Substantial evidence has revealed that mitochondrial permeability transition pores (mPTPs) are associated with signaling pathway of cardioprotective models and seem to be an end-effector of cardioprotection. Experimental streptozotocin-induced diabetes mellitus (D) was shown to provide sufficient protection to the myocardium via compensatory mechanisms enabling mitochondria to produce energy under pathological conditions during the acute phase.
The hypothesized involvement of mPTPs in these processes prompted us to use liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis to investigate the effects of the acute-phase D condition on the structural and regulatory components of this multienzyme complex and the changes caused by compensation events.
We detected ADT1, ATP5H, ATPA, and ATPB as the most abundant mPTP proteins. The between-group differences in protein abundance of the mPTP complex as a whole were significantly upregulated in the D group when compared with the control (C) group (p = 0.0106), but fold changes in individual protein expression levels were not significantly altered except for ATP5H, ATP5J, and KCRS. However, none of them passed the criterion of a 1.5-fold change in differential expression for biologically meaningful change. Visualization of the (dis-)similarity between the C and D groups and pairwise correlations revealed different patterns of protein interactions under the C and D conditions which may be linked to endogenous protective processes, of which beneficial effects on myocardial function were previously confirmed.
Our results point to the involvement of mPTP proteins in the endogenous protective processes leading to the preservation of myocardial function under pathological conditions. Proteomic studies with respect to the correlation of mPTP proteins were shown to be one of the most promising options for the advancement of mPTP regulation mechanisms. Subtle changes in mPTP protein expressions, as well as mutual relationships between proteins, may be sufficient to contribute to preserving mitochondrial energy metabolism under the increased energy load represented by experimental D.
3-Nitropropionic acid induces autophagy by forming mitochondrial permeability transition pores rather than activatiing the mitochondrial fission pathway
