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Imaging Cleared Embryonic and Postnatal Hearts at Single-cell Resolution
Published on: October 7, 2016
Temporal patterns of tyrosine nitration in embryo heart development
Liliana Viera1, Milka Radmilovich, Marcelo R Vargas
1Department of Anesthesiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Free Radical Biology & Medicine
|December 1, 2012
Summary
Reactive nitrogen species, indicated by tyrosine nitration, are present in developing rat hearts. This finding suggests a role for these species in normal embryonic development, not just disease.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Biology
- Developmental Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Tyrosine nitration, a marker of reactive nitrogen species, is linked to cardiac pathology.
- The role of peroxynitrite and tyrosine nitration during normal embryonic heart development is largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the presence and localization of tyrosine nitration in the developing rat embryo heart.
- To explore the potential relationship between tyrosine nitration, nitric oxide synthases (NOS), and cardiac remodeling during embryonic development.
Main Methods:
- Immunoreactivity staining for nitrotyrosine and nitric oxide synthases (eNOS, iNOS) in rat embryo hearts at different developmental stages (E12-E18).
- Analysis of cardiac cell death and proliferation.
- Peptide analysis using MALDI-TOF to identify nitrated proteins.
Main Results:
- Strong nitrotyrosine immunoreactivity was observed in atrial and ventricular endocardial and myocardial cells from embryonic day 12 to 18, diminishing by birth.
- Tyrosine nitration correlated with elevated expression of eNOS and iNOS, which remained high even after nitrotyrosine disappeared.
- Nitration did not correlate with apoptosis or proliferation and was identified in key proteins like actin and myosin.
Conclusions:
- Reactive nitrogen species, evidenced by tyrosine nitration, are dynamically present during normal rat heart development.
- These findings challenge the notion that tyrosine nitration is solely a pathological marker, suggesting a potential physiological role in embryonic cardiac development.
