Insulin upregulates GRIM-19 and protects cardiac mitochondrial morphology in type 1 diabetic rats partly through PI3K/AKT signaling pathway

Metformin suppresses cardiac fibroblast proliferation under high-glucose conditions via regulating the mitochondrial complex I protein Grim-19 involved in the Sirt1/Stat3 signaling pathway

Hyperglycemia associated with myocardial oxidative stress and fibrosis is the main cause of diabetic cardiomyopathy. Currently, no approved drug is available for preventing or treating diabetes-induced cardiac fibrosis. Metformin has been reported to improve glycemic control and ameliorate diabetic cardiomyopathy. This study aimed to investigate the effects and mechanism of metformin on diabetes-induced cardiac fibrosis and high glucose-induced proliferation of cardiac fibroblasts (CFs). In this study, db/db mice were treated with metformin [250 mg/kg⋅d, gavage]. CFs were cultured in high-glucose medium to mimic an in vitro diabetes model and then subjected to treatment with or without metformin. Cardiac fibrosis was analyzed using immunohistochemistry, Masson's trichrome staining, and Western blot analysis. Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assays and cell colony formation assays were used to examine cell proliferation capacity. Transwell and scratch-wound assays were used to detect the migration ability of CFs. Retinoid-interferon-induced mortality-19 (Grim-19), sirtuin1 (Sirt1), and signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) were detected using Western blot analysis. The genes downstream of the Stat3 pathway were detected using quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT‒PCR). Metformin treatment markedly attenuated cardiac fibrosis in db/db mice and the proliferation and migration of CFs under high-glucose conditions. Mechanistically, we found an intersection between metformin and Grim-19 using bioinformatics. Metformin was found to suppress the expression of p-Stat3 and elevate the expression of mitochondrial complex I protein Grim-19 and Sirt1, thus inhibiting the proliferation and migration of CFs under high-glucose conditions. Our data suggested that metformin inhibited the proliferation and migration of CFs by regulating the expression of mitochondrial complex I Grim-19 protein involved in the Sirt1/Stat3 signaling pathway under high-glucose conditions, thus providing new ideas for treating diabetes-induced cardiac fibrosis.

Effects of altered cellular ultrastructure on energy metabolism in diabetic cardiomyopathy: an in silico study

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of heart failure in diabetes. At the cellular level, diabetic cardiomyopathy leads to altered mitochondrial energy metabolism and cardiomyocyte ultrastructure. We combined electron microscopy (EM) and computational modelling to understand the impact of diabetes-induced ultrastructural changes on cardiac bioenergetics. We collected transverse micrographs of multiple control and type I diabetic rat cardiomyocytes using EM. Micrographs were converted to finite-element meshes, and bioenergetics was simulated over them using a biophysical model. The simulations also incorporated depressed mitochondrial capacity for oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and creatine kinase (CK) reactions to simulate diabetes-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Analysis of micrographs revealed a 14% decline in mitochondrial area fraction in diabetic cardiomyocytes, and an irregular arrangement of mitochondria and myofibrils. Simulations predicted that this irregular arrangement, coupled with the depressed activity of mitochondrial CK enzymes, leads to large spatial variation in adenosine diphosphate (ADP)/adenosine triphosphate (ATP) ratio profile of diabetic cardiomyocytes. However, when spatially averaged, myofibrillar ADP/ATP ratios of a cardiomyocyte do not change with diabetes. Instead, average concentration of inorganic phosphate rises by 40% owing to lower mitochondrial area fraction and dysfunction in OXPHOS. These simulations indicate that a disorganized cellular ultrastructure negatively impacts metabolite transport in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The cardiomyocyte: new revelations on the interplay between architecture and function in growth, health, and disease’.

Recombinant human glucagon-like peptide-1 protects against chronic intermittent hypoxia by improving myocardial energy metabolism and mitochondrial biogenesis

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome is a chronic disease associated with intermittent hypoxia (IH) and is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Glucagon-like peptide (GLP-1) is a naturally occurring incretin used as a promising therapeutic agent in the treatment of acute myocardial infarction, dilated cardiomyopathy, and advanced heart failure. However, whether GLP-1 can protect against IH-induced cardiac injury is still unclear. Accordingly, in this study, we evaluated the effects of recombinant human GLP-1 (rhGLP-1) on cardiac health in mice.

METHODS

Mice were subjected to repetitive 5% O₂ for 30 s and 21% O₂ for 30 s, for a total of 8 h/day for 4 weeks. Subsequently, mice received subcutaneous injection of saline or rhGLP-1 (100 μg/kg, three times per day). Cardiac function, myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis, energy metabolism, and mitochondrial biogenesis were examined for evaluation of cardiac injury.

RESULTS

A reduction in diastolic function (E/A ratio) in mice exposed to IH was significantly reversed by rhGLP-1. IH induced marked cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial fibrosis. Additionally, IH resulted in a shift from fatty acid to glucose metabolism in the myocardium with downregulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) α and PPARγ. Moreover, IH caused a reduction in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication and transcription, together with reduced mtDNA content and impaired mitochondrial ultrastructure. These changes were abolished by rhGLP-1 via activation of PGC-1α and Akt signaling.

CONCLUSIONS

rhGLP-1 protects against IH-induced cardiac injury by improving myocardial energy metabolism and enhancing the early adaptive changes of mitochondrial biogenesis.