Blunted Cardiac Mitophagy in Response to Metabolic Stress Contributes to HFpEF

Metabolic remodeling and mitochondrial dysfunction are hallmarks of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. However, their role in the pathogenesis of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is poorly understood.

In a mouse model of HFpEF, induced by high-fat diet and Nω-nitrol-arginine methyl ester, cardiac energetics was measured by ³¹P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and substrate oxidation profile was assessed by ¹³C-isotopmer analysis. Mitochondrial functions were assessed in the heart tissue and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes.

HFpEF hearts presented a lower phosphocreatine content and a reduced phosphocreatine/ATP ratio, similar to that in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction. Decreased respiratory function and increased reactive oxygen species production were observed in mitochondria isolated from HFpEF hearts suggesting mitochondrial dysfunction. Cardiac substrate oxidation profile showed a high dependency on fatty acid oxidation in HFpEF hearts, which is the opposite of heart failure with reduced ejection fraction but similar to that in high-fat diet hearts. However, phosphocreatine/ATP ratio and mitochondrial function were sustained in the high-fat diet hearts. We found that mitophagy was activated in the high-fat diet heart but not in HFpEF hearts despite similar extent of obesity suggesting that mitochondrial quality control response was impaired in HFpEF hearts. Using a human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocyte mitophagy reporter, we found that fatty acid loading stimulated mitophagy, which was obliterated by inhibiting fatty acid oxidation. Enhancing fatty acid oxidation by deleting ACC2 (acetyl-CoA carboxylase 2) in the heart stimulated mitophagy and improved HFpEF phenotypes.

Maladaptation to metabolic stress in HFpEF hearts impairs mitochondrial quality control and contributed to the pathogenesis, which can be improved by stimulating fatty acid oxidation.