Rationale:: Epidemiological studies demonstrate a clear association of adverse intrauterine environment with an increased risk of ischemic heart disease in adulthood. Hypoxia is a common stress to the fetus and results in decreased protein kinase C epsilon (PKCε) expression in the heart and increased cardiac vulnerability to ischemia and reperfusion injury in adult offspring in rats. Objectives:: The present study tested the hypothesis that fetal hypoxia-induced methylation of cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotides at the PKCε promoter is repressive and contributes to PKCε gene repression in the heart of adult offspring. Methods and Results:: Hypoxic treatment of pregnant rats from days 15 to 21 of gestation resulted in significant decreases in PKCε protein and mRNA in fetal hearts. Similar results were obtained in ex vivo hypoxic treatment of isolated fetal hearts and rat embryonic ventricular myocyte cell line H9c2. Increased methylation of PKCε promoter at SP1 binding sites, −346 and −268, were demonstrated in both fetal hearts of maternal hypoxia and H9c2 cells treated with 1% O ₂ for 24 hours. Whereas hypoxia had no significant effect on the binding affinity of SP1 to the unmethylated sites in H9c2 cells, hearts of fetuses and adult offspring, methylation of both SP1 sites reduced SP1 binding. The addition of 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine blocked the hypoxia-induced increase in methylation of both SP1 binding sites and restored PKCε mRNA and protein to the control levels. In hearts of both fetuses and adult offspring, hypoxia-induced methylation of SP1 sites was significantly greater in males than in females, and decreased PKCε mRNA was seen only in males. In fetal hearts, there was significantly higher abundance of estrogen receptor α and β isoforms in females than in males. Both estrogen receptor α and β interacted with the SP1 binding sites in the fetal heart, which may explain the sex differences in SP1 methylation in the fetal heart. Additionally, selective activation of PKCε restored the hypoxia-induced cardiac vulnerability to ischemic injury in offspring. Conclusions:: The findings demonstrate a direct effect of hypoxia on epigenetic modification of DNA methylation and programming of cardiac PKCε gene repression in a sex-dependent manner, linking fetal hypoxia and pathophysiological consequences in the hearts of adult offspring.

The pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rampaged the world, with more than 58.4 million confirmed cases and over 1.38 million deaths across the world by 23 November 2020. There is an urgent need to identify effective drugs and vaccines to fight against the virus. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the family of coronaviruses consisting of four structural and 16 non-structural proteins (NSP). Three non-structural proteins, main protease (Mpro), papain-like protease (PLpro), and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp), are believed to have a crucial role in replication of the virus. We applied computational ligand-receptor binding modeling and performed comprehensive virtual screening on FDA-approved drugs against these three SARS-CoV-2 proteins using AutoDock Vina, Glide, and rDock. Our computational studies identified six novel ligands as potential inhibitors against SARS-CoV-2, including antiemetics rolapitant and ondansetron for Mpro; labetalol and levomefolic acid for PLpro; and leucal and antifungal natamycin for RdRp. Molecular dynamics simulation confirmed the stability of the ligand-protein complexes. The results of our analysis with some other suggested drugs indicated that chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine had high binding energy (low inhibitory effect) with all three proteins—Mpro, PLpro, and RdRp. In summary, our computational molecular docking approach and virtual screening identified some promising candidate SARS-CoV-2 inhibitors that may be considered for further clinical studies.

Epidemiological studies suggest that maternal cigarette smoking is associated with an increased risk of elevated blood pressure (BP) in postnatal life. The present study tested the hypothesis that prenatal nicotine exposure causes an increase in BP response to angiotensin II (Ang II) in adult offspring. Nicotine was administered to pregnant rats via subcutaneous osmotic minipumps throughout the gestation. BP and vascular responses to Ang II were measured in 5-month–old adult offspring. Prenatal nicotine had no effect on baseline BP but significantly increased Ang II–stimulated BP in male but not female offspring. The baroreflex sensitivity was significantly decreased in both male and female offspring. Prenatal nicotine significantly increased arterial media thickness in male but not female offspring. In male offspring, nicotine exposure significantly increased Ang II–induced contractions of aortas and mesenteric arteries. These responses were not affected by inhibition of endothelial NO synthase activity. Losartan blocked Ang II–induced contractions in both control and nicotine-treated animals. In contrast, PD123319 had no effect on Ang II–induced contractions in control but inhibited them in nicotine-treated animals. Nicotine significantly increased Ang II type 1 receptor but decreased Ang II type 2 receptor protein levels, resulting in a significant increase in the ratio of Ang II type 1 receptor/Ang II type 2 receptor in the aorta. Furthermore, the increased contractions of mesenteric arteries were mediated by increases in intracellular Ca²⁺concentrations and Ca²⁺sensitivity. These results suggest that prenatal nicotine exposure alters vascular function via changes in Ang II receptor–mediated signaling pathways in adult offspring in a gender-specific manner, which may lead to an increased risk of hypertension in male offspring.

The mechanisms of heart failure remain largely elusive. The present study determined a causative role of DNA methylation in norepinephrine-induced heart hypertrophy and reduced cardiac contractility. Male adult rats were subjected to norepinephrine infusion for 28 days, some of which were treated with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine for the last 6 days of norepinephrine treatment. At the end of the treatment, hearts were isolated and left ventricular morphology and function as well as molecular assessments was determined. Animals receiving chronic norepinephrine infusion showed a sustained increase in blood pressure, heightened global genomic DNA methylation and changes in the expression of subsets of proteins in the left ventricle, left ventricular hypertrophy, and impaired contractility with an increase in the susceptibility to ischaemic injury. Treatment of animals with 5-aza-2′-deoxycytidine for the last 6 days of norepinephrine infusion reversed norepinephrine-induced hypermethylation, corrected protein expression patterns, and rescued the phenotype of heart hypertrophy and failure. The findings provide novel evidence of a causative role of increased DNA methylation in programming of heart hypertrophy and reduced cardiac contractility, and suggest potential therapeutic targets of demethylation in the treatment of failing heart and ischaemic heart disease.

In the present study we tested the hypothesis that prenatal nicotine exposure increases heart susceptibility to ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in adult offspring. Nicotine was administered to pregnant rats via subcutaneous osmotic minipumps throughout gestation. Nicotine treatment resulted in a rapid and transient decrease in food-intake and a moderate decrease in maternal body weight gain. Hearts were isolated from adult male and female offspring and subjected to I/R in a Langendorff preparation. Nicotine significantly attenuated left ventricle (LV) developed pressure, heart rate, and coronary flow rate in female but not male hearts at baseline. Additionally, nicotine significantly increased LV infarct size and attenuated postischemic recovery of LV function in both male and female offspring with more pronounced effects in females. In female but not male hearts, nicotine significantly decreased the postischemic coronary flow rate. However, coronary nitric oxide release was decreased in male but not female hearts. Caspase-3, -8, and -9 levels were not significantly changed in either female or male hearts. However, nicotine caused a significant decrease in protein levels of protein kinase (PK) Cϵ in both male and female hearts and a decrease in PKCδ levels in female hearts only. Control studies of maternal food restriction showed that a moderate decrease in maternal body weight gain had no effect on female hearts but significantly improved postischemic recovery of LV function in male hearts. The results suggest that prenatal nicotine exposure causes in utero programming of the PKC isozyme gene expression pattern in the developing heart and increases heart susceptibility to I/R injury in adult offspring.

Preeclampsia is a life-threatening pregnancy disorder. However, its pathogenesis remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that gestational hypoxia induces preeclampsia-like symptoms via heightened endothelin-1 (ET-1) signaling. Time-dated pregnant and nonpregnant rats were divided into normoxic and hypoxic (10.5% O ₂ from the gestational day 6–21) groups. Chronic hypoxia had no significant effect on blood pressure or proteinuria in nonpregnant rats but significantly increased blood pressure on day 12 (systolic blood pressure, 111.7±6.1 versus 138.5±3.5 mm Hg; P =0.004) and day 20 (systolic blood pressure, 103.4±4.6 versus 125.1±6.1 mm Hg; P =0.02) in pregnant rats and urine protein (μg/μL)/creatinine (nmol/μL) ratio on day 20 (0.10±0.01 versus 0.20±0.04; P =0.04), as compared with the normoxic control group. This was accompanied with asymmetrical fetal growth restriction. Hypoxia resulted in impaired trophoblast invasion and uteroplacental vascular remodeling. In addition, plasma ET-1 levels, as well as the abundance of prepro–ET-1 mRNA, ET-1 type A receptor and angiotensin II type 1 receptor protein in the kidney and placenta were significantly increased in the chronic hypoxic group, as compared with the control animals. Treatment with the ET-1 type A receptor antagonist, BQ123, during the course of hypoxia exposure significantly attenuated the hypoxia-induced hypertension and other preeclampsia-like features. The results demonstrate that chronic hypoxia during gestation induces preeclamptic symptoms in pregnant rats via heightened ET-1 and ET-1 type A receptor–mediated signaling, providing a molecular mechanism linking gestational hypoxia and increased risk of preeclampsia.