Effect of cardiac SRPK3 overexpression in adult mice

Pathological cardiac hypertrophy is unequivocally identified as an ominous escalation of hemodynamically stressful overload, ultimately heighten risk of sudden death as heart failure (HF) ensues. Here, we explored how dysregulated mitochondrial RNA (mtRNA) metabolism remodels mitochondrial bioenergetics and controls hypertrophic-phenotype cardiopathy in mice and humans. Utilizing targeted genetic approaches and in vivo functional imaging, we describe a potent cardiac pro-hypertrophic role for serine arginine protein kinase 3 (SRPK3), which is highly induced in myocardium upon hypertrophic stimuli. Adult extended expression of SRPK3 in cardiomyocytes (CMs) leads to spontaneously concentric hypertrophy and eventuates sudden cardiac death in mice. To clarify the specific mechanisms by which SRPK3 regulates cardiac hypertrophy, we generated cardiac Srpk3 transgenic (Srpk3-cTg) mouse.