Acetylation of α-tubulin on Lys40, a new way to modulate cardiac glucose transport

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death in the diabetic population. Diabetic patients develop a specific heart condition called diabetic cardiomyopathy that can evolve to heart failure and that is characterized by altered metabolism in the early stages of the disease. Our group previously demonstrated that overfueling the heart with branched-chain amino acids, ketone bodies or fatty acids, substrates that are upregulated in diabetes, inhibits glucose entry in cardiomyocytes through a global rise in protein acetylation that interferes with glucose transporter 4 (GLUT4) translocation to the plasma membrane. However, the acetylated proteins involved in this process were not yet identified. We investigated the role of α-tubulin, an important cytoskeleton element responsible for GLUT4 translocation, that is known to be acetylable on Lys40 (K40). Acetylation level of α-tubulin on K40 was evaluated in a mouse model of diabetes (high-fat diet, 4 months) and in primary cultured adult rat cardiomyocytes. Its acetylation level was modulated by using a pharmacological inhibitor of its deacetylase (tubacin 10 μM, 5 hrs) and by overexpressing a non-acetylable form of α-tubulin (mCherry α-tubulin K40A). GLUT4 translocation was assessed by fluorescent immunostaining in cells expressing the fusion protein HA-GLUT4-GFP. Glucose transport was measured by following the detritiation rate of 2-3H-glucose in insulin-sensitive and insulin-resistant cardiomyocytes. Acetylation of α-tubulin on K40 was significantly enhanced in the heart of diet-induced diabetic mice. Experimentally increasing its acetylation level in cardiomyocytes with tubacin impaired GLUT4 translocation to the plasma membrane and reduced both basal and insulin-dependent glucose uptake. On the other hand, decreasing α-tubulin K40 acetylation via the overexpression of the K40A form of α-tubulin stimulated glucose transport. Interestingly, reducing α-tubulin K40 acetylation similarly promoted glucose entry in insulin-resistant conditions. Cardiac glucose transport can be regulated by modulation of α-tubulin K40 acetylation, which may lead to new therapeutic strategies preventing the metabolic changes occurring during the development of diabetic cardiomyopathy.