Systems Network Genomic Analysis Reveals Cardioprotective Effect of MURC/Cavin‐4 Deletion Against Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury

BACKGROUND: Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury is a critical issue in the development of treatment strategies for ischemic heart disease. MURC (muscle‐restricted coiled‐coil protein)/Cavin‐4 (caveolae‐associated protein 4), which is a component of caveolae, is involved in the pathophysiology of dilated cardiomyopathy and cardiac hypertrophy. However, the role of MURC in cardiac I/R injury remains unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: The systems network genomic analysis based on PC‐corr network inference on microarray data between wild‐type and MURC knockout mouse hearts predicted a network of discriminating genes associated with reactive oxygen species. To demonstrate the prediction, we analyzed I/R‐injured mouse hearts. MURC deletion decreased infarct size and preserved heart contraction with reactive oxygen species–related molecule EGR1 (early growth response protein 1) and DDIT4 (DNA‐damage‐inducible transcript 4) suppression in I/R‐injured hearts. Because PC‐corr network inference integrated with a protein–protein interaction network prediction also showed that MURC is involved in the apoptotic pathway, we confirmed the upregulation of STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) and BCL2 (B‐cell lymphoma 2) and the inactivation of caspase 3 in I/R‐injured hearts of MURC knockout mice compared with those of wild‐type mice. STAT3 inhibitor canceled the cardioprotective effect of MURC deletion in I/R‐injured hearts. In cardiomyocytes exposed to hydrogen peroxide, MURC overexpression promoted apoptosis and MURC knockdown inhibited apoptosis. STAT3 inhibitor canceled the antiapoptotic effect of MURC knockdown in cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings, obtained by prediction from systems network genomic analysis followed by experimental validation, suggested that MURC modulates cardiac I/R injury through the regulation of reactive oxygen species–induced cell death and STAT3‐meditated antiapoptosis. Functional inhibition of MURC may be effective in reducing cardiac I/R injury.