Differential Gene Regulation during murine in vivo heart ischemia comparing wildtype and Per2 deficient mice

Disruption of peripheral circadian rhyme pathways dominantly leads to metabolic disorders. Studies on circadian rhythm proteins in the heart indicated a role for Clock or Per2 in cardiac metabolism. In fact, Per2-/- mice have larger infarct sizes with a deficient lactate production during myocardial ischemia. To test the hypothesis that cardiac Per2 represents an important regulator of cardiac metabolism during myocardial ischemia, we performed lactate measurements during reperfusion in Per1-/-, Per2-/- or wildtype mice followed by gene array studies using various ischemia-reperfusion protocols comparing wildtype and Per2-/- mice. Lactate measurements in whole blood confirmed a dominant role of Per2 for lactate production during myocardial ischemia. Surprisingly, high-throughput gene array analysis of eight different conditions on one 24-microarray plate revealed dominantly lipid metabolism as differentially regulated pathway in wildtype mice when compared to Per2-/-. In all treatment groups, the enzyme enoyl-CoA hydratase, which is essential in fatty acid beta-oxidation, was regulated in wildtype animals only. Studies using nuclear magnet resonance imaging (NMRI) confirmed altered fatty acid populations with higher mono-unsaturated fatty acid levels in hearts from Per2-/- mice. Unexpectedly, studies on gene regulation during reperfusion revealed solely pro inflammatory genes as differentially regulated 'Per2-genes'. Subsequent studies on inflammatory markers showed increasing IL6 or TNFa levels during reperfusion in Per2-/- mice. In summary, these studies reveal a novel role of cardiac Per2 for fatty acid metabolism or inflammation during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion.

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Bonney S, Kominsky D, Brodsky K, Eltzschig H, Walker L, Eckle T