NPY Impairs Cell Viability and Mitochondrial Membrane Potential Through Ca2+ and p38 Signaling Pathways in Neonatal Rat Cardiomyocytes.

NPY is involved in stress cardiomyopathy. However, the associated mechanism for NPY-induced stress cardiomyopathy remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore potential cell signaling pathways that are related to NPY-mediated cell viability in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes. We found that NPY induced cell viability suppression in cultured cardiomyocytes in a dose-dependent manner. After NPY treatment, expression of CaN and p-CAMKII increased significantly, and phosphorylation of p38 but not ERK and JNK was changed. Moreover, NPY treatment significantly increased PGC-1α (the key factor of mitochondrial biogenesis and energy metabolism) expression but decreased mitochondrial membrane potential in cultured cardiomyocytes. More importantly, the blockage of CaN, CAMKII, and p38 signaling pathways by their inhibitors could rescue the reduced cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential in NPY-treated cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our data demonstrated that NPY mediated cell viability and mitochondrial membrane potential in cardiomyocytes through CaN, CAMKII, and p38 signaling pathways.