Loss Of Micu3 Confers Cardioprotection Against Cardiac Injury

Background: Mitochondrial calcium flux and signaling is integral to cardiac function and contraction. However, during pathologic conditions such as ischemic/reperfusion injury, mitochondrial calcium overload can induce the opening of the mitochondrial permeability transitioning pore (PTP), resulting in the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP depletion, and generation of reactive oxygen species, all together leading to cell death. Hence, modulation of mitochondrial calcium and inhibition of the PTP is a promising target for cardioprotection and prevention of cardiomyocyte death. The mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) complex mediates rapid mitochondrial calcium uptake. MICU3 is a regulator of the MCU complex and has been shown to be a highly potent stimulator of MCU-dependent calcium uptake in neuronal cells. We found that MICU3 is expressed in hearts and we therefore investigated the role of MICU3 in the heart. We examined the role of MICU3 in the development of hypertrophy and in a separate study we examined the response to ischemic-reperfusion (I/R) injury. Given its role in regulating mitochondrial calcium uptake, we hypothesized that loss of MICU3 confers protection against cardiac injury. Methods: Mice with global deletion of Micu3 (Micu3 -/- ) were created utilizing CRISPR-Cas9 technology. Adult knockout and littermate wild type mice were treated with Isoproterenol (15mg/kg/day) for two weeks to induce hypertrophy. Echocardiograms were performed at baseline and after treatment to assess changes in left ventricular size and function. I/R injury was studied using Langendorff ex vivo perfused heart system, exposing knockout and wild type hearts to 20 minutes of ischemia and 90 minutes of reperfusion. Hemodynamic data and infarct size were collected and compared. Student t-test and 2-way ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. Result: Micu3 -/- mice had normal cardiac function at baseline. There was no sex difference in cardiac function. Micu3 -/- mice continued to show normal function after 2 weeks of treatment with Isoproterenol, whereas wild type mice exhibited depressed function (median FS 35% vs. 24% p = 0.0001, EF 64% vs. 50% p = 0.0001). Wild type mice developed LV dilation from baseline (median 4.15mm vs. 4.57mm, p = 0.0014), whereas LV dimension remained stable in Micu3 -/- mice (median 4.12mm vs. 4.18mm, p= 0.9892). Micu3 - /- mice were also protected from I/R injury. Compared to wild types, Micu3 -/- hearts demonstrated less contractile dysfunction at end reperfusion (median rate pressure product 62% vs. 41%, p = 0.002), and significantly smaller infarct size (median 33% vs. 53%, p = 0.0001). Conclusion: Loss of MICU3 confers cardioprotection against ischemic reperfusion injury and Isoproterenol induced cardiac dysfunction.