Effect of landiolol on sex-related transcriptomic changes in the myocardium during sepsis

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to better understand phenotypic differences between male and female rats during sepsis, to characterise the contribution of the beta1-adrenergic blocker landiolol to septic cardiomyopathy and to determine why landiolol induces divergent effects in males and females. METHODS: The myocardial transcriptional profiles in male and female Wistar rats were assessed after the induction of sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture and addition of landiolol. RESULTS: Our results showed major differences in the biological processes activated during sepsis in male and female rats. In particular, a significant decrease in processes related to cell organisation, contractile function, ionic transport and phosphoinositide-3-kinase/AKT (PI3K/AKT) signalling was observed only in males. The transcript of ATPase sarcoplasmic/endoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) transporting 3 (SERCA3) was sex-differently regulated. In males, landiolol reversed several signalling pathways dysregulated during sepsis. The expression level of genes encoding tubulin alpha 8 (TUBA8) and myosin heavy chain 7B (MYH7) contractile proteins, phosphatase 2 catalytic subunit alpha (PPP2CA), G protein-coupled receptor kinase 5 (GRK5) and A-kinase anchoring protein 6 (AKAP6) returned to their basal levels. In contrast, in females, landiolol had limited effects. CONCLUSION: In males, landiolol reversed the expression of many genes that were deregulated in sepsis. Conversely, sepsis-induced deregulation of gene expression was less pronounced in females than in males, and was maintained in the landiolol-treated females. These findings highlight important sex-related differences and confirm previous observations on the important benefit of landiolol intake on cardiac function in male rats. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40635-019-0263-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.