Glycogen synthase kinase-3α limits ischemic injury, cardiac rupture, post-myocardial infarction remodeling and death.

Background: The molecular pathways that regulate the extent of ischemic injury and post-myocardial infarction (MI) remodeling are not well understood. We recently demonstrated that glycogen synthase kinase-3α (GSK-3α) is critical to the heart's response to pressure overload. However, the role, if any, of GSK-3α in regulating ischemic injury and its consequences is not known.

GSK-3alpha directly regulates beta-adrenergic signaling and the response of the heart to hemodynamic stress in mice.

The glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) family of serine/threonine kinases consists of 2 highly related isoforms, alpha and beta. Although GSK-3beta has an important role in cardiac development, much remains unknown about the function of either GSK-3 isoform in the postnatal heart. Herein, we present what we believe to be the first studies defining the role of GSK-3alpha in the mouse heart using gene targeting.

Glycogen synthase kinase-3beta regulates post-myocardial infarction remodeling and stress-induced cardiomyocyte proliferation in vivo.

Rationale: Numerous studies have proposed that glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3beta is a central regulator of the hypertrophic response of cardiomyocytes. However, all of this work has relied on overexpression of GSK-3beta, expression of constitutively active mutants, or small molecule inhibitors with documented off-target effects. Genetic loss of function approaches have not been used in the adult mouse because germ-line deletion of GSK-3beta is embryonic-lethal.