Diminished substrate‐mediated cardiac mitochondrial respiration and elevated autophagy in adult male offspring of gestational diabetic rats

Abstract

ObjectiveHeart diseases are common in offspring of gestational diabetic mother (ODM). Defects in mitochondrial metabolism and autophagy may be one of the basic reasons behind the abnormal structural and functional behaviour of offspring’s heart. So the main objective of the present study was to explore the cardiac mitochondrial respiration and autophagy in male and female offspring of diabetic pregnancy at two different developmental stages of life.MethodsHigh‐resolution respirometry was used to measure substrate‐mediated mitochondrial respiration in isolated mitochondria from ventricular tissues of offspring of streptozotocin‐induced diabetic mother rats. To find the expression of proteins involved in autophagic process and oxidative stress, western blotting and densitometric analysis were done.ResultsMitochondrial complex I and complex II respiration was found to be decreased in adult male offspring while it was unaltered or less affected in weaning male and female offspring. Elevated autophagy was shown by adult male, while there was no change observed in adult female. Also absence of elevated expression of oxidative stress markers was observed in all groups.ConcusionThe present study reports altered cardiac mitochondrial respiration and autophagy in male offspring of diabetic mothers than the control ones. The study also analysed the expression of various candidates of cardiac autophagic process in male and female offspring of diabetic pregnancy at two time points of development.