Syntaxin17 contributes to obesity cardiomyopathy through promoting mitochondrial Ca²⁺ overload in a...

Uncorrected obesity is accompanied by unfavorable structural and functional changes in the heart, known as obesity cardiomyopathy. Recent evidence has revealed a crucial role for mitochondria-associated endoplasmic reticulum membranes (MAMs) in obesity-induced cardiac complication. Syntaxin 17 (STX17) serves as a scaffolding molecule localized on MAMs although its role in obesity heart complication remains elusive.

This study examined the role of STX17 in MAMs and mitochondrial Ca²⁺ homeostasis in HFD-induced obesity cardiomyopathy using tamoxifen-induced cardiac-specific STX17 knockout (STX17^cko) and STX17 overexpression mice using intravenously delivered recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype-9 (AAV9-cTNT-STX17).

STX17 levels were significantly elevated in plasma from obese patients and heart tissues of HFD-fed mice. Our data revealed that cardiac STX17 knockout alleviated cardiac remodeling and dysfunction in obese hearts without eliciting any notable effect itself, while STX17 overexpression aggravated cardiac dysfunction in obese mice. STX17 deletion and STX17 overexpression annihilated and aggravated, respectively, HFD-induced oxidative stress (O₂^- production) and mitochondrial injury in the heart. Furthermore, STX17 transfection facilitated obesity-induced MAMs formation in cardiomyocytes and evoked excess mitochondrial Ca²⁺ influx, dependent upon interaction with mitochondrial Ca²⁺ uniporter dominant negative β (MCUb) through Habc domain. Our data also suggested that STX17 promoted ubiquitination and degradation of MCUb through the E3 ligase parkin in the face of palmitate challenging.

Taken together, our results identified a novel role for STX17 in facilitating obesity-induced MAMs formation, and subsequently mitochondrial Ca²⁺ overload, mitochondrial O₂^- accumulation, lipid peroxidation, resulting in cardiac impairment. Our findings denoted therapeutic promises of targeting STX17 in obesity.