Ribonucleosides from tRNA in hyperglycemic mammalian cells and diabetic murine cardiac models.

Aims: Cardiomyopathy is a diabetic comorbidity with few molecular targets. To address this, we evaluated transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications in the diabetic heart because tRNA modifications have been implicated in diabetic etiologies.
Main Methods: tRNA was isolated from aorta, apex, and atrial tissue of healthy and diabetic murine hearts and related hyperglycemic cell models. tRNA modifications and canonical ribonucleosides were quantified by liquid-chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) using stable isotope dilution. Correlations between ribonucleosides and diabetic comorbidity pathology were assessed using statistical analyses.
Key Findings: Total tRNA ribonucleoside levels were analyzed from cell types and healthy and diabetic murine heart tissue. Each heart structure had characteristic ribonucleoside profiles and quantities. Several ribonucleosides were observed as significantly different in hyperglycemic cells and diabetic tissues. In hyperglycemic models, ribonucleosides N ⁴ -acetylcytidine (ac ⁴ C), 5-methoxycarbonylmethyl-2-thiouridine (mcm ⁵ s ² U), 5-methylcytidine (m ⁵ C), and N ¹ -methylguanosine (m ¹ G) were anomalous. Specific tRNA modifications known to be on murine tRNA ^Ini(CAU) were higher in diabetic heart tissue which suggests that tRNA modifications could be regulating translation in diabetes.
Significance: We identified tRNA ribonucleosides and tRNA species associated with hyperglycemia and diabetic etiology.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest At the time of submission, the authors have no competing interests (financial, professional or personal) that are relevant to the submitted work.
(Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)