Heterogeneous ventricular sympathetic innervation, altered β-adrenergic receptor expression, and rhythm instability in mice lacking the p75 neurotrophin receptor

Abstract

Sympathetic nerves stimulate cardiac function through the release of norepinephrine and the activation of cardiac β1-adrenergic receptors. The sympathetic innervation of the heart is sculpted during development by chemoattractive factors including nerve growth factor (NGF) and the chemorepulsive factor semaphorin 3a. NGF acts through the TrkA receptor and the p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) in sympathetic neurons. NGF stimulates sympathetic axon extension into the heart through TrkA, but p75NTRmodulates multiple coreceptors that can either stimulate or inhibit axon outgrowth. In mice lacking p75NTR, the sympathetic innervation density in target tissues ranges from denervation to hyperinnervation. Recent studies have revealed significant changes in the sympathetic innervation density of p75NTR-deficient (p75NTR−/−) atria between early postnatal development and adulthood. We examined the innervation of adult p75NTR−/−ventricles and discovered that the subendocardium of the p75NTR−/−left ventricle was essentially devoid of sympathetic nerve fibers, whereas the innervation density of the subepicardium was normal. This phenotype is similar to that seen in mice overexpressing semaphorin 3a, and we found that sympathetic axons lacking p75NTRare more sensitive to semaphorin 3a in vitro than control neurons. The lack of subendocardial innervation was associated with decreased dP/d t, altered cardiac β1-adrenergic receptor expression and sensitivity, and a significant increase in spontaneous ventricular arrhythmias. The lack of p75NTRalso resulted in increased tyrosine hydroxylase content in cardiac sympathetic neurons and elevated norepinephrine in the right ventricle, where innervation density was normal.