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Cardiac gene therapy treats diabetic cardiomyopathy and lowers blood glucose
Jing Li, Bradley Richmond, Ahmad A. Cluntun, Ryan Bia, Maureen A. Walsh, Kikuyo Shaw, J. David Symons, Sarah Franklin, Jared Rutter, Katsuhiko Funai, Robin M. Shaw, TingTing Hong
Jing Li, Bradley Richmond, Ahmad A. Cluntun, Ryan Bia, Maureen A. Walsh, Kikuyo Shaw, J. David Symons, Sarah Franklin, Jared Rutter, Katsuhiko Funai, Robin M. Shaw, TingTing Hong
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Research Article Cardiology Cell biology

Cardiac gene therapy treats diabetic cardiomyopathy and lowers blood glucose

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Abstract

Diabetic cardiomyopathy, an increasingly global epidemic and a major cause of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), is associated with hyperglycemia, insulin resistance, and intracardiomyocyte calcium mishandling. Here we identify that, in db/db mice with type 2 diabetes–induced HFpEF, abnormal remodeling of cardiomyocyte transverse-tubule microdomains occurs with downregulation of the membrane scaffolding protein cardiac bridging integrator 1 (cBIN1). Transduction of cBIN1 by AAV9 gene therapy can restore transverse-tubule microdomains to normalize intracellular distribution of calcium-handling proteins and, surprisingly, glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4). Cardiac proteomics revealed that AAV9-cBIN1 normalized components of calcium handling and GLUT4 translocation machineries. Functional studies further identified that AAV9-cBIN1 normalized insulin-dependent glucose uptake in diabetic cardiomyocytes. Phenotypically, AAV9-cBIN1 rescued cardiac lusitropy, improved exercise intolerance, and ameliorated hyperglycemia in diabetic mice. Restoration of transverse-tubule microdomains can improve cardiac function in the setting of diabetic cardiomyopathy and can also improve systemic glycemic control.

Authors

Jing Li, Bradley Richmond, Ahmad A. Cluntun, Ryan Bia, Maureen A. Walsh, Kikuyo Shaw, J. David Symons, Sarah Franklin, Jared Rutter, Katsuhiko Funai, Robin M. Shaw, TingTing Hong

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Figure 6

Exogenous cBIN1 rescues diastolic heart failure in diabetic mice.

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Exogenous cBIN1 rescues diastolic heart failure in diabetic mice.
(A) Re...
(A) Representative images of longitudinal axis view of left ventricles at end diastolic (top) and systolic (bottom) phases in posttreatment mice (17 weeks of age). Quantification of end-diastolic volume (EDV), cardiac output (CO), and ejection fraction (EF) from each group are included in the bar graphs below (n = 12–17). (B) Representative images of mitral valve inflow pulsed wave Doppler (top) and septal mitral valve annulus tissue Doppler (bottom) in posttreatment mice. Quantification of E/A, E/e’, and isovolumic relaxation time (IVRT) from each group are included in the bar graphs below (n = 11–17). (C and D) The ratio of heart weight (C) and lung weight (D) over tibial length after treatment (n = 13–17). All data are presented as mean ± SEM. One-way ANOVA followed by Bonferroni’s test or Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn’s test was used for comparison between selected pairs. *, **, *** indicates P < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, respectively, for comparison versus db/m + GFP; †, ††, ††† indicates P < 0.05, 0.01, 0.001, respectively, for comparison between db/db + GFP and db/db + cBIN1.

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