Developmental SHP2 dysfunction underlies cardiac hypertrophy in Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines

J Clin Invest. 2016 Aug 1;126(8):2989-3005. doi: 10.1172/JCI80396. Epub 2016 Jun 27.

Abstract

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a common cause of mortality in congenital heart disease (CHD). Many gene abnormalities are associated with cardiac hypertrophy, but their function in cardiac development is not well understood. Loss-of-function mutations in PTPN11, which encodes the protein tyrosine phosphatase (PTP) SHP2, are implicated in CHD and cause Noonan syndrome with multiple lentigines (NSML), a condition that often presents with cardiac hypertrophic defects. Here, we found that NSML-associated hypertrophy stems from aberrant signaling mechanisms originating in developing endocardium. Trabeculation and valvular hyperplasia were diminished in hearts of embryonic mice expressing a human NSML-associated variant of SHP2, and these defects were recapitulated in mice expressing NSML-associated SHP2 specifically in endothelial, but not myocardial or neural crest, cells. In contrast, mice with myocardial- but not endothelial-specific NSML SHP2 expression developed ventricular septal defects, suggesting that NSML-associated mutations have both cell-autonomous and nonautonomous functions in cardiac development. However, only endothelial-specific expression of NSML-associated SHP2 induced adult-onset cardiac hypertrophy. Further, embryos expressing the NSML-associated SHP2 mutation exhibited aberrant AKT activity and decreased downstream forkhead box P1 (FOXP1)/FGF and NOTCH1/EPHB2 signaling, indicating that SHP2 is required for regulating reciprocal crosstalk between developing endocardium and myocardium. Together, our data provide functional and disease-based evidence that aberrant SHP2 signaling during cardiac development leads to CHD and adult-onset heart hypertrophy.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis
  • Cardiomegaly / metabolism*
  • Cell Lineage
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Endocardium / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Expression Regulation*
  • Heterozygote
  • Homozygote
  • Lentigo / metabolism*
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mutation
  • Myocardium / metabolism
  • Myocytes, Cardiac / metabolism
  • Noonan Syndrome / metabolism*
  • Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11 / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction

Substances

  • Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 11
  • Ptpn11 protein, mouse