Role of uncoupling protein 3 in ischemia-reperfusion injury, arrhythmias, and preconditioning

Overexpression of mitochondrial uncoupling proteins (UCPs) attenuates ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) injury in cultured cardiomyocytes. However, it is not known whether UCPs play an essential role in cardioprotection in the intact heart. This study evaluated the cardioprotective efficacy of UCPs against I/R injury and characterized the mechanism of UCP-mediated protection in addition to the role of UCPs in ischemic preconditioning (IPC). Cardiac UCP3 knockout (UCP3−/−) and wild-type (WT) mice hearts were subjected to ex vivo and in vivo models of I/R injury and IPC. Isolated UCP3−/−mouse hearts were retrogradely perfused and found to have poorer recovery of left ventricular function compared with WT hearts under I/R conditions. In vivo occlusion of the left coronary artery resulted in twofold larger infarcts in UCP3−/−mice compared with WT mice. Moreover, the incidence of in vivo I/R arrhythmias was higher in UCP3−/−mice. Myocardial energetics were significantly impaired with I/R, as reflected by a decreased ATP content and an increase in the AMP-to-ATP ratio. UCP3−/−hearts generated more reactive oxygen species (ROS) than WT hearts during I/R. Pretreatment of UCP3−/−hearts with the pharmacological uncoupling agent carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoromethoxy)phenylhydrazone improved postischemic functional recovery. Also the protective efficacy of IPC was abolished in UCP3−/−mice. We conclude that UCP3 plays a critical role in cardioprotection against I/R injury and the IPC phenomenon. There is increased myocardial vulnerability to I/R injury in hearts lacking UCP3. The mechanisms of UCP3-mediated cardioprotection include regulation of myocardial energetics and ROS generation by UCP3 during I/R.