left ventricle rats overloaded, interacted with the plnil probe. EMSA assays, also indicated an interaction between MEF2 and the plnil probe, but no interaction was found between FAK or its domains (FERM and Cterminal) with the plni1. Pulldown assays with FAK recombinant fragments (GST-FERM and GST-Cterminal) and nuclear extracts from left ventricle overloaded indicated that FAK and MEF2 physically interact through FAK Cterminal domain. Reporter gene assays, using a construction of plnil coupled luciferase transfected to cardiac myocytes culture underwent stretching, had demonstrated that the intronic region has transcriptional regulatory function and this role is dependent of the transcription factor MEF2 binding site in the DNA. Therefore, these data indicate that FAK and MEF2 interact in the nuclei of cardiac myocytes and that FAK/MEF2 complex may regulate phospholamban gene expression through the plnil. (AU)