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Aim: Under hypobaric hypoxia (HH), the heart triggers various defense mechanisms including metabolic remodeling against lack of oxygen. Mitofusin 2 (MFN2), located at the mitochondrial outer membrane, is closely involved in the regulation of mitochondrial fusion and cell metabolism. To date, however, the role of MFN2 in cardiac response to HH has not been explored. Methods: Loss‐ and gain‐of‐function approaches were used to investigate the role of MFN2 in cardiac response to HH. In vitro, the function of MFN2 in the contraction of primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes under hypoxia was examined. Non‐targeted metabolomics and mitochondrial respiration analyses, as well as functional experiments were performed to explore underlying molecular mechanisms. Results: Our data demonstrated that, following 4 weeks of HH, cardiac‐specific MFN2 knockout (MFN2 cKO) mice exhibited significantly better cardiac function than control mice. Moreover, restoring the expression of MFN2 clearly inhibited the cardiac response to HH in MFN2 cKO mice. Importantly, MFN2 knockout significantly improved cardiac metabolic reprogramming during HH, resulting in reduced capacity for fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and oxidative phosphorylation, and increased glycolysis and ATP production. In vitro data showed that down‐regulation of MFN2 promoted cardiomyocyte contractility under hypoxia. Interestingly, increased FAO through palmitate treatment decreased contractility of cardiomyocyte with MFN2 knockdown under hypoxia. Furthermore, treatment with mdivi‐1, an inhibitor of mitochondrial fission, disrupted HH‐induced metabolic reprogramming and subsequently promoted cardiac dysfunction in MFN2‐knockout hearts. Conclusion: Our findings provide the first evidence that down‐regulation of MFN2 preserves cardiac function in chronic HH by promoting cardiac metabolic reprogramming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a major cause of mortality in patients with diabetes, but specific strategies for preventing or treating diabetic cardiomyopathy have not been clarified yet. MICU1 is a key regulator of mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake, which plays important roles in regulating mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance. To date, however, the significance of MICU1 in diabetic hearts has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate that MICU1 was downregulated in db/db mouse hearts, which contributes to myocardial apoptosis in diabetes. Importantly, the reconstitution of MICU1 in diabetic hearts significantly inhibited the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, as evidenced by enhanced cardiac function and reduced cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis in db/db mice. Moreover, our in vitro data show that the reconstitution of MICU1 inhibited the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, induced by high glucose and high fat, through increasing mitochondrial Ca2+ uptake and subsequently activating the antioxidant system. Finally, our results indicate that hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia induced the downregulation of MICU1 by inhibiting Sp1 expression in diabetic cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our findings provide the first direct evidence that upregulated MICU1 preserves cardiac function in diabetic db/db mice, suggesting that increasing the expression or activity of MICU1 may be a pharmacological approach to ameliorate cardiomyopathy in diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Arctic fox ( Vulpes lagopus ) is a species indigenous to the Arctic and has developed unique lipid metabolism, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Here, the significantly increased body weight of Arctic foxes was consistent with the significantly increased serum very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL), and the 40% crude fat diet further increased the Arctic fox body weight. The enhanced body weight gain stems primarily from increased subcutaneous adipose tissue accumulation. The adipose triacylglycerol and phosphatidylethanolamine were significantly greater in Arctic foxes. The adipose fatty-acid synthase content was significantly lower in Arctic foxes, highlighting the main role of exogenous fatty-acids in fat accumulation. Considering the same diet, liver-derived fat dominates adipose expansion in Arctic foxes. Liver transcriptome analysis revealed greater fat and VLDL synthesis in Arctic foxes, consistent with the greater VLDL. Glucose homeostasis wasn't impacted in Arctic foxes. And the free fatty-acids in adipose, which promote insulin resistance, also did not differ between groups. However, the hepatic glycogen was greater in Arctic foxes and transcriptome analysis revealed upregulated glycogen synthesis, improving glucose homeostasis. These results suggest that the superior fat accumulation capacity and distinct characteristics of hepatic and adipose lipid and glucose metabolism facilitate glucose homeostasis and massive fat accumulation in Arctic foxes., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Zhu, Yuan, Si, Li, Zhao, Mu, Lin, Wang, Qiu, Xu, Ji and Li.)

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a major cause of mortality in patients with diabetes, but specific strategies for preventing or treating diabetic cardiomyopathy have not been clarified yet. MICU1 is a key regulator of mitochondrial Ca 2+ uptake, which plays important roles in regulating mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation and redox balance. To date, however, the significance of MICU1 in diabetic hearts has not been investigated. Here, we demonstrate that MICU1 was downregulated in db/db mouse hearts, which contributes to myocardial apoptosis in diabetes. Importantly, the reconstitution of MICU1 in diabetic hearts significantly inhibited the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy, as evidenced by enhanced cardiac function and reduced cardiac hypertrophy and myocardial fibrosis in db/db mice. Moreover, our in vitro data show that the reconstitution of MICU1 inhibited the apoptosis of cardiomyocytes, induced by high glucose and high fat, through increasing mitochondrial Ca 2+ uptake and subsequently activating the antioxidant system. Finally, our results indicate that hyperglycemia and hyperlipidemia induced the downregulation of MICU1 by inhibiting Sp1 expression in diabetic cardiomyocytes. Collectively, our findings provide the first direct evidence that upregulated MICU1 preserves cardiac function in diabetic db/db mice, suggesting that increasing the expression or activity of MICU1 may be a pharmacological approach to ameliorate cardiomyopathy in diabetes., (© 2017 by the American Diabetes Association.)

Diabetes mellitus increases morbidity/mortality of ischemic heart disease. Although atrial natriuretic peptide and C-type natriuretic peptide reduce the myocardial ischemia-reperfusion damage in nondiabetic rats, whether vasonatrin peptide (VNP), the artificial synthetic chimera of atrial natriuretic peptide and C-type natriuretic peptide, confers cardioprotective effects against ischemia-reperfusion injury, especially in diabetic patients, is still unclear. This study was designed to investigate the effects of VNP on ischemia-reperfusion injury in diabetic rats and to further elucidate its mechanisms. The high-fat diet-fed streptozotocin-induced diabetic Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to ischemia-reperfusion operation. VNP treatment (100 μg/kg iv, 10 min before reperfusion) significantly improved the instantaneous first derivation of left ventricle pressure (±LV dP/dtmax) and LV systolic pressure and reduced LV end-diastolic pressure, apoptosis index, caspase-3 activity, plasma creatine kinase (CK), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities. Moreover, VNP inhibited endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress by suppressing glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). These effects were mimicked by 8-bromine-cyclic guanosinemonophosphate (8-Br-cGMP), a cGMP analog, whereas they were inhibited by KT-5823, the selective inhibitor of PKG. In addition, pretreatment with tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a specific inhibitor of ER stress, could not further promote the VNP's cardioprotective effect in diabetic rats. In vitro H9c2 cardiomyocytes were subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation and incubated with or without VNP (10(-8) mol/l). Gene knockdown of PKG1α with siRNA blunted VNP inhibition of ER stress and apoptosis, while overexpression of PKG1α resulted in significant decreased ER stress and apoptosis. VNP protects the diabetic heart against ischemia-reperfusion injury by inhibiting ER stress via the cGMP-PKG signaling pathway. These results suggest that VNP may have potential therapeutic value for the diabetic patients with ischemic heart disease., (Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.)