Myocardial contractile dysfunction is associated with an increase in mitochondrial fission in patients with diabetes. However, whether mitochondrial fission directly promotes diabetes‐induced cardiac dysfunction is still unknown. Melatonin exerts a substantial influence on the regulation of mitochondrial fission/fusion. This study investigated whether melatonin protects against diabetes‐induced cardiac dysfunction via regulation of mitochondrial fission/fusion and explored its underlying mechanisms. Here, we show that melatonin prevented diabetes‐induced cardiac dysfunction by inhibiting dynamin‐related protein 1 (Drp1)‐mediated mitochondrial fission. Melatonin treatment decreased Drp1 expression, inhibited mitochondrial fragmentation, suppressed oxidative stress, reduced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, improved mitochondrial function and cardiac function in streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic mice, but not in SIRT1−/− diabetic mice. In high glucose‐exposed H9c2 cells, melatonin treatment increased the expression of SIRT1 and PGC‐1α and inhibited Drp1‐mediated mitochondrial fission and mitochondria‐derived superoxide production. In contrast, SIRT1 or PGC‐1α siRNA knockdown blunted the inhibitory effects of melatonin on Drp1 expression and mitochondrial fission. These data indicated that melatonin exerted its cardioprotective effects by reducing Drp1‐mediated mitochondrial fission in a SIRT1/PGC‐1α‐dependent manner. Moreover, chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis revealed that PGC‐1α directly regulated the expression of Drp1 by binding to its promoter. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission with Drp1 inhibitor mdivi‐1 suppressed oxidative stress, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction and cardiac dysfunction in diabetic mice. These findings show that melatonin attenuates the development of diabetes‐induced cardiac dysfunction by preventing mitochondrial fission through SIRT1‐PGC1α pathway, which negatively regulates the expression of Drp1 directly. Inhibition of mitochondrial fission may be a potential target for delaying cardiac complications in patients with diabetes.

Increasing evidence has implicated the important role of mitochondrial pathology in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM), while the underlying mechanism remains largely unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of mitochondrial dynamics in the pathogenesis of DCM and its underlying mechanisms. Methods : Obese diabetic (db/db) and lean control (db/+) mice were used in this study. Mitochondrial dynamics were analyzed by transmission electron microscopy in vivo and by confocal microscopy in vitro . Results : Diabetic hearts from 12-week-old db/db mice showed excessive mitochondrial fission and significant reduced expression of Mfn2, while there was no significant alteration or slight change in the expression of other dynamic-related proteins. Reconstitution of Mfn2 in diabetic hearts inhibited mitochondrial fission and prevented the progression of DCM. In an in-vitro study, cardiomyocytes cultured in high-glucose and high-fat (HG/HF) medium showed excessive mitochondrial fission and decreased Mfn2 expression. Reconstitution of Mfn2 restored mitochondrial membrane potential, suppressed mitochondrial oxidative stress and improved mitochondrial function in HG/HF-treated cardiomyocytes through promoting mitochondrial fusion. In addition, the down-regulation of Mfn2 expression in HG/HF-treated cardiomyocytes was induced by reduced expression of PPARα, which positively regulated the expression of Mfn2 by directly binding to its promoter. Conclusion : Our study provides the first evidence that imbalanced mitochondrial dynamics induced by down-regulated Mfn2 contributes to the development of DCM. Targeting mitochondrial dynamics by regulating Mfn2 might be a potential therapeutic strategy for DCM.

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