Prevention of cardiac hypertrophy by angiotensin II type-2 receptor gene transfer

The role of the angiotensin II type-2 receptor (AT2R) in cardiac hypertrophy remains elusive despite its demonstrated involvement in cardiovascular development. We have previously shown that a lentiviral vector gene delivery system is able to transduce cardiac tissue with high efficiency in vivo. Using such an approach, our objectives in the present study were 2-fold: (1) to overexpress the AT2R in cardiac tissue after completion of natural embryonic development of the heart and (2) to determine the effects of this overexpression on cardiac hypertrophy and basal blood pressure (BP). A lentiviral vector encoding the AT2R (lenti-AT2R) was administered (1.5x10(8) transducing units) into the left ventricular space of 5-day-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). AT2R transgene expression increased in these animals and persisted for 30 weeks. In contrast, the expression of the angiotensin II type-1 receptor remained unchanged following lenti-AT2R treatment. At 21 weeks following gene transduction, the lenti-AT2R-treated SHRs exhibited decreased left ventricular wall thickness compared with control animals. In contrast, basal BP did not differ between the two SHR groups. Finally, heart weight to body weight ratios indicated a significant decrease in lenti-AT2R-treated SHRs compared with SHR controls. Our data indicate that AT2R overexpression attenuates cardiac hypertrophy in the SHR. This beneficial outcome was observed despite the existence of elevated BP.