Abstract Body: Introduction: Myocardial glycolysis increases in hypertrophic and failing hearts. Hyperacetylation also occurs in the failing heart, and many glycolytic enzymes are known to be subject to acetylation. However, it is generally considered that acetylation has inhibitory effects on glycolysis. As a result, it is not clear whether acetylation changes directly contribute to glycolysis changes in cardiac hypertrophy. We therefore determined whether changes in the acetylation of glycolytic enzymes and the activity of the cytosolic deacetylase SIRT2 regulate cardiac glycolysis.

Methods: Glycolysis rates were directly measured in rat heart-derived H9c2 cardiomyocytes perfused with 5 mM [5-³H] glucose, 0.8 mM palmitate, and 4% bovine serum albumin. Before these metabolic measurements, H9c2 cells were treated with either a SIRT2 inhibitor (10 µM AGK2) or a vehicle for 24 hours. In separate experiments, SIRT2 was also knocked down in H9c2 cells using siRNA, followed by glycolysis rate determinations. The impact of SIRT2 inhibition or SIRT2 knockdown on the acetylation status of glycolytic enzyme was also assessed. Furthermore, the effects of SIRT2 inhibition on hypertrophic signalling were assessed by treating H9c2 cells with phenylephrine.

Results: SIRT2 inhibition markedly decreased glycolysis rates in H9c2 cells compared to vehicle-treated cells (524±108 vs 2631±372 nmol^.g dry wt^-1.min^-1, p<0.05). Similarly, SIRT2 knockdown resulted in a significant reduction in glycolysis rates compared to scrambled siRNA-treated H9c2 cells (745±31 vs 1659±168 nmol^.g dry wt^-1.min^-1, p<0.05). The decrease in SIRT2 was accompanied by an increase in the acetylation status of the glycolytic enzyme glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase (GPDH). Moreover, a trend towards increased phosphofructokinase (PFK) acetylation was also observed in SIRT2 knockdown H9c2 cells compared to scrambled siRNA-treated cells. Lastly, AGK2 treatment also attenuated phenylephrine-mediated hypertrophic responses in H9c2 cells.

Conclusions: Increased acetylation of glycolytic enzymes is associated with a decrease in glycolysis, and SIRT2 inhibition or deletion in H9c2 cells significantly decreases glycolysis rates and attenuates hypertrophy. SIRT2 may therefore contribute to the increased glycolysis seen in hypertrophy and heart failure.