The mechanism behind BAF60c in myocardial metabolism in rats with heart failure is through the PGC1α-PPARα-mTOR signaling pathway.

Metabolic remodeling in heart failure (HF) is a type of overload cardiomyopathy caused by insufficient energy supply or an imbalance of glucose and lipid metabolism. Therefore, metabolic pathways may serve as potential targets for HF treatment. BRM-associated factor (BAF) 60c (also known as smarcd3) promotes the transformation of oxidative muscle fibers to glycolytic muscle fibers. Our study aimed to test whether BAF60c and the PGC1α-PPARα-mTOR pathway interact to affect myocardial metabolism in HF rats. Established rat models of HF were injected with BAF60c low or overexpression plasmids to assess cardiac contractile proteins, energy metabolism, oxidative metabolism, glycolysis, high-energy phosphate content, mitochondrial function, and apoptosis. BAF60c overexpression/siRNA plasmid was transfected into H9C2 cells. These results suggest that HF rats present decreased levels of BAF60c, increased glycolysis, and reduced levels of cardiac contractile proteins, PGC1α, PPARα, and oxidative metabolism. Overexpression of BAF60c maintained the balance between oxidative metabolism and glycolysis and activated the PGC1α-PPARα-mTOR pathway. PGC1α interacted with BAF60c, and overexpression of PGC1α decreased BAF60c knockdown, damaging H9C2 cells. Collectively, overexpression of BAF60c activated the PGC1α-PPARα-mTOR pathway, maintained the oxidative metabolism/glycolysis balance, and improved mitochondrial function in HF rats. This study offers novel insights into HF treatment.