Effect of hepatocyte growth factor and angiotensin II on rat cardiomyocyte hypertrophy

Chen, Ai-Lan; Ou, Cai-Wen; He, Zhao-Chu; Liu, Qi-Cai; Dong, Qi; Chen, Min-Sheng

In the present study, we hypothesized that there may be crosstalk between Ang II and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) in cardiomyocyte hypertrophy. HGF is a paracrine cellular growth, motility, and morphogenic factor. It was initially isolated from fibroblasts and was shown to stimulate the motility of epithelial cells and to have a wide range of effects on many biological processes (15) . Specifically, HGF acts primarily on epithelial cells, endothelial cells, and hematopoietic progenitor cells (16) . It has been shown to have a major role in embryonic organ development, adult organ regeneration, and wound healing (16) . In recent years, the impact of HGF on the heart or cardiomyocytes has been gradually uncovered. HGF protects the heart from ischemic/reperfusion injury, attenuates cardiac remodeling, improves angiogenesis, and induces endothelial progenitor cell mobilization (16) . In our study, we first determined the effects of a single treatment of Ang II or HGF on cardiomyocytes and then examined whether the combined treatment of Ang II and HGF differed from each factor administered individually.