SIRT3-mediated inhibition of FOS through histone H3 deacetylation prevents cardiac fibrosis and inflammation.

Sirtuin 3 (SIRT3) is a deacetylase that modulates proteins that control metabolism and protects against oxidative stress. Modulation of SIRT3 activity has been proposed as a promising therapeutic target for ameliorating metabolic diseases and associated cardiac disturbances. In this study, we investigated the role of SIRT3 in inflammation and fibrosis in the heart using male mice with constitutive and systemic deletion of SIRT3 and human cardiac AC16 cells. SIRT3 knockout mice showed cardiac fibrosis and inflammation that was characterized by augmented transcriptional activity of AP-1. Consistent with this, SIRT3 overexpression in human and neonatal rat cardiomyocytes partially prevented the inflammatory and profibrotic response induced by TNF-α. Notably, these effects were associated with a decrease in the mRNA and protein levels of FOS and the DNA-binding activity of AP-1. Finally, we demonstrated that SIRT3 inhibits FOS transcription through specific histone H3 lysine K27 deacetylation at its promoter. These findings highlight an important function of SIRT3 in mediating the often intricate profibrotic and proinflammatory responses of cardiac cells through the modulation of the FOS/AP-1 pathway. Since fibrosis and inflammation are crucial in the progression of cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure, and diabetic cardiomyopathy, our results point to SIRT3 as a potential target for treating these diseases.

Resveratrol induces nuclear factor-κB activity in human cardiac cells.

BACKGROUND: Resveratrol is a grape polyphenol that prevents cardiac hypertrophy and protects the heart from ischemic injury, metabolic dysregulation, and inflammatory processes in several murine models. METHODS AND RESULTS: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of resveratrol on the inflammatory processes in human cardiac AC16 cells in order to gain a better understanding of its cardioprotective mechanisms in the human heart. Resveratrol induced the DNA-binding activity of the pro-inflammatory transcription factor NF-κB in AC16 cells, and exacerbated the increase caused by tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). In accordance with this, resveratrol increased the expression of the pro-inflammatory genes ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1) and TNF-α. In contrast, resveratrol decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory genes IL-6 (interleukin-6) and MCP-1 (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1). Likewise, resveratrol also induced inflammation in rat neonatal cardiomyocytes, and in the heart of mice fed a standard chow diet supplemented with resveratrol (1g/kg diet) for four months. Western-blot analyses revealed that NF-κB p65 subunit levels were upregulated in an IκB-dependent manner in the nuclei of resveratrol-treated human cardiac cells. Finally, resveratrol activated the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling and induced the expression of its anti-apoptotic downstream effector Bcl-xL, both involved in the cardioprotective survival activating factor enhancement (SAFE) pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Resveratrol enhanced NF-κB activity in human and murine cardiac cells, in a process that coincided with the activation of STAT3 and anti-apoptotic downstream effectors. Therefore, activation of the SAFE pathway by resveratrol might be involved in the cardioprotective effects of this compound.

Sirt1 acts in association with PPARα to protect the heart from hypertrophy, metabolic dysregulation, and inflammation.

AIMS: A complex set of metabolic and inflammatory processes are involved in the development of cardiac hypertrophy. Accumulating evidence indicates an important role for Sirt1 in cardiac function, whereas peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPARα) is a master controller of cardiac lipid metabolism and plays a protective role on cardiac hypertrophy. The objective of the present study was to explore the relationships between Sirt1 and PPARα in the control of hypertrophy, metabolism, and inflammation processes in the heart. METHODS AND RESULTS: Neonatal cardiomyocytes (NCMs) were used for studies in vitro. Both the activation of Sirt1 with resveratrol (RSV) and overexpression of Sirt1 inhibited phenylephrine (PE)-induced NCM hypertrophy and prevented PE-induced down-regulation of fatty acid oxidation genes. Sirt1 also inhibited the PE-induced increase in mRNA levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in NCMs and blocked the enhanced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activity associated with exposure to PE. Importantly, inhibition of PPARα suppressed the beneficial effects of Sirt1 on hypertrophy, fatty acid metabolism, and inflammation. Co-immunoprecipitation studies revealed that overexpression of Sirt1 enhanced PPARα binding to the p65 subunit of NF-κB and led to p65-deacetylation in NCMs. Moreover, Sirt1 overexpression led to the deacetylation of the PPARα co-activator PGC-1α. Consistent with these observations in vitro, isoproterenol-induced cardiac hypertrophy, metabolic dysregulation, and inflammation in vivo were prevented by RSV in wild-type mice but not in PPARα-null mice. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, these findings reveal a major involvement of the Sirt1-PPARα interaction in the protective role of Sirt1 against cardiac hypertrophy.