Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice

Abstract Cell division cycle protein 42 (Cdc42) is a member of the Rho GTPase subfamily that serves as a signal mediating factor in cell cycle division, cytoskeleton arrangement, cell polarization, membrane trafficking and signal transduction. However, the role of Cdc42 in cardiac remodeling, includ...

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Main Authors: Ke Wen, Lin Xie, Quan-Wen Liu, Guan-Hui Yu, Xu-Hui Qiao, Yu-Chun Huang, Lu Wang, Xin Li, Li-Dan Wen, Xiao-Lei Wang, Jing He, Xin-Yu Xiao, Xiao-Xiao Zhao, Ling-Fang Wang, Hong-Bo Xin, Ke-Yu Deng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer 2025-07-01
Series:Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-025-05743-4
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author Ke Wen
Lin Xie
Quan-Wen Liu
Guan-Hui Yu
Xu-Hui Qiao
Yu-Chun Huang
Lu Wang
Xin Li
Li-Dan Wen
Xiao-Lei Wang
Jing He
Xin-Yu Xiao
Xiao-Xiao Zhao
Ling-Fang Wang
Hong-Bo Xin
Ke-Yu Deng
author_facet Ke Wen
Lin Xie
Quan-Wen Liu
Guan-Hui Yu
Xu-Hui Qiao
Yu-Chun Huang
Lu Wang
Xin Li
Li-Dan Wen
Xiao-Lei Wang
Jing He
Xin-Yu Xiao
Xiao-Xiao Zhao
Ling-Fang Wang
Hong-Bo Xin
Ke-Yu Deng
author_sort Ke Wen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Cell division cycle protein 42 (Cdc42) is a member of the Rho GTPase subfamily that serves as a signal mediating factor in cell cycle division, cytoskeleton arrangement, cell polarization, membrane trafficking and signal transduction. However, the role of Cdc42 in cardiac remodeling, including hypertrophy and fibrosis, remains controversial. This study aimed to clarify the role and underlying mechanism of Cdc42 in cardiac remodeling. Cardiac Cdc42 knockout (Cdc42 CKO ) mice were generated by crossing Cdc42 loxP/loxP mice with MLC2v-Cre mice. Mouse cardiac remodeling models were induced by subcutaneous administration of AngII (1500 ng/kg/min) for 7 days or transverse aortic constriction (TAC) for 2 or 8 weeks. Our results showed that cardiac Cdc42 deletion significantly suppressed AngII- or TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and improved cardiac function in mice. Cdc42 CKO or specific inhibition of Cdc42, markedly inhibited Ang II-mediated activation of the MKK3/6-p38 cascade in the heart and in isolated newborn/adult mouse cardiomyocytes or H9c2 cells. Furthermore, Cdc42 overexpression increased the surface area and hypertrophic gene expression in myocytes, whereas ML141 (a Cdc42 inhibitor) and SB203580 (a p38 inhibitor) specifically decreased p38 activation and hypertrophy in Cdc42-overexpressing or AngII-induced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes, indicating that p38 is a downstream effector of Cdc42 in cardiac hypertrophy. Taken together, our results demonstrated that Cdc42 is a key driver of cardiac remodeling via activation of the p38 signaling pathway. Graphical abstract
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spelling doaj-art-a820e2997d174e3d92bccb9cdca8d16a2025-08-20T04:01:25ZengSpringerCellular and Molecular Life Sciences1420-90712025-07-0182111610.1007/s00018-025-05743-4Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in miceKe Wen0Lin Xie1Quan-Wen Liu2Guan-Hui Yu3Xu-Hui Qiao4Yu-Chun Huang5Lu Wang6Xin Li7Li-Dan Wen8Xiao-Lei Wang9Jing He10Xin-Yu Xiao11Xiao-Xiao Zhao12Ling-Fang Wang13Hong-Bo Xin14Ke-Yu Deng15The National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityThe National Engineering Research Center for Bioengineering Drugs and the Technologies, Institute of Translational Medicine, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang UniversityAbstract Cell division cycle protein 42 (Cdc42) is a member of the Rho GTPase subfamily that serves as a signal mediating factor in cell cycle division, cytoskeleton arrangement, cell polarization, membrane trafficking and signal transduction. However, the role of Cdc42 in cardiac remodeling, including hypertrophy and fibrosis, remains controversial. This study aimed to clarify the role and underlying mechanism of Cdc42 in cardiac remodeling. Cardiac Cdc42 knockout (Cdc42 CKO ) mice were generated by crossing Cdc42 loxP/loxP mice with MLC2v-Cre mice. Mouse cardiac remodeling models were induced by subcutaneous administration of AngII (1500 ng/kg/min) for 7 days or transverse aortic constriction (TAC) for 2 or 8 weeks. Our results showed that cardiac Cdc42 deletion significantly suppressed AngII- or TAC-induced cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis and improved cardiac function in mice. Cdc42 CKO or specific inhibition of Cdc42, markedly inhibited Ang II-mediated activation of the MKK3/6-p38 cascade in the heart and in isolated newborn/adult mouse cardiomyocytes or H9c2 cells. Furthermore, Cdc42 overexpression increased the surface area and hypertrophic gene expression in myocytes, whereas ML141 (a Cdc42 inhibitor) and SB203580 (a p38 inhibitor) specifically decreased p38 activation and hypertrophy in Cdc42-overexpressing or AngII-induced hypertrophic cardiomyocytes, indicating that p38 is a downstream effector of Cdc42 in cardiac hypertrophy. Taken together, our results demonstrated that Cdc42 is a key driver of cardiac remodeling via activation of the p38 signaling pathway. Graphical abstracthttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-025-05743-4Cardiac functionCardiomyocyte hypertrophyApoptosisInflammation
spellingShingle Ke Wen
Lin Xie
Quan-Wen Liu
Guan-Hui Yu
Xu-Hui Qiao
Yu-Chun Huang
Lu Wang
Xin Li
Li-Dan Wen
Xiao-Lei Wang
Jing He
Xin-Yu Xiao
Xiao-Xiao Zhao
Ling-Fang Wang
Hong-Bo Xin
Ke-Yu Deng
Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences
Cardiac function
Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy
Apoptosis
Inflammation
title Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
title_full Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
title_fullStr Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
title_full_unstemmed Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
title_short Cell division cycle protein 42-driven activation of the MKK3/6-p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
title_sort cell division cycle protein 42 driven activation of the mkk3 6 p38 signaling pathway participates in cardiac remodeling in mice
topic Cardiac function
Cardiomyocyte hypertrophy
Apoptosis
Inflammation
url https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-025-05743-4
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