Piezo1 is the cardiac mechanosensor that initiates the cardiomyocyte hypertrophic response to pressure overload in adult mice

Abstract Pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy is a maladaptive response with poor outcomes and limited treatment options. The transient receptor potential melastatin 4 (TRPM4) ion channel is key to activation of a Ca 2+ /calmodulin-dependent kinase II (CaMKII)-reliant hypertrophic signaling pathway after pressure overload, but TRPM4 is neither stretch-activated nor Ca 2+ -permeable. Here we show that Piezo1, which is both stretch-activated and Ca 2+ -permeable, is the mechanosensor that transduces increased myocardial forces into the chemical signal that initiates hypertrophic signaling via a close physical interaction with TRPM4. Cardiomyocyte-specific deletion of Piezo1 in adult mice prevented activation of CaMKII and inhibited the hypertrophic response: residual hypertrophy was associated with calcineurin activation in the absence of its usual inhibition by activated CaMKII. Piezo1 deletion prevented upregulation of the sodium–calcium exchanger and changes in other Ca 2+ handling proteins after pressure overload. These findings establish Piezo1 as the cardiomyocyte mechanosensor that instigates the maladaptive hypertrophic response to pressure overload, and as a potential therapeutic target.