Melatonin Attenuates Cardiac Reperfusion Stress by Improving OPA1-Related Mitochondrial Fusion in a Yap–Hippo Pathway–Dependent Manner

Abstract: The role of OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion in cardiac reperfusion stress has remained elusive. The aim of our study is to explore whether melatonin alleviates cardiac ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury by modulating OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion. We found that melatonin reduced infarct area, sustained myocardial function, and suppressed cardiomyocyte death during cardiac reperfusion stress. Biological studies have revealed that IR-inhibited mitochondrial fusion was largely reversed by melatonin through upregulated OPA1 expression. Knocking down OPA1 abrogated the protective effects of melatonin on mitochondrial energy metabolism and mitochondrial apoptosis. In addition, we also found that melatonin modified OPA1 expression through the Yap–Hippo pathway; blockade of the Yap–Hippo pathway induced cardiomyocyte death and mitochondrial damage despite treatment with melatonin. Altogether, our data demonstrated that cardiac IR injury is closely associated with defective OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion. Melatonin supplementation enhances OPA1-related mitochondrial fusion by activating the Yap–Hippo pathway, ultimately reducing cardiac reperfusion stress.