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Novel Dual-Fluorescent Mitophagy Reporter Reveals a Reduced Mitophagy Flux in Type 1 Diabetic Mouse Heart
Context:
Patients with diabetes are susceptible to heart failure. Defective mitochondria can cause cardiac damage. Mitochondrial autophagy or mitophagy is a quality control mechanism that eliminates dysfunctional mitochondria through lysosome degradation. Mitophagy is essential for maintaining a pool of healthy mitochondria for normal cardiac function. However, the effect of diabetes on the functional status of cardiac mitophagy remains unclear.
Objective:
To determine and compare cardiac mitophagy flux between diabetic and nondiabetic mice.
Methods:
Using a novel dual fluorescent mitophagy reporter termed mt-Rosella, we labeled and traced mitochondrial fragments that are sequestered by the autophagosome and delivered to and degraded in the lysosome.
Results:
Mitophagic activity was reduced in high-glucose-treated cardiomyocytes and in the heart tissue of type 1 diabetic mice.
Conclusions:
Mitophagy was impaired in the heart of diabetic mice, suggesting that restoring or accelerating mitophagy flux may be a useful strategy to reduce cardiac injury caused by diabetes.
