Acute regulation of cardiac metabolism by the hexosamine biosynthesis pathway and protein O-GlcNAcylation

Abstract

Objective: The hexosamine biosynthesis pathway (HBP) flux and protein O-linked N-acetyl-glucosamine (O-GlcNAc) levels have been implicated in mediating the adverse effects of diabetes in the cardiovascular system. Activation of these pathways with glucosamine has been shown to mimic some of the diabetes-induced functional and structural changes in the heart; however, the effect on cardiac metabolism is not known. Therefore, the primary goal of this study was to determine the effects of glucosamine on cardiac substrate utilization.

Methods: Isolated rat hearts were perfused with glucosamine (0-10 mM) to increase HBP flux under normoxic conditions. Metabolic fluxes were determined by (13)C-NMR isotopomer analysis; UDP-GlcNAc a precursor of O-GlcNAc synthesis was assessed by HPLC and immunoblot analysis was used to determine O-GlcNAc levels, phospho- and total levels of AMPK and ACC, and membrane levels of FAT/CD36.

Results: Glucosamine caused a dose dependent increase in both UDP-GlcNAc and O-GlcNAc levels, which was associated with a significant increase in palmitate oxidation with a concomitant decrease in lactate and pyruvate oxidation. There was no effect of glucosamine on AMPK or ACC phosphorylation; however, membrane levels of the fatty acid transport protein FAT/CD36 were increased and preliminary studies suggest that FAT/CD36 is a potential target for O-GlcNAcylation.

Conclusion/interpretation: These data demonstrate that acute modulation of HBP and protein O-GlcNAcylation in the heart stimulates fatty acid oxidation, possibly by increasing plasma membrane levels of FAT/CD36, raising the intriguing possibility that the HBP and O-GlcNAc turnover represent a novel, glucose dependent mechanism for regulating cardiac metabolism.

Figure 1. Effect of glucosamine on A, B) Overall cardiac O-GlcNAc levels; C) UDP-HexNAc concentrations and D) ATP concentrations.

^* P<0.05 vs. 0 mM, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's posthoc test. Western blots: 0 mM (n = 8), 0.05 mM (n = 5), 0.1 mM (n = 9), 1 mM (n = 4), 5 mM (n = 8), 10 mM (n = 7). HPLC: 0 mM (n = 4), 0.05 mM (n = 5), 0.1 mM (n = 5), 1 mM (n = 4), 5 mM (n = 3), 10 mM (n = 3). Note that equal protein loading for the O-GlcNAc immunoblots was assessed by Sypro staining and overall O-GlcNAc levels were normalized to untreated control group.

Figure 2. Effect of glucosamine on A) glucose; B) pyruvate; C) lactate and D) palmitate oxidation.

^* P<0.05 vs. 0 mM glucosamine, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's posthoc test. 0 mM (n = 6), 0.05 mM (n = 4), 0.1 mM (n = 5), 5 mM (n = 5), 10 mM (n = 4).

Figure 3. Effect of 0.1 mM glucosamine on A) unlabeled glycolytic lactate efflux and B) exogenous [3-¹³C]lactate uptake ^* P<0.05 vs. 0 mM, Student's t-test.

0 mM (n = 4), 0.1 mM (n = 5).

Figure 4. A) AMPK and B) ACC phosphorylation in the heart after 60 min perfusion with 0.1 mM glucosamine.

0 mM (n = 4), 0.1 mM (n = 5).

Figure 5. A) Immunoblots of Plasma membrane fraction for FAT/CD36 following 60 min perfusion with 0, 0.05, 0.1, 1, 5 and 10 mM; pan-cadherin included as a plasma membrane marker and protein loading control; B) Densitometric analysis of FAT/CD36 immunoblots normalized to 0 mM glucosamine; P<0.05 vs. 0 mM, one-way ANOVA with Dunnett's posthoc test; n = 2 in each group; C) Immunoprecipitation of FAT/CD36 from whole tissue and plasma membrane lysates, followed by O-GlcNAc and OGT immunoblots.

Specificity of O-GlcNAc antibody was confirmed by co-incubation with 10 mM N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc).