Diallyl trisulfide (DATS) protects cardiac cells against advanced glycation end-product-induced apoptosis by enhancing FoxO3A-dependent upregulation of miRNA-210.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is a common complication of diabetes, resulting in cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure associated with excessive reactive oxygen species and mitochondria-mediated apoptosis generation. Mitogen-activated protein kinase-c-Jun N-terminal kinase (MAPK-JNK), regulated by microRNA (miR)-210, affects mitochondrial function and is activated by advanced glycation end-products (AGE) in cardiac cells. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), an antioxidant in garlic oil, inhibits stress-induced cardiac apoptosis. This study examined whether DATS enhances miR-210 expression to attenuate cardiac apoptosis. We investigated the DATS-mediated attenuation mechanism of AGE-enhanced cardiac apoptosis by modulating miR-210 and its upstream transcriptional regulator, FoxO3a. We found FoxO3a binding sites in the miR-210 promoter region. Our results indicated that DATS treatment inhibited AGE-induced JNK activation, phosphoprotein c-Jun nuclear transactivation, and cardiac apoptosis and reversed the AGE-induced reduction in cardiac miR-210 levels. The luciferase activity after DATS treatment was significantly lower than that of the control and was reversed following AGE treatment. We also showed that FoxO3a, upregulated by DATS treatment, may bind to the miR-210 promoter to enhance its expression and downregulates JNK expression to attenuate AGE-induced cardiac apoptosis. Oral administration of DATS enhanced FoxO3a expression in the heart and reduced diabetes-induced heart apoptosis. Our findings indicate that DATS mediates AGE-induced cardiac cell apoptosis attenuation by promoting FoxO3a nuclear transactivation to enhance miR-210 expression and regulate JNK activation. Our results suggest that DATS can be used as a cardioprotective agent, and miR-210 is a critical regulator in inhibiting diabetic cardiomyopathy.