Role of calcium-sensing receptor in cardiac injury of hereditary epileptic rats.

Background: It has been reported that epilepsy leads to cardiac injury, but the underlying mechanisms have not yet been elucidated. Studies indicated that the calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) is involved in cardiomyocyte apoptosis. However, the role of CaSR in epilepsy-induced cardiac injury remains unclear.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of CaSR on cardiac injury of hereditary epileptic rats.

Methods: The tremor (TRM) rat was used as an epilepsy model. Apoptotic rate, collagen volume fraction, and the expression of CaSR, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), c-Jun NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), connective tissue growth factor (CTGF), collagen I and collagen III protein were analyzed.

Results: The results showed that the CaSR protein was increased in TRM rat hearts. Cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis were also observed by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL) and Masson's trichrome staining, respectively. Further results demonstrated that the expression of Bax, caspase-3, P-JNK, P-p38, TGF-β1, CTGF, collagen I and collagen III protein were upregulated, whereas Bcl-2 and P-ERK were downregulated in TRM rat hearts. Moreover, these deleterious changes were further aggravated by GdCl3 and attenuated by NPS-2390.

Conclusions: Our results suggest that CaSR promotes cardiac apoptosis and fibrosis in TRM rat through the induction of mitochondrial and MAPK pathways as well as the activation of TGF-β1 and CTGF.