Investigation of Mechanisms Responsible for Myocyte Cell Death in Metabolic Syndrome

The aim of study is to investigate the mechanism involved in myocyte cell death in metabolic syndrome. Specific metabolic syndrome conditions focused on in this research are iron overload and hyperglycemia. Both in skeletal muscle cells and cardiomyocytes, cell death occurred via intrinsic apoptotic pathway in response to these stimuli. Apoptosis in these cells can lead to further problems such as sarcopenia and heart failure. Under both conditions, I noted that autophagosome formation was significantly increased. Furthermore, when autophagy was defective, activation of apoptosis was more sensitive to the applied stimuli. Extending out from this, in cardiomyocytes hyperglycemia-induced cell death was alleviated by adiponectin, and less autophagosome formation occurred. Thus adiponectin, which is considered to be anti-apoptotic adipokine, acted to alleviate hyperglycemia-induced apoptosis. Detailed understanding of the mechanisms involved in cell death can uncover new potential therapeutic targets for treating complications of metabolic syndrome.