Inhibition of PHLPP1 ameliorates cardiac dysfunction via activation of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway in diabetic cardiomyopathy.

Background: Pleckstrin homology (PH) domain leucine-rich repeat protein phosphatase 1 (PHLPP1) is a kind of serine/threonine phosphatase, whose dysregulation is accompanied with numerous human diseases. However, its role in diabetic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. We explored the underlying function and mechanism of PHLPP1 in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM).

Method: In vivo, Type 1 diabetic rats were induced by intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). Lentivirus-mediated short hairpin RNA (shRNA) was used to knock down the expression of PHLPP1. In vitro, primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and H9C2 cells were incubated in 5.5 mmol/L glucose (normal glucose, NG) or 33.3 mmol/L glucose (high glucose, HG). PHLPP1 expression was inhibited by PHLPP1-siRNA to probe into the function of PHLPP1 in high glucose-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells.

Results: Diabetic rats showed up-regulated PHLPP1 expression, left ventricular dysfunction, increased myocardial apoptosis and fibrosis. PHLPP1 inhibition alleviated cardiac dysfunction. Additionally, PHLPP1 inhibition significantly reduced HG-induced apoptosis and restored PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway activity in H9c2 cells. Furthermore, pretreatment with LY294002, an inhibitor of PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway, abolished the anti-apoptotic effect of PHLPP1 inhibition.

Conclusion: Our study indicated that PHLPP1 inhibition alleviated cardiac dysfunction via activating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR signalling pathway in DCM. Therefore, PHLPP1 may be a novel therapeutic target for human DCM.