Dapagliflozin Suppresses Isoprenaline-Induced Cardiac Hypertrophy via Inhibition of Mitochondrial Fission

Abstract: Dapagliflozin (DAPA) is a novel oral hypoglycemic agent, and there is increasing evidence that DAPA has a protective effect against cardiovascular disease. The study aimed to investigate how DAPA inhibits cardiac hypertrophy and explore its potential mechanisms. By continuously infusing isoprenaline (ISO) for two weeks using a subcutaneous osmotic pump, a cardiac hypertrophic model was established in male C57BL/6 mice. On day 14 after surgery, echocardiography showed that left ventricle mass (LV mass), interventricular septum (IVS), left ventricle posterior wall diastole (LVPWd) and left ventricular posterior wall systole (LVPWs) were significantly increased, and ejection fraction (EF) was decreased compared with control mice. Masson and Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA) staining indicated enhanced myocardial fibrosis and cell morphology compared with control mice. Importantly, these effects were inhibited by DAPA treatment in ISO-induced mice. In H9c2 cells and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (NRCMs), we found that mitochondrial fragmentation and mitochondrial oxidative stress were significantly augmented in the ISO-induced group. However, DAPA rescued the cardiac hypertrophy in ISO-induced H9c2 cells and NRCMs. Mechanistically, we found that DAPA restored the PIM1 activity in ISO-induced H9c2 cells and subsequent increase Drp1 phosphorylation at S616 and decrease Drp1 phosphorylation at S637 in ISO-induced cells. We found that DAPA mitigated ISO-induced cardiac hypertrophy by suppressing Drp1-mediated mitochondrial fission in a PIM1-dependent fashion.