Abstract 255: Cardiac Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury: The Emerging Role of Sialidase Neu3

Reperfusion strategies, together with thrombolytic therapies, represent life-saving approaches to restore the blood flow in the cardiac tissue after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, they inevitably induce the so-called ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI), resulting in increased cardiomyocytes damage and heart failure. In this context, many efforts have been made to clarify the molecular mechanisms involved in IRI, and the activation of pro-survival kinases, such as Akt and Erk, as well as of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) has been recognized to be critical. Along this line, we discovered a novel mechanism of HIF-1α activation mediated by sialidase Neu3, which is PHDs independent, and that it increased muscle cells resistance to hypoxic stress, through the activation of Akt and Erk pathways. Moreover, an upregulation of Neu3 expression was observed under chronic hypoxia in cyanotic congenital cardiac patients.On these premises, this study aims at investigating the role of Neu3 in protecting cardiac cells against IRI. In particular, H9C2 rat cardiomyoblasts were exposed to an IRI model in vitro revealing a marked reduction in cell proliferation. This was accompanied by the modulation of Neu3 that was characterized by its progressive down-regulation during the ischemic phase, followed by its reactivation during reperfusion. These experiments resembled Neu3 modulation we observed in an IRI mouse model, obtained by the temporary occlusion of the LAD coronary vessel. Interestingly, overexpression of Neu3 significantly increased cardiomyoblasts resistance to IRI, both in terms of cell proliferation and resistance to apoptosis, as well as promoted HIF-1α and Akt/Erk activation. Remarkably, the treatment with Akt and Erk inhibitors completely reverted the beneficial effects mediated by Neu3 upregulation. Likewise, sialidase Neu3 inhibition reduced Akt/Erk activation, resulting in the complete loss of Neu3-mediated cardioprotection. In conclusion, our results demonstrate the role of sialidase Neu3 in counteracting the detrimental effects of IRI, calling for further studies to unveil its full potential as a therapeutic target to support current strategies to manage cardiac damage and to improve patients recover after AMI.