ABSTRACT
DNA damage and mitochondrial dysfunction are defining characteristics of aged vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) found in atherosclerosis. Pink1 kinase regulates mitochondrial homeostasis and recycles dysfunctional organelles critical for maintaining energetic homeostasis. Here, we generated a new vascular-specific Pink1 knockout and assessed its effect on VSMC-dependent atherogenesis in vivo and VSMC energetic metabolism in vitro. A smooth muscle cell-specific and MHC-Cre-inducible flox'd Pink1f/f kinase knockout was made on a ROSA26+/0 and ApoE-/- C57Blk6/J background. Mice were high fat fed for 10 weeks and vasculature assessed for physiological and pathogical changes. Mitochondrial respiratory activity was then assessed in wild-type and knockout animals vessels and isolated cells for their reliance on oxidative and glycolytic metabolism. During atherogenesis, we find that Pink1 knockout affects development of plaque quality rather than plaque quantity by decreasing VSMC and extracellular matrix components, collagen and elastin. Pink1 protein is important in the wild-type VSMC response to metabolic stress and induced a compensatory increase in hexokinase II, which catalyses the first irreversible step in glycolysis. Pink1 appears to play an important role in VSMC energetics during atherogenesis but may also provide insight into the understanding of mitochondrial energetics in other diseases where the regulation of energetic switching between oxidative and glycolytic metabolism is found to be important.
Subject(s)
Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/metabolism , Protein Kinases/metabolism , Animals , Atherosclerosis/metabolism , Atherosclerosis/physiopathology , DNA Damage/genetics , DNA Damage/physiology , Glycolysis/genetics , Glycolysis/physiology , Mice , Mice, Knockout , Microdissection , Muscle, Smooth, Vascular/cytology , Myocytes, Smooth Muscle , Oxidative Stress/genetics , Oxidative Stress/physiology , Phosphorylation/genetics , Phosphorylation/physiology , Protein Kinases/genetics , Signal Transduction/genetics , Signal Transduction/physiologyABSTRACT
Prediabetes is an important risk factor for Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular complications, such as myocardial infarction. However, few studies explore female sex in this context. Here, we aim to investigate the effects of high-fat high-sucrose diet on cardiac parameters and sensitivity to ischemia-reperfusion injury of female Wistar rats. Female Wistar rats received for 5 months normal diet (CTRL group) or high-fat high-sucrose diet (HFS group). Every month, MRI was performed to follow myocardial morphology, function and perfusion; cardiac and hepatic triglyceride content; and amount of sub-cutaneous and visceral adipose tissues. Then, ex vivo experiments were performed on isolated perfused hearts to evaluate tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion, with simultaneous measurement of energy metabolism by 31P MRS and contractile function. Coronary flow was measured before and after ischemia. At the end of the experiments, hearts were freeze-clamped for biochemical assays. Five months of high-fat high-sucrose diet induced a prediabetic condition in female Wistar rats, associated with an increase in myocardial perfusion, systolic and diastolic wall thickness. HFS rats also exhibited higher sensitivity to ischemia-reperfusion injury in comparison to controls, characterized by impaired cardiac function, energy metabolism and endothelial function. Biochemical analyses in hearts highlighted eNOS uncoupling, higher malondialdehyde level and lower S-Glutathionylation of proteins in HFS rats, indicating higher oxidative stress. Prediabetes induced by energy-dense diet was associated with modification of cardiac morphology and higher myocardial sensitivity to ischemia-reperfusion injury. These results may be related to the high risk of cardiovascular complications among Type 2 diabetic women.
