Difference in the response to angiotensin II between left and right ventricular endocardial endothelial cells

Abstract

Previous studies focused on the right ventricular endocardial endothelial cells (EECRs) and showed that angiotensin II (Ang II) induced increase in cytosolic and nuclear calcium via AT1 receptor activation. In the present study, we verified whether the response of left EECs (EECLs) to Ang II is different than that of EECRs. Our results showed that the EC50 of the Ang II-induced increase of cytosolic and nuclear calcium in EECLs was 10× higher (around 2 × 10−13 mol/L) than in EECRs (around 8 × 10−12 mol/L). The densities of both AT1 and AT2 receptors were also higher in EECLs than those previously reported in EECRs. The effect of Ang II was mediated in both cell types via the activation of AT1 receptors. Treatment with Ang II induced a significant increase of cytosolic and nuclear AT1 receptors in EECRs, whereas the opposite was found in EECLs. In both cell types, there was a transient increase of cytosolic and nuclear AT2 receptors following the Ang II treatment. In conclusion, our results showed that both AT1 and AT2 receptors densities are higher in both EECLs compared to what was reported in EECRs. The higher density of AT1 receptors in EECLs compared to REECs may explain, in part, the higher sensitivity of EECLs to Ang II.