Kindlin-2 Mediates Mechanical Activation of Cardiac Myofibroblasts

Autor: Elena Godbout, Dong Ok Son, Stephanie Hume, Stellar Boo, Vincent Sarrazy, Sophie Clément, Andras Kapus, Bernhard Wehrle-Haller, Leena Bruckner-Tuderman, Cristina Has, Boris Hinz
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Cells, Vol 9, Iss 12, p 2702 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2073-4409
DOI: 10.3390/cells9122702
Popis: We identify the focal adhesion protein kindlin-2 as player in a novel mechanotransduction pathway that controls profibrotic cardiac fibroblast to myofibroblast activation. Kindlin-2 is co-upregulated with the myofibroblast marker α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) in fibrotic rat hearts and in human cardiac fibroblasts exposed to fibrosis-stiff culture substrates and pro-fibrotic TGF-β1. Stressing fibroblasts using ferromagnetic microbeads, stretchable silicone membranes, and cell contraction agonists all result in kindlin-2 translocation to the nucleus. Overexpression of full-length kindlin-2 but not of kindlin-2 missing a putative nuclear localization sequence (∆NLS kindlin-2) results in increased α-SMA promoter activity. Downregulating kindlin-2 with siRNA leads to decreased myofibroblast contraction and reduced α-SMA expression, which is dependent on CC(A/T)-rich GG(CArG) box elements in the α-SMA promoter. Lost myofibroblast features under kindlin-2 knockdown are rescued with wild-type but not ∆NLS kindlin-2, indicating that myofibroblast control by kindlin-2 requires its nuclear translocation. Because kindlin-2 can act as a mechanotransducer regulating the transcription of α-SMA, it is a potential target to interfere with myofibroblast activation in tissue fibrosis.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals
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