J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2024 Feb;pii: S0022-2828(23)00197-9. [Epub ahead of print]187 101-117
Peyton B Sandroni,
Melissa A Schroder,
Hunter T Hawkins,
Julian D Bailon,
Wei Huang,
James T Hagen,
McLane Montgomery,
Seok J Hong,
Andrew L Chin,
Jiandong Zhang,
Manoj C Rodrigo,
Boa Kim,
Paul C Simpson,
Jonathan C Schisler,
Jessica M Ellis,
Kelsey H Fisher-Wellman,
Brian C Jensen.
AIMS: The sympathetic nervous system regulates numerous critical aspects of mitochondrial function in the heart through activation of adrenergic receptors (ARs) on cardiomyocytes. Mounting evidence suggests that α1-ARs, particularly the α1A subtype, are cardioprotective and may mitigate the deleterious effects of chronic β-AR activation by shared ligands. The mechanisms underlying these adaptive effects remain unclear. Here, we tested the hypothesis that α1A-ARs adaptively regulate cardiomyocyte oxidative metabolism in both the uninjured and infarcted heart.METHODS: We used high resolution respirometry, fatty acid oxidation (FAO) enzyme assays, substrate-specific electron transport chain (ETC) enzyme assays, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and proteomics to characterize mitochondrial function comprehensively in the uninjured hearts of wild type and α1A-AR knockout mice and defined the effects of chronic β-AR activation and myocardial infarction on selected mitochondrial functions.
RESULTS: We found that isolated cardiac mitochondria from α1A-KO mice had deficits in fatty acid-dependent respiration, FAO, and ETC enzyme activity. TEM revealed abnormalities of mitochondrial morphology characteristic of these functional deficits. The selective α1A-AR agonist A61603 enhanced fatty-acid dependent respiration, fatty acid oxidation, and ETC enzyme activity in isolated cardiac mitochondria. The β-AR agonist isoproterenol enhanced oxidative stress in vitro and this adverse effect was mitigated by A61603. A61603 enhanced ETC Complex I activity and protected contractile function following myocardial infarction.
CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these novel findings position α1A-ARs as critical regulators of cardiomyocyte metabolism in the basal state and suggest that metabolic mechanisms may underlie the protective effects of α1A-AR activation in the failing heart.
Keywords: Adrenergic; Alpha; Basal metabolism; Heart; Lipid metabolism; Mitochondria; Oxidative phosphorylation; Receptors