CircRNA CDR1AS promotes cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice by triggering cardiomyocyte autosis

Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury is a common adverse event in the clinical treatment of myocardial ischemic disease. Autosis is a form of cell death that occurs when autophagy is excessive in cells, and it has been associated with cardiac IR damage. This study aimed to investigate the regulatory mechanism of circRNA CDR1AS on autosis in cardiomyocytes under IR. The expression of CDR1AS increases after myocardial IR, and overexpression of CDR1AS detrimentally affects cardiac function, increases infarct area, promotes excessive autophagy, and blocks the flow of autophagy to induce autosis after IR. Conversely, knockdown of CDR1AS reversed the autophagy-related markers caused by IR, increasing cardiomyocyte activity, improving cardiac dysfunction and infarct area, and restoring the flow of autophagy. Further analysis of RNA sequencing and validation experiments revealed that CDR1AS aggravated autophagic damage, increased autophagosome accumulation, and promoted autosis by inhibiting the levels of LAMP2 and mTORC1 proteins. Additionally, RIP and pull-down assays showed that CDR1AS interacts with LAMP2 or mTORC1. First-time evidence reveals that circRNA CDR1AS regulates lysosomal membrane proteins by regulating the mTORC1/ULK1 pathway during myocardial IR-induced autosis. This suggests that maintaining moderate autophagy is a crucial part of the fight against myocardial IR damage. KEY MESSAGES: CDR1AS expression was significantly increased in myocardium following IR. CDR1AS can increase the occurrence of autosis after IR. CDR1AS reduces the phosphorylation of ULK1, promoting the formation of autophagosomes. CDR1AS binds to LAMP2 and blocks the autophagosome clearance pathway. The specific mechanism of CDR1AS regulating IR is achieved by regulating autosis.