Suppression of calcium-sensing receptor ameliorates cardiac hypertrophy through inhibition of autophagy

The calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) releases intracellular calcium ([Ca(2+)](i)) by accumulating inositol phosphate. Changes in [Ca(2+)](i) initiate myocardial hypertrophy. Furthermore, autophagy associated with [Ca(2+)](i). Autophagy has previously been demonstrated to participate in the hypertrophic process. The current study investigated whether suppression of CaSR affects the hypertrophic response via modulating autophagy. Isoproterenol (ISO) was used to induce cardiac hypertrophy in Wistar rats. Hypertrophic status was determined by echocardiographic assessment, hematoxylin and eosin, and Masson's staining. The protein expression levels of CaSR and autophagy level were observed. Changes of hypertrophy and autophagy indicators were observed following intravenous injection of a CaSR inhibitor. An ISO-induced cardiomyocyte hypertrophy model was established and used determine the involvement of GdCl(3). [Ca(2+)](i) was determined using Fluo-4/AM dye followed by confocal microscopy. The expression levels of various active proteins were analyzed by western blotting. The size of the heart, expression levels of CaSR and autophagy level were markedly increased in hypertrophic myocardium. In addition, the present study demonstrated that the indicators of hypertrophy and autophagy were effectively suppressed by CaSR inhibitor. Furthermore, similar effects were demonstrated in neonatal rat hypertrophic cardiomyocytes treated with ISO. It was also observed that CaSR regulates the Ca(2+)/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase kinase β (CaMKK(β))-AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)-mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling pathway induced by ISO in cardiomyocytes. Furthermore, the AMPK inhibition significantly reduced the autophagy level following CaSR stimulation (P<0.05). The results of the present demonstrated that inhibition of CaSR may ameliorate cardiac hypertrophy induced by ISO and the effect may be associated with the inhibition of autophagy and suppression of the CaMKK(β)-AMPK-mTOR signaling pathway.