The hormone aldosterone can damage the heart after myocardial infarction, such that drugs that inhibit its action are often prescribed. B. Julie He et al. now uncover a new pathway underlying the detrimental effects of aldosterone action: oxidation of the enzyme Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II leads to its activation and increased expression of the metalloprotease MMP9 in cardiac muscle cells, thereby promoting cardiac rupture.
- B Julie He
- Mei-ling A Joiner
- Mark E Anderson
