Novel Pan-ERR Agonists Ameliorate Heart Failure Through Enhancing Cardiac Fatty Acid Metabolism and Mitochondrial Function

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cardiac metabolic dysfunction is a hallmark of heart failure (HF). Estrogen-related receptors ERRα and ERRγ are essential regulators of cardiac metabolism. Therefore, activation of ERR could be a potential therapeutic intervention for HF. However, in vivo studies demonstrating the potential usefulness of ERR agonist for HF treatment are lacking, because compounds with pharmacokinetics appropriate for in vivo use have not been available. METHODS: Using a structure-based design approach, we designed and synthesized 2 structurally distinct pan-ERR agonists, SLU-PP-332 and SLU-PP-915. We investigated the effect of ERR agonist on cardiac function in a pressure overload–induced HF model in vivo. We conducted comprehensive functional, multi-omics (RNA sequencing and metabolomics studies), and genetic dependency studies both in vivo and in vitro to dissect the molecular mechanism, ERR isoform dependency, and target specificity. RESULTS: Both SLU-PP-332 and SLU-PP-915 significantly improved ejection fraction, ameliorated fibrosis, and increased survival associated with pressure overload–induced HF without affecting cardiac hypertrophy. A broad spectrum of metabolic genes was transcriptionally activated by ERR agonists, particularly genes involved in fatty acid metabolism and mitochondrial function. Metabolomics analysis showed substantial normalization of metabolic profiles in fatty acid/lipid and tricarboxylic acid/oxidative phosphorylation metabolites in the mouse heart with 6-week pressure overload. ERR agonists increase mitochondria oxidative capacity and fatty acid use in vitro and in vivo. Using both in vitro and in vivo genetic dependency experiments, we show that ERRγ is the main mediator of ERR agonism-induced transcriptional regulation and cardioprotection and definitively demonstrated target specificity. ERR agonism also led to downregulation of cell cycle and development pathways, which was partially mediated by E2F1 in cardiomyocytes. CONCLUSIONS: ERR agonists maintain oxidative metabolism, which confers cardiac protection against pressure overload–induced HF in vivo. Our results provide direct pharmacologic evidence supporting the further development of ERR agonists as novel HF therapeutics.

Estrogen-Related Receptor α: A Key Transcription Factor in the Regulation of Energy Metabolism at an Organismic Level and a Target of the ABA/LANCL Hormone Receptor System

“…These results suggest that pharmacologic activation of the PGC-1α/ERRα/PERM1 axis could improve cardiac function in different pathological conditions of the heart, including contractile dysfunctions caused by chronic heart diseases, mitochondrial dysfunction induced by doxorubicin therapy and hypoxia/reoxygenation-derived injury. Indeed, two different pan-ERR agonists were effective in protecting the murine heart in an in vivo model of heart failure, improving cardiomyocyte energy metabolism and contractility [77].…”